Riley Blake Christmas Eve - Downloadable PDF

Riley Blake Christmas Eve Quilt Pattern by Jina Barney – Free Downloadable PDF

The Christmas Eve pattern by Jina Barney, published by Riley Blake Designs, is a free downloadable PDF quilting pattern that produces a stunning 42" x 42" square quilt — a perfect lap or wall quilt size for the holiday season. Rated as intermediate difficulty, this project is ideal for quilters who are comfortable with foundational piecing techniques and ready to tackle more dynamic block construction. The finished quilt is built around an 18" x 18" finished block size, and all measurements throughout the pattern include a standard ¼" seam allowance.

What Is Being Made

This pattern produces a single square quilt measuring 42" x 42", assembled from intricately pieced blocks that combine classic quilting units into a cohesive, festive design. The overall composition relies on the careful arrangement of Four-Patch Units and Flying Geese Units to create visual movement and a holiday-inspired aesthetic. The pattern is offered completely free of charge through the Riley Blake Designs website.

Block Construction and Design Units

The quilt is built from two primary pieced units that are combined to form the larger 18" blocks:

• Four-Patch Units: Each Four-Patch Unit is assembled by sewing together two Half Square Triangles, one gray stars 3½" square, and one taupe dot 3½" square. Four of these units are constructed in total.
• Taupe Dot Flying Geese Units: These are created by drawing a diagonal line from corner to corner on the wrong side of 3½" gray stars squares, then placing them atop taupe dot 3½" x 6½" rectangles with right sides together, sewing on the drawn line, trimming with a ¼" seam allowance, and pressing. This process is repeated on both sides of the rectangle to complete each Flying Geese Unit. Four Taupe Dot Flying Geese Units are made in total.
• Gray Stars Flying Geese Units: Constructed using the same Flying Geese method, but with 3½" red scallop squares placed atop gray stars 3½" x 6½" rectangles. Four Gray Stars Flying Geese Units are produced.
• Half Square Triangles (HSTs): A foundational quilting unit used within the Four-Patch Units, created by pairing fabric squares and sewing diagonally to yield two mirrored triangle units.

Techniques Used

This pattern draws on several well-established quilting techniques that intermediate quilters will recognize and refine through this project:

• Half Square Triangle (HST) construction — a cornerstone of patchwork quilting, created by drawing a diagonal line and sewing two contrasting fabric squares together
• Flying Geese construction — a classic technique using one rectangle and two smaller squares to create a pointed, directional unit; here executed using the draw-and-sew method for precision
• Four-Patch assembly — combining four individual units into a single larger square block
• Pressing for accuracy — the pattern emphasizes pressing seams after each step to maintain flat, accurate piecing
• Sewing with right sides together — standard throughout all construction steps
• Accurate trimming — excess fabric is trimmed after sewing on drawn diagonal lines, maintaining consistent seam allowances

Stitches and Sewing Methods

• Straight stitch — used throughout for all seaming and piecing
• Diagonal sewing on a drawn line — the primary method for constructing both Half Square Triangles and Flying Geese units, requiring careful marking on the wrong side of fabric squares before stitching

Fabric Requirements and Materials

The pattern specifies fabrics from the Riley Blake Designs collection, with each fabric identified by name and colorway. The required fabrics are:

• Green main (C3370 Green) — 7/8 yard (90