If you’re familiar with my quilt patterns, you probably know that I love to offer options. I honestly can’t help myself - it might be a compulsion. Even once I’ve just about completed a quilt pattern, I’ll be playing around and stumble upon a new way to orient blocks, use pre-cuts, or arrange colors for a completely different quilt, and I’m convinced that it’d be a crime to not share this option with you, the maker.

Well, the Currents quilt turned out to be no different. While the Currents quilt pattern itself offers a number of options already, there was another late-stage discovery as I was wondering what could be done using fat quarters. Because, well, who doesn’t love a good, ol’ fashioned, fat quarter friendly quilt?

For this throw-sized, FQ-friendly version of the Currents quilt, there’s a bit of a catch: the fabric requirements are tight - enough that, while it’s definitely doable and I really wanted to share about this option, I determined it would be an “off-pattern” version. Especially since fat quarters can end up being smaller than their stated, standard size, there is really minimal wiggle room. Fabric-thrifty, waste-minimizing makers rejoice!

So, if you don’t mind meager (ahem, frugal! precise!) cutting margins and a little extra “Frankenstein” piecing, let’s dive in!

To make a throw-sized, scrappy, FQ-friendly Currents quilt top, here’s what fabric you’ll need:

12 fat quarters, each ideally measuring at least 18” x 21” without the selvedge
- I used this gorgeous kit from Lamb & Loom (which includes generously cut FQs for a bit more margin)
7/8 yd of fabric for border background

Make sure you have the Currents quilt pattern in hand! Want a confidence boost? Get the Currents on-demand workshop.

Cutting template pieces from your fat quarters

Since it’s going to be tight, we want to really minimize the fabric we use to cut out our main template pieces. This will help us maximize what is left to make our final C piece from each fat quarter.

Step 1. Press each of your 12 fat quarters to get out any deep creases.

Step 2. Divide your fat quarters into two groups of six: Group 1 will be used for cutting out two sets of A pieces (A-1, A-2, and A-3), and Group 2 will be used for cutting out two sets of B pieces (B-1, B-2, and B-3).

Step 3. Take one of your Group 1 fat quarters, and lay it face-up, with its length running horizontally.

Step 4. Lay all three A templates (A-1, A-2 & A-3) down in the bottom right corner of your fabric piece (as shown in the photo below) so that they closely nest, leaving as much room along the top of your fat quarter and as little discard in between templates as possible. When really cozied up together, all three templates together should only take up about 10” of width and 16” of height on your fat quarter.

Tip! If you have all six templates printed out, you can use your B templates face-down (as shown in the photo below) to visualize how all six template pieces will fit onto your fat quarter, and what fabric will be left for scraping together your C piece.

Step 5. Trace all three A templates as you have them laid out.

Step 6. Lay the same three A templates on the remaining fabric to ensure they fit - again, maximizing remaining, in-tact fabric along the top of your fat quarter. See photo below for how I oriented my second set of A templates. Trace all three A templates again, as you have them laid out. Cut out all (6) traced pieces. You should have (2) A-1, (2) A-2, and (2) A-3.

Creating the C piece from fat quarter remnants

From remnants, we will need to create a C piece. Depending on the size & shape of your remnants, you may be able to cut a full 3" x 5½“ C piece, in which case you can skip ahead to step 10! Otherwise, we’ll need to “Frankenstein” our C piece, which means sewing up to (4) pieces together in order to create a full C piece.

Step 7. From your fat quarter remnant, find areas of fabric that are at least 3" wide (ideally, 3¼" to allow for some wiggle room). Cut as tall of 3" wide rectangles as you can.

3 horizontal pieces, when lined up right next to each other along their widths, need to measure at least 6½" (ideally 6¾" or more)
4 horizontal pieces, when lined up right next to each other along their widths, need to measure at least 7" (ideally 7¼" or more)

You may find it easier to find narrower, vertical pieces. In this case, find areas of fabric that are at least 5½” long (ideally 5¾” to allow for some wiggle room) - this option is shown in the fifth picture below.

3 vertical pieces, when lined up right next to each other along their lengths, need to measure at least 4" (ideally 4¼" or more)

Step 8. Sew together these pieces along their widths (or lengths, if opting for vertical pieces - see far right photo below), ensuring all pieces line up along one edge.

Step 9. Trim your sewn unit to 3" x 5½“. This is your C piece.

Repeat steps 3-9 above with your remaining Group 1 fat quarters. Then, repeat with your Group 2 fat quarters, using B templates to cut pieces B-1, B-2 & B-3 from this group.

Cutting border pieces

Step 10. From your border fabric, cut out the Fabric 1 pieces under Border Option 1: Standard on page 6 of the pattern. The only difference is that you will cut two C pieces instead of the stated three. See the diagram to the right for a recommendation of how to fit all border pieces on your fabric (WOF is shown horizontally).

Finishing your quilt top

Now, with all your pieces cut, you’re ready to make your Currents quilt, using the pattern itself! I recommend, if you have the space, to start out by laying out all of your pieces to get an idea of how they will come together and to play around with color placement before sewing your sub-blocks together.

Once you’ve got a plan and are happy with your layout, you can follow the steps in the pattern to:

Make Sub-blocks A & B
Trim your sub-blocks
Assemble Blocks A & B
Join blocks into the main quilt top
Create & add your Standard border (page 14)

Curious about other variations of the Currents quilts? Check out more possibilities with this versatile pattern!

Making the Currents Quilt with Fat Quarters

Wayfinder Quilt - The Scrappy Version