Villager Quilt - Suzy Solids Version

Villager

Mar 26

Written By Chelsea Le Bouton

The greatness of a community is most accurately measured by the compassionate actions of its members.

— Coretta Scott King

Design Inspiration

I’ve given a lot of thought lately to the importance of community. What are we without our relationships and connections? After all, we are social creatures and need each other to survive, let alone thrive. The Villager quilt is inspired by the importance of coming together to lend a helping hand, and of being able to lean on one another. The design reflects how “villagers” link arms and surround their community members in times of need. It is a call to embrace our shared humanity and responsibility to care for our fellow villagers, in ways both big and small.

I really adore this quote by Coretta Scott King, which I think articulates this idea so nicely:

The greatness of a community is most accurately measured by the compassionate actions of its members.

There is no more potent example of this for me than seeing the way that my parents’ friends, loved ones, and local community circled the wagons when my mom became terribly ill. Homemade meals, friendly visits & phone calls, and help with airport dropoffs all helped to lighten the load. A dear friend even spent hours decorating their home for the holidays just to keep my mom’s spirits up - a gesture I will never forget and revealed the compassion of that community.

Villager Quilt Pattern (Download)

$14.00

The Villager quilt is inspired by the importance of coming together to lend a helping hand, and of being able to lean on one another. The design reflects how “villagers” link arms and surround their community members in times of need. It is a call to remember our shared humanity and responsibility to care for our fellow villagers, in ways both big and small.

This versatile design, while looking complex, has simple, standard construction and is a quick sew.

10% of all sales of the Villager pattern through 9/24/23 will be donated to UNICEF to provide shelter, safe water, medical care, protection & psychosocial support to children and families affected by the earthquake in Morocco.

More about the Villager pattern:

Skill Level: Advanced Beginner to Intermediate, and difficulty depends on which variation you are making. While only basic quilting skills are required for any variation, each involves its own level of organization and attention paid to ensure color placement is accurate. From easiest to hardest is: Two-Tone, Standard, then Scrappy.
Tips provided for handling blocks’ bias edges
Instructions for Wall, Baby, Throw, Twin, Queen & King sizes included
Instructions for three variations: Two-Tone, Standard & Scrappy (fat quarter friendly)
Yardage width-of-fabric & fat quarter cutting diagrams help with efficient cutting and get you sewing sooner, with labels to help keep you organized
Coloring sheet to help get you started, with sample mockups for inspiration
Downloadable PDF

Interested in kits? Find them at the following shops:

For online shops interested in selling this PDF pattern, please see the Pattern Licensing Page for more information.

Maker credit:

Longarm quilting by Wild Phil Quilting

All fabrics in the quilts pictured are by Art Gallery Fabrics

Details & Techniques

The Villager quilt pattern is rated Advanced Beginner to Intermediate, with difficulty depending largely on the variation you choose. The sewing techniques themselves are approachable and beginner-friendly, relying on standard piecing and construction.

Where the pattern becomes more advanced is in organization and color placement. Each variation requires thoughtful layout and careful attention to fabric positioning to achieve the intended visual effect. From simplest to most intricate, the variations are: Two-Tone, Standard, and Scrappy. The Scrappy version is especially rewarding for more confident quilters and is fat-quarter friendly, making it a great stash-busting option. This particular quilt is the scrappy version!

The pattern includes six sizes - Wall, Baby, Throw, Twin, Queen, and King - offering flexibility whether you’re sewing a quick weekend project or a full bed quilt. Though the finished design has a bold, complex look, construction is straightforward and efficient, making Villager a satisfying and surprisingly quick sew.

Fabrics

Suzy’s Duval and Signature Solids had recently released, and to say I was eager to get my hands on some is an understatement! To be honest, this color combo felt a bit quirky for me (or, outside my personal wheelhouse), but I am so pleased with how they came together.

The quilt top is all Suzy Quilts’ Art Gallery Fabrics Pure Solids:
- Background: Pearl
- Block version a:
  - Color 1: Nova
  - Color 2: Snapdragon
  - Color 3: Thistle
  - Color 4: Queen Bee, Spiced, Honeymoon, Glacier, & Shrimpy
- Block version b:
  - Color 1: Spiced,
  - Color 2: Honeymoon
  - Color 3: Glacier
  - Color 4: Shrimpy
The backing is Boho Birds in Nova - a wideback from the Duval collection. I absolutely love a large-scale, bold backing print to contrast a more subtle, all-solids top. And, any day that I get to skip piecing a backing is a good day :)
Binding is AGF Pure Solids Ginger; I often like to choose a binding that is just a shade darker than the background of the front - for me, it seems to frame the quilt design without distracting.

Be sure to check out all the different versions of this pattern for more inspiration!

Quilting

This was quilted by Wild Phil Quilting, using the Sunrise Skateland pantograph by Julie Hirt. I wanted to use double batting mostly because I was worried that the high-contrast backing would show through the light background of the top. However, I was not prepared to fall so in love with the delicious texture that extra loft gives this quilt!