Cardinal Quilt
Finished community quilt, shared by QuiltNTime, 31 October 2026
by QuiltNTime
Cardinal Quilt by QuiltNTime is a finished quilt in the Quiltler community: 33" × 44" (about a baby quilt), 6 blocks, 172 pieces and 7 fabrics on a straight grid, shared 31 October 2026.
At a glance
- Finished size
- 33" × 44" (about a baby quilt)
- Blocks
- 6 blocks
- Pieces
- 172
- Fabrics
- 7
Watch it being made
How it's made
A red crest, a black mask and an orange beak, perched on a snowy branch.
Cardinals stay all winter instead of migrating, and the bright red ones are the males.
A little orange goose, turned on its side, makes the beak. Sew it to a black mask and a red square.
Round both top corners of a red strip and sew it above the face, with a blue square over the beak.
A red corner on a blue square makes the crest. Sew it between blue strips.
Sew blue either side of the head, then the crest row on top.
A red corner shapes a darker wing. Sew it behind the red chest, then blue corners round his breast and back.
A cranberry corner on a blue rectangle makes the tail, carrying his back down to the branch.
Stack the bird on a strip of snow and a brown branch, with blue top and bottom.
Side by side, the branches join into long snowy perches.
Save this for the cut list. Design your own quilt like this at quiltler.com.
About this quilt
A cardinal on a snowy branch, pieced from squares and rectangles: red crest, black mask, orange beak and a cranberry wing, with no curves or templates. 14½ × 13½″ unfinished (14 × 13″ finished).
CUT • Frosty blue: five 1½″ squares, three 2½″ squares, one 3½″ square, one 4½″ square, two 3½ × 2½″, one 5½ × 2½″, one 7½ × 2½″, one 6½ × 3½″, two 14½ × 1½″ • Red: three 2½″ squares, one 4½ × 1½″, one 3½ × 4½″ • Cranberry: one 4½″ square, one 2½″ square • Black: one 2½″ square • Orange: one 2½ × 1½″ • White: one 14½ × 1½″ • Brown: one 14½ × 1½″
MAKE • Beak: blue 1½″ squares on the top corners of the orange 2½ × 1½″ (a flying goose); turn it to point left and sew it to a black 2½″ and a red 2½″ • Head: blue 1½″ squares on both top corners of the red 4½ × 1½″; sew a blue 1½″ to its left, then sew it above the face • Crest: a red 2½″ square on the bottom right corner of a blue 2½″ (stitch and flip); sew between blue 5½ × 2½″ and 7½ × 2½″ • Blue 3½″ left of the head, blue 6½ × 3½″ right; the crest row on top • Body: a red 2½″ on the bottom left corner of the cranberry 4½″ wing; sew the red 3½ × 4½″ chest to its left; blue 2½″ squares on the bottom left and top right corners • Tail: a cranberry 2½″ on the bottom left corner of a blue 3½ × 2½″, blue 3½ × 2½″ above; sew blue 4½″, body, tail • Join head, body, white 14½ × 1½″ snow, brown 14½ × 1½″ branch, with blue 14½ × 1½″ top and bottom
TIP: sew the blocks side by side and the branches join into one long snowy perch.
OTHER SIZES: for a cardinal twice as big, cut every piece at twice its size less ½″ (a 2½″ square becomes 4½″).
Have you spotted a cardinal this winter? 🐦
Make this quilt your own
Open the Cardinal Quilt quilt in the Quiltler studio — in your browser, or on iPhone and iPad — to recolour it and swap in your own fabrics. Saving a copy to edit, and downloading the pattern pack with the fabric list and cutting sizes, comes with a subscription.
Open Cardinal Quilt in the studio · Browse more community quilts