Easy Rainbow On-Point Charm Pack Quilt
This On-point Charm Pack Quilt is my easy version of making an on-point quilt – with no setting triangles required!
Full disclosure this was my first ever on-point quilt and I designed it myself, which perhaps is why I ended up with a layout that didn’t require me to calculate or cut setting triangles (I will explain what these are below if you aren’t familiar with them – don’t worry!).
This quilt is a fun rainbow-colored quilt suitable for a toddler or young child to drag around the house and make dens with. It is larger than a traditional baby quilt but smaller than a twin-sized bed quilt.
Enjoy!
Table of Contents
Fabric Requirements
This quilt is 50″ x 44.5″ finished. Great as a gift for a baby or small child.
- (45) 5″ Black Charm Pack Squares – I used a variety of leftover squares from other projects. (This is the background fabric to the top of the quilt – you can substitute another color of course if you don’t like black.)
- (17) 5″ Pink Charm Pack Squares in a variety of prints and solids.
- (16) 5″ Purple Charm Pack Squares in a variety of prints and solids.
- (17) 5″ Blue Charm Pack Squares in a variety of prints and solids.
- (16) 5″ Green Charm Pack Squares in a variety of prints and solids.
- (17) 5″ Yellow Charm Pack Squares in a variety of prints and solids.
What is an On-Point Quilt?
An On-Point Quilt is one where the blocks are turned on a 45 degree angle and sewn into rows that run diagonally across the quilt rather than straight up and down like a straightforward horizontal layout.
Many traditional quilts are made on point and it can make even a very simple quilt look fancier.
Because the rows are sewn together diagonally ‘setting triangles’ are usually used and the beginning and end of each row so that when it all comes together the quilt top is still a rectangular shape. Without them, you would have very jagged-edged quilt!
However – I am a cutting corners kind of a quilter so that is exactly what I decided to do for my very first on-point quilt.
I am dispensing with the setting triangles and instead, I am trimming off that ‘jagged-edge’ at the trimming stage after I’ve quilted it. The jagged edge I’m talking about results from the last square in each row being half a triangle longer than it needs to be.
See the images below to make sense of this:
Row Layout
These are simple charm pack squares, so unless you have chosen a directional fabric you don’t need to worry about which way your squares are turned you just need to sew your rows with the colors in the right order.
Because I am not using setting triangles and instead choosing to trim away the excess triangles at the end the 1st and last rows of your quilt will be just 1 charm pack square long. Which sounds odd, but it works!
There are 16 Rows in total.
Follow the guide & image key below to keep you right with which colors go in which rows and in which order!:
Row 1 (top left): (1) Black
Row 2: (3) Black
Row 3: (5) Black
Row 4: (1) Pink + (6) Black
Row 5: (3) Pink + (6) Black
Row 6: (3) Pink + (2) Purple + (6) Black
Row 7: (3) Pink + (3) Purple + (1) Blue + (6) Black
Row 8: (3) Pink + (3) Purple + (3) Blue + (6) Black
Row 9: (3) Pink + (3) Purple + (3) Blue + (2) Green + (4) Black
Row 10: (1) Pink + (3) Purple + (3) Blue + (3) Green + (1) Yellow + (2) Black
Row 11: (2) Purple + (3) Blue + (3) Green + (3) Yellow
Row 12: (3) Blue + (3) Green + (3) Yellow
Row 13: (1) Blue + (3) Green + (3) Yellow
Row 14: (2) Green + (3) Yellow
Row 15: (3) Yellow
Row 16 (bottom right): (1) Yellow
Piecing Instructions
Sew each row together (apart from rows 1 & 16 as they are single squares!) as shown using a 1/4″ seam allowance.
Next, join rows to each other offsetting the first square in each row by a 1/4″ inch. This is because there are no setting triangles therefore the first square in each subsequent row is 1/4″ longer than it should be for your seams to match up.
The hardest ones to get your head around will be row 1 & 16 so perhaps consider starting from the middle and adding rows on either side.
You want the seams of each row to nest so if you start nesting in the middle of two rows following the layout image above you should end up with the top edge of Row 9 (for example) ending 1/4″ longer than the seam before the final square in Row 8.
It is hard to explain in words but there is a video tutorial below you can refer to if nothing I am saying here is making sense!
Quilting & Finishing
Once your rows are all joined your quilt top is finished.
You will need to cut your batting backing slightly larger than usual to account for the final squares of each row.
Quilt as desired – I used a very simple loop design as I wanted to keep this quilt cuddly and not-over quilted as it is for a baby.
Once quilted use a large ruler with a square edge to help you trim away the excess triangles to leave you with a rectangular quilt.
Once trimmed your quilt should be approximately 50″ wide by 44.5″ long. A nice fun snuggly size for a young child.
Finished Quilt
Here is the finished quilt. I used flannel for the backing and a bright teal color for the binding.
For more backing ideas for quilts check out this post: 10 Quilt Backing Ideas – From Super Simple to Super Scrappy!
Rainbow On-Point Quilt Video Tutorial
If you struggled to follow the written instructions you might like my video tutorial version from YouTube. You’ll find it below.
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