The first version of my Waffles & Jam quilt pattern is the cover quilt for the pattern. It is a fat quarter friendly pattern, and I chose to use the Kona Cotton bundle called Melon Ball.
I liked the colours right away. They reminded me of waffles with jam, but in a lighter and slightly more modern palette. The warm peach tones became the waffles, the pink became the jam, and the two lightest ones represent sour cream. I wanted to add something with a little interest for the background, so I chose a white fabric with small black dots called Tiny Dots from Kimberbell Basics.
You'll actually have very little waste when using this bundle – every single fabric is used, and for the ones used for the waffles, you'll just be left with some tiny scraps.
The first “real” quilt pattern I wrote
This quilt also has a special place for me because Waffles & Jam was the first proper quilt pattern I ever wrote.
At the time I was still figuring out how I wanted my patterns to work. While sewing the quilt I realised that the block construction could actually be simplified quite a lot. I changed my original, more complicated design slightly so that the waffle block could be made from only two different units. That change made the instructions so much easier, and the quilt comes together faster, too.
(Oh, and by the way: This is the first quilt I ever longarmed myself! It was fun, but I bet you can tell I'm a first-timer!)
A beginner friendly quilt pattern
The waffle block is constructed from two simple units that are combined in different colour placements. The triangles are made using stitch n’ flip corners (also known as snowball corners), which is a quick technique many quilters already know.
Because of this construction the quilt is very approachable for beginners. The blocks are repetitive and satisfying to sew, and once you understand the two units the whole quilt comes together quickly.
The pattern is written as a throw size quilt made from 16 blocks (4 × 4 layout), but it is easy to change the size by adding more blocks.
A soft pastel version of the waffle quilt
This pastel version shows how the quilt looks when you keep the colours fairly calm and coordinated. Later I also made a scrappy version, which has a completely different look even though it uses the exact same pattern.
If you like modern quilts with simple blocks and clear graphic shapes, this pattern is a fun project to sew. And it's perfect for a fat quarter bundle, too!
If you want to read more about the waffle tradition, check out this blog post! (We Scandinavians even have a waffle day!)
You can find the Waffles & Jam quilt pattern in my shop.