Riley Blake Tiptoe Through The Tulips - Downloadable PDF

Tiptoe Through The Tulips Quilt Pattern by Stacy West for Riley Blake Designs

Tiptoe Through The Tulips is a charming appliqué quilt pattern designed by Stacy West and offered as a free downloadable PDF through Riley Blake Designs. Rated at an intermediate difficulty level, this project is ideal for quilters who have a working knowledge of basic quilting techniques and terminology, including rotary cutting, piecing with accurate seam allowances, and appliqué methods. The finished quilt measures a generous 58 inches by 70 inches, making it a wonderful lap or throw size.

What Is Being Made

This pattern produces a full-size quilt featuring 20 Tulip Blocks, each finishing at 12 inches by 12 inches. The blocks are arranged in a 5-row by 4-block layout to form the quilt center, which is then framed with a coordinating border. The overall design showcases appliquéd tulips, stems, and leaves set against cream diamond-print backgrounds, giving the quilt a fresh, garden-inspired aesthetic that celebrates the beauty of spring florals.

Techniques Used

• Appliqué: The central technique of this pattern is appliqué, used to attach tulip shapes, stems, and leaf pieces onto the cream background squares. Quilters are encouraged to use their favorite method of appliqué, whether that is fusible web, needle-turn, or another preferred approach.
• Rotary Cutting: Precise rotary cutting is required throughout, including cutting strips and squares from yardage and using a provided template to cut leaf shapes.
• Piecing: Blocks are sewn together with right sides facing using a consistent ¼-inch seam allowance. Rows of blocks are then joined to complete the quilt center.
• Border Construction: A border is added around the quilt center, with the pattern advising quilters to measure through the center of the quilt before cutting border strips to ensure accurate fit.
• Block Trimming: After appliqué work is complete, each block is trimmed to 12½ inches square to ensure uniform sizing before assembly.

Quilt Blocks and Design Details

Tulip Blocks

The pattern features 20 Tulip Blocks, each constructed by appliquéing tulip motifs, stems, and leaves onto a 13-inch cream diamond background square, which is later trimmed to 12½ inches once the appliqué is complete. The leaf shapes are cut using the template included in the pattern, with a total of 160 leaves required across all blocks. Quilters are instructed to add a ¼-inch seam allowance to the leaf template if their preferred appliqué method requires it.

Quilt Center Assembly

Once all 20 Tulip Blocks are complete, they are laid out according to the Quilt Center Diagram provided in the pattern, arranged in 5 rows of 4 blocks. The rows are sewn together to form the complete quilt center before the border is added.

Fabric and Materials

This pattern is designed specifically to coordinate with Riley Blake Designs fabrics. The required materials include:

• 1 Buttermilk Basics 10-Inch Stacker (10-9180-42): A pre-cut 10-inch square bundle used for the border and accent elements.
• 1¼ Yards C9186 Pink Sprigs: Used for the tulip appliqué shapes and additional design elements.
• ¼ Yard C9184 Green Diamonds: A smaller quantity used as an accent fabric.
• 2¾ Yards C9184 Cream Diamonds: The primary background fabric, cut into 20 squares measuring 13 inches by 13 inches from 7 strips cut at 13 inches by width of fabric.
• 1½ Yards C9186 Green Sprigs: Used to cut the 160 leaf shapes required for the appliqué blocks.
• ⅝ Yard (approximately 60 cm) of binding fabric