Riley Blake Around The Block - Downloadable PDF

Riley Blake Around The Block Quilt Pattern – Free Downloadable PDF for Beginner Quilters

The Riley Blake Around The Block pattern is a free downloadable PDF designed to guide beginner quilters through creating a stunning 68" x 86" finished quilt built around classic, richly textured Riley Blake fabrics. The design centers on a traditional log cabin-style block construction, where each 16" x 16" finished block is assembled by wrapping successive rounds of rectangular strips around a central square — a technique that is both approachable for newcomers and deeply satisfying to execute. The result is a cozy, structured quilt with a timeless aesthetic rooted in the interplay of plaids, houndstooths, tweeds, and herringbones.

What Is Being Made

This pattern produces a lap-to-bed-sized quilt measuring 68 inches wide by 86 inches tall, making it a versatile project suitable as a throw, a child's quilt, or a decorative bed covering. The quilt is composed of multiple 16-inch square blocks, each assembled from a combination of assorted print rectangles surrounding a central houndstooth square. The blocks are then joined with sashing strips and corner posts, and the quilt top is finished with two borders — a narrower inner border and a wider outer border — giving the finished piece a polished, framed appearance.

Fabrics and Materials Used

The pattern calls for a specific and carefully curated selection of Riley Blake Designs fabrics, each contributing its own texture and visual weight to the overall composition:

• 1 Fat Quarter Bundle (FQ-635-30 Plaid) — a collection of assorted plaid fat quarters that provide the variety of prints used throughout the individual blocks
• 1⅝ Yards of C635 Red Buffalo Check — used for the outer border, anchoring the quilt with a bold, classic pattern
• 2½ Yards of C637 Tan Houndstooth — the most substantial yardage requirement, used for the central block squares, sashing strips, corner posts, and the inner border
• ¾ Yard of C639 Red Tweed — used for the binding that finishes the quilt's edges

Specific fat quarters cut from the bundle include C636 Green Herringbone, C637 Green Houndstooth, C639 Brown Tweed, and C639 Red Tweed, each contributing rectangles in multiple sizes to the block construction. The mix of warm reds, earthy tans, and rich greens gives the quilt a warm, heritage-inspired palette reminiscent of traditional country or farmhouse aesthetics.

No specific needle or thread recommendations are listed in the pattern, but standard quilting cotton thread and a quilting machine needle are appropriate for this type of project.

Block Construction Technique

The Around The Block name is a direct reference to the block-building method at the heart of this design. Each block is constructed using a log cabin-inspired, concentric rectangle technique — one of the most fundamental and recognizable approaches in quilting. Here is how each block is assembled:

• A 4½" x 4½" Tan Houndstooth square forms the center of each block
• 2½" x 4½" assorted print rectangles are sewn to the left and right sides of the center square to create Unit A
• 2½" x 8½" assorted print rectangles are then sewn to the top and bottom of Unit A to complete the Center Unit
• Subsequent rounds of increasingly longer rectangles — 2½" x 8½", 2½" x 12½", and 2½" x 16½" — continue wrapping around the growing block, each round expanding the block outward until the full 16½" unfinished block size is reached

Each block uses a different combination of fabrics from the fat quarter bundle, meaning no two blocks are identical. The pattern includes a Quilt Center Diagram to guide placement of each unique block within the overall layout, ensuring a balanced and visually harmonious arrangement across the quilt top.

Stitches and Sewing