Garden Spools Quilt: Stitch a Row of Whimsy and Threaded Charm -

Hello friends! This is Jennifer Long from Sew A Story. As someone who finds joy in both sewing and storytelling, I love projects that feel playful but still grounded in traditional quilting. The Garden Spools Quilt is one of those special projects.

This quilt features nine oversized spools, each filled with scrappy thread segments and topped with blooming appliqué. It’s a mix of piecing and appliqué, with rhythmic strip construction that gives you time to settle into your sewing and enjoy the process.

The finished quilt measures 60 ½” x 87″ and is traditionally pieced with fusible appliqué. It’s a great fit for intermediate quilters who want to explore texture, color, and a bit of floral whimsy.

Designed to Celebrate the Sewing Life

The Garden Spools quilt was designed using prints from my Thimbelina and Sewing Fairies fabric collections with Riley Blake Designs. These fabrics bring texture, sparkle, and a gentle storytelling quality to each spool.

Each block features a unique color story for the “thread,” with charming accents like vines and flowers wrapping around the spools. You can follow the layout shown in the pattern, or mix and match your favorite prints to create something more eclectic.

Whether you’re a quilter who collects spools or someone who simply loves floral designs, this quilt is a joyful tribute to making things by hand.

What You’ll Need

According to the fabric chart in the pattern, the quilt uses a variety of prints from the Thimbelina and Sewing Fairies collections, including:

C16864-CLOUD Dotty for the background (2 ¾ yards)
CD16861-NECTAR Sewing Fairies and C16864-RAIN Dotty (1 yard each)
CD16861-HONEY and MIST Sewing Fairies (½ yard each)
Confetti Cottons in MAPLE, BRICK, PALOMINO, CROCODILE, and GOLDEN (1/8 to 7/8 yard each)
Several additional 10″ squares and scraps for flower and stem appliqué

You’ll also need batting, binding, lightweight fusible web, and either 2 yards of wideback or 5 1/3 yards of standard backing fabric.

A Quilt That Grows Like a Garden

One of the things I love most about this design is the way the appliqué brings the quilt to life. The flowers peek out between the thread rows, twist around the spools, and grow up from the corners. It’s as if your favorite notions took root in the garden and started to bloom.

Whether you follow the pattern exactly or create your own bouquet of blossoms, this project is a reminder of how creative energy can grow from even the smallest scraps.