Start a quilt

Turn a photo into a quilt

Give the English paper piecing shelf a photo and it's turned into a quilt of pieces in solid colors. Choose free shapes that follow the picture, or hexagons, diamonds and other shapes repeated across it, and how many colors it uses.

Where to find it

Design → English paper piecing → Start from a photo (first on the shelf)

Start from a photo
A poinsettia photo turned into an English paper pieced throw: the live preview redraws it in hexagons, then diamonds, then free shapes, and Start designing lays it on the design wall

How to do it

  1. Open Design and choose English paper piecing on What do you want to make?
  2. Press Start from a photo, first on the shelf, and choose a picture. JPG and PNG both work.
  3. Under Shape, choose Free shapes to follow the picture, or Hexagons, 60° Triangles, Diamonds or Tumblers to repeat across it.
  4. Under Colors, choose how many solids it uses; fewer colors make a simpler quilt. Free shapes also have Detail, Contrast and more for how the pieces fall.
  5. Choose the size, then press Start designing. The picture it came from shows beside the preview, so you can compare.

Good to know

  • A photo with a clear subject and a plain background makes the cleanest quilt.
  • Every piece is its own patch, so you can recolor any of them on the design wall, or swap a solid for a print.
Who can use it
Free, no account needed
Where it works
Web studio · iPhone & iPad

This guide answers

  • Can I make a quilt from a photo?
  • How do I turn a picture into a quilt pattern?
  • Can I make a portrait quilt of my dog?
  • How do I turn my photo into hexagons?
  • How do I use fewer colors in my photo quilt?
  • Can I upload an image and make a quilt from it?