Riley Blake Life’s Journey - Downloadable PDF

Riley Blake Life's Journey Quilt Pattern – Free Downloadable PDF by Jina Barney

The Life's Journey quilt pattern is a free downloadable PDF designed by Jina Barney and published by Riley Blake Designs. This cheerful and approachable quilting project produces a finished quilt measuring 64" x 69", making it a generous lap or throw quilt suitable for everyday use or as a meaningful handmade gift. The pattern is built around a stunning fabric panel as its centerpiece, surrounded by multiple coordinating pieced borders that frame and enhance the central design.

What Is Being Made

This pattern guides quilters through the construction of a panel-centered quilt featuring a large focal panel surrounded by three distinct borders. The design celebrates color, pattern mixing, and the joy of working with a curated fabric collection. The result is a vibrant, cohesive quilt that showcases the full range of prints available in the Good Life Collection by Riley Blake Designs. The quilt is ideal for quilters who enjoy working with coordinating fabric collections and want a project that feels both organized and creatively expressive.

Quilt Construction and Design Overview

The quilt is structured around a central panel block cut to 35½" x 35½" from the cream panel (P2881 Cream). This large focal square anchors the entire design and is framed by three successive borders, each adding visual interest and dimension to the finished quilt.

Border 1 – Pieced Scrappy Border

The first border introduces a lively, scrappy aesthetic by incorporating small rectangles measuring 3" x 6½" cut from a wide variety of assorted prints within the Good Life Collection. These include:

• Blue main (C2880 Blue)
• Cream main (C2880 Cream)
• Green main (C2880 Green)
• Blue values (C2882 Blue)
• Cream values (C2882 Cream)
• Green values (C2882 Green)
• Blue dots (C2883 Blue)
• Multi dots (C2883 Multi)
• Brown swirls (C2884 Brown)
• Green swirls (C2884 Green)
• Orange swirls (C2884 Orange)
• Red flower (C2886 Red)
• Yellow flower (C2886 Yellow)
• Purple flower (C2886 Purple)

Corner squares in Border 1 are cut as 6½" x 6½" squares from green dots (C2883 Green), providing a clean and coordinated corner treatment that ties the border together visually.

Border 2 – Cream Stripe Border

The second border is cut from cream stripes (C2885 Cream) using 3" x WOF (width of fabric) strips. This border adds a calm, neutral breathing space between the busy pieced border and the outermost frame. Finished measurements for Border 2 include side borders of 47½" and top and bottom borders of 52½". All measurements include the standard ¼" seam allowance.

Border 3 – Outer Framing Border

The third and final border completes the quilt's frame, with side borders measuring 57½" and top and bottom borders measuring 64½". This outer border brings the quilt to its full 64" x 69" finished size and provides a strong visual boundary around the entire composition.

Techniques Used

The Life's Journey pattern is described as requiring a basic knowledge of quilting technique and terminology, making it well-suited for confident beginners and intermediate quilters alike. Key techniques involved in completing this project include:

• Panel cutting – accurately cutting a large square from a printed fabric panel to serve as the quilt center