Moda Fabrics Big Sky Quilt - Downloadable PDF

Moda Fabrics Big Sky Quilt Pattern – Downloadable PDF Summary

About This Free Quilting Pattern

The Moda Fabrics Big Sky Quilt is a free downloadable PDF pattern designed by Moda Fabrics. It produces a finished quilt measuring 65" x 75", making it a generous lap or throw size suitable for everyday use or as a decorative statement piece. Rated as intermediate difficulty, this pattern is ideal for quilters who are comfortable with basic piecing and are ready to work with pre-cut fabric collections and specialty tools.

What Is Being Made

This pattern guides quilters through the construction of a full-sized patchwork quilt with a pieced center and bordered edges. The design makes use of pre-cut Layer Cake squares — a popular 10" x 10" pre-cut format — combined with a coordinating solid background fabric and a structured border to frame the finished design. The result is a cohesive, visually striking quilt that balances patterned prints with a clean, neutral backdrop.

Fabric Requirements and Materials

The pattern calls for a specific and carefully curated selection of Moda Fabrics materials:

• 1 Big Sky Layer Cake (SKU: 16700LC) – the primary patterned pre-cut collection that gives the quilt its name and character
• 1 Bella Solids Layer Cake (SKU: 9900-98LC) – a coordinating solid pre-cut collection used to complement and balance the patterned fabrics
• 1⅛ yards of Border/Background Fabric (SKU: 9900-98) – a Bella Solid yardage used for borders and background elements throughout the quilt
• ⅔ yard of Binding Fabric (SKU: 16706-21) – used to finish the quilt edges with a clean, professional binding
• Backing Fabric – approximately 4¼ yards if pieced across or 4⅔ yards if pieced up and down
• 1 CakeMix 4 Tablet (SKU: #CM4) – a specialty paper tool designed by Moda Fabrics to simplify the creation of half-square triangles and other units directly from Layer Cake squares

The CakeMix 4 tablet is a key component of this pattern. It provides pre-printed paper foundations that are layered between two Layer Cake squares and stitched along marked lines, allowing quilters to produce multiple accurate pieced units quickly and with minimal math or marking. This tool is particularly helpful for intermediate quilters looking to improve precision and efficiency.

Cutting Instructions Overview

The Border/Background Fabric is cut with care and purpose. The pattern specifies cutting three 8" x WOF (Width of Fabric) strips, which are then sub-cut into a variety of pieces:

• Strip 1: Four 8" x 8" squares
• Strip 2: Six 4¼" x 8" rectangles and four 3" x 8" rectangles
• Strip 3: Three 5½" x 8" rectangles

Additionally, four 3" x WOF strips are cut for the side borders. These strips are stitched together in pairs and then trimmed to create two 3" x 75½" border strips that run the full length of the quilt's sides. The Binding Fabric is cut into eight 2½" x WOF strips, which are joined and used to bind the finished quilt edges.

The pattern emphasizes sorting and labeling all cut pieces as work progresses — a best practice that helps intermediate quilters stay organized when working with multiple fabric types and sizes simultaneously.

Techniques Used

This pattern incorporates several foundational and intermediate quilting techniques:

• Layer Cake piecing – working with pre-cut 10" squares to streamline fabric preparation and ensure consistent sizing
• CakeMix paper foundation piecing – using the CakeMix 4 tablet to stitch and cut precise pieced