Butterfly Mini Quilt
Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Free Butterfly Mini Quilt Pattern! This bright and colorful butterfly mini quilt will brighten up your space with a splash of color. Whether you’re an experienced quilter or a novice ready to spread your wings, this project is a perfect blend of simplicity and charm.
It’s a super simple sewing project that can be completed in a short amount of time and is perfect for using up your scrap stash.
Butterfly Mini Quilt Pattern
At the start of the year, I began the task of decluttering my sewing space. I will say keeping it clean and everything in its place is an ongoing challenge. But now, the fun part begins!
After shifting around some of my furniture, I found I have a fairly large blank wall area that’s perfect for filling with a few of my mini quilts and random blocks. This butterfly mini quilt will be the first wall quilt to adorn the space. I can’t wait to add a few more colorful mini-quilts to the wall!
Why Make This Butterfly Mini Quilt
Quilt info
- Block size: 4.5 inches unfinished/4 inches finished
- Quilt Size: 20.5 x 20.5
- Time Required: About an hour for cutting, maybe 2 hours for piecing the butterflies, 30 minutes to sew all the blocks together, and another 1.5 hours to quilt and bind. You can definitely get this done over a weekend!
- Skill level: Advanced Beginner
Quilt variations
Although the provided pattern is for a simple mini quilt with no borders or sashing, there are so many ways to change it up!
You could also make it into a full-sized quilt using the 10-inch butterfly quilt block tutorial from my last post.
Quilting suggestions
So many quilting options for this tiny quilt!
- I quilted my mini quilt using a stipple template I found on Amazon. My free-motion skills are not the greatest, but the stipple template made it super easy and precise. The template comes in different thicknesses—1/4 inch for a long arm machine (which is what I used) and 1/8th inch for free-motion on a regular sewing machine. I love how it turned out! (See it in action here.)
- If using a walking foot on a standard sewing machine, a wide or narrow cross-hatch pattern would be great.
- If you are free-motion quilting on a regular sewing machine or long arm, a simple wavy line or circle/pebble pattern are great beginner-friendly options. (See my try at the circle pebble pattern on this pumpkin placemat.
Where Do I Get The Pattern?
The free Butterfly Mini Quilt pattern/template link is under the materials needed section. Click the link, add the pattern to your cart, and check out. (It takes about 15 seconds for the process.) A copy of the pattern will be emailed to you as well. (As long as you enter your email correctly – you would be shocked at the number of emails returned as undeliverable I get every day!)
Ready To Make The Quilt?
Read on for the fabric amounts, sewing instructions, and pattern templates.
Quilt Assembly/Sewing Tips:
- Press and starch fabric before sewing and cutting. Pre-pressing and starching help keep the fabric cuts straight.
- Don’t forget to check your seam allowance before starting to sew! Every time I start a project, I line my needle up using a seam allowance ruler. I also recommend this quarter-inch foot with the guide. (Just choose one that fits your machine.) You can use the seam allowance ruler with this foot, and once I have made the adjustment to my needle, the guide helps keep all my seams perfectly aligned.
- Use a scant quarter-inch seam allowance on the butterfly block.
- Make a practice block before using your good fabric. You will want to make sure you get your seam allowances just right. (The 4-inch block is small, so it is important to get the perfect scant quarter-inch seam allowance to get a 4.5-inch unfinished square.) Do keep in mind that you can always trim the block down just a smidge smaller if you need to, as long as you trim all the blocks to the same size.
- Squaring up your blocks: Do not skip the step of squaring up/trimming the blocks! The blocks are very small, and sometimes the snowball corners will throw them off a bit. Just trim them all to 4.5 inches.
Materials Needed
- Pattern
- Fabric (see amounts below)
- Basic quilting supplies (ruler, rotary cutter, iron)
Fabric Amounts needed
- Background Fabric: 2 fat quarters or 3/8 yard
- Butterfly Body: 1 fat quarter
- Butterfly Wings: Multiple scrap pieces or even a charm pack
- Backing: 3/4 yard or 22 x 22 scrap piece
- Binding: 1/3 yard
Butterfly Mini Quilt Sewing Instructions
Step One: Cut Out All Fabric Pieces.
Background fabric:
- 48 – 1.5 x 1.5 inch
- 24 – 1 x 1 inch
Butterfly Body Fabric:
- 12 – 1 x 3.5 inches
Butterfly Wing Fabric:
- 24 – 2.25 x 4.5 inches
Tips For Adding Snowball Corners
- When working with small squares, it helps to press them with spray starch. This keeps the squares from getting wonky and pulled out of shape when you sew.
- When making several snowball quilt blocks at a time, I like to use washable glue instead of pins to hold the small squares in place.
- Use a fine-tip pen or pencil to draw the diagonal line across the snowball squares. Another option, instead of drawing a line, is to fold the square on the diagonal and press it with an iron. The pressed line is a bit harder to see, but it is much faster when you have several blocks to make.
- When sewing the snowball corner square to the larger square, instead of sewing directly on the line, sew just along the outside edge of the line; that way, when you press the corner flat, it will line up better with the edges.
- Before trimming the snowball corners off, press the block flat to set the seam.
Step 2. Make the Butterfly Blocks
1. Assemble the butterfly body.
Sew the 1-inch background squares to each end of the 1 x 3.5-inch body strip.
Press the seams flat.
2. Assemble the wings.
First, using two of the 1.5-inch background squares, snowball the two inside corners of the butterfly wing.
To snowball the corners:
- Draw a line from corner to corner on one of the 1.5 by 1.5-inch squares. Line the square along the top right corner of the side of the 2.25 x 4.5-inch piece of fabric. Sew along the line you drew.
- Trim off the excess fabric.
- Press the corner flat with an iron and use a ruler to square up any wonky corners.
- Repeat for the other wing.
3. Assemble the butterfly.
Sew the two wings to the body. Take care to align the correct edge to the butterfly body. (I sewed mine on backward multiple times.
Press the bock flat and trim to 4.5 inches.
Step 3: Assemble the quilt
- Use the provided template to lay out the quilt pattern. (I love my portable quilt wall for this. It hangs right on my wall, so no more laying my quilts out on the floor! Even better, it folds up when not in use.)
- Sew your blocks together row by row with a quarter-inch seam allowance.
TIP: When sewing the blocks together in a row, I recommend sewing two blocks together at a time rather than one block after another. If you sew the rows together one after another, the straightness of your piecing can get off. - Sew rows together two at a time and then sew the remaining rows together.
Step 4: Quilt And Bind As Desired.
Refer to the fabric list above for backing and binding fabric requirements.
That’s it! You are done. What a perfect little wall quilt for Spring.
Share Your Finished Project!
Please leave a star ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating and/or a review in the comments section below. If you share an image on Instagram, be sure to tag me and use #scatteredmompatterns! You can also share an image to my private Facebook sewing group!
Don't miss any more posts!
Follow along on:
Feedly, Bloglovin', your favorite feed reader, or signing up via email and have new posts delivered to your email box each week!Butterfly Mini Quilt Sewing Instructions
This bright and colorful butterfly mini quilt will brighten up your space with a splash of color. Whether you’re an experienced quilter or a novice ready to spread your wings, this project is a perfect blend of simplicity and charm.
It’s a super simple sewing project that can be completed in a short amount of time and is perfect for using up your scrap stash.
Materials
- Pattern
- Fabric (see amounts below)
- Basic quilting supplies (ruler, rotary cutter, iron)
Instructions
Background fabric:
- 48 – 1.5 x 1.5 inch
- 24 – 1 x 1 inch
Butterfly Body Fabric:
- 12 – 1 x 3.5 inches
Butterfly Wing Fabric:
- 24 – 2.25 x 4.5 inches
Tips For Adding Snowball Corners
- When working with small squares, it helps to press them with spray starch. This keeps the squares from getting wonky and pulled out of shape when you sew.
- When making several snowball quilt blocks at a time, I like to use washable glue instead of pins to hold the small squares in place.
- Use a fine-tip pen or pencil to draw the diagonal line across the snowball squares. Another option, instead of drawing a line, is to fold the square on the diagonal and press it with an iron. The pressed line is a bit harder to see, but it is much faster when you have several blocks to make.
- When sewing the snowball corner square to the larger square, instead of sewing directly on the line, sew just along the outside edge of the line; that way, when you press the corner flat, it will line up better with the edges.
- Before trimming the snowball corners off, press the block flat to set the seam.
Step 2. Make the Butterfly Blocks
- Assemble the butterfly body. Sew the 1-inch background squares to each end of the 1 x 3.5-inch body strip. Press the seams flat.
- Assemble the wings. First, using two of the 1.5-inch background squares, snowball the two inside corners of the butterfly wing. To snowball the corners: Draw a line from corner to corner on one of the 1.5 by 1.5-inch squares. Line the square along the top right corner of the side of the 2.25 x 4.5-inch piece of fabric. Sew along the line you drew. Trim off the excess fabric. Press the corner flat with an iron and use a ruler to square up any wonky corners. Repeat for the other wing.
- Assemble the butterfly. Sew the two wings to the body. Take care to align the correct edge to the butterfly body. (I sewed mine on backward multiple times.Press the bock flat and trim to 4.5 inches.
Step 3: Assemble the quilt
- Use the provided template to lay out the quilt pattern. (I love my portable quilt wall for this. It hangs right on my wall, so no more laying my quilts out on the floor! Even better, it folds up when not in use.)
- Sew your blocks together row by row with a quarter-inch seam allowance.TIP: When sewing the blocks together in a row, I recommend sewing two blocks together at a time rather than one block after another. If you sew the rows together one after another, the straightness of your piecing can get off.
- Sew rows together two at a time and then sew the remaining rows together.
Step 4: Quilt And Bind As Desired.
- Refer to the fabric list above for backing and binding fabric requirements.
- That’s it! You are done. What a perfect little wall quilt for Spring.
