The Quiltler Quilt Block Library

64 classic quilt blocks — every one built into the design studio, drawn here exactly as it appears in the app. Browse them, learn what each is for, then design with them in seconds.

Open the Design Studio

A quilt block is one repeating square of a quilt’s design — a Nine Patch, a Flying Goose, an Ohio Star. Piece the same block dozens of times, set them in a grid, and a quilt appears. These are the classics quilters have passed down for generations, and every one below is built into Quiltler’s Classics tab, ready to drop onto your design.

💡 How to use them: Open the design studio, switch on the Paint tool, and open Blocks → Classics. Click any block to load it into your brush, then click the quilt to stamp it down. It arrives in its own colours as ordinary pieces, so you can recolour, rotate or resize any part of it straight away — nothing is locked.

⭐ Star Blocks

The showstoppers — points radiating from a centre, built from triangles and geese.

Ohio Star

Intermediate

An eight-point star built from quarter-square points around a solid centre.

Also known as Variable Star

Friendship Star

Beginner

A simple, beloved star made from four half-square triangles.

Sawtooth Star

Intermediate

The classic star: four flying-geese points framing a plain centre.

North Star

Intermediate

A bold four-point star with flying-goose arms reaching to every edge.

Also known as Star and Geese

Sister's Choice

Intermediate

A scrappy five-grid star of squares and triangles.

Also known as Four X Star

🔺 Triangle & Sawtooth Blocks

Half- and quarter-square triangles and flying geese, the engines of movement in a quilt.

Half Square Triangle

Beginner

The workhorse unit — a square split corner to corner.

Also known as HST, Triangle Square

Quarter Square Triangle

Beginner

Four triangles meeting at the centre, the hourglass unit.

Also known as QST, Hourglass, Four Triangle Square

Half Rectangle Triangle

Intermediate

A half-square triangle stretched onto a 2:1 rectangle.

Also known as HRT

Flying Geese

Beginner

A directional triangle: one goose flanked by two sky corners.

Pinwheel

Beginner

Four half-square triangles spinning around the centre.

Broken Dishes

Beginner

Triangles turned so the darks tumble like scattered plates.

Dutchman's Puzzle

Intermediate

Eight flying geese wheeling in pairs around the block.

Chevron

Beginner

Two triangles forming a bold arrow — stack for zigzag rows.

Card Trick

Advanced

An optical-illusion block of woven, overlapping cards.

Windmill

Beginner

Triangles chasing the opposite way to a pinwheel's sails.

Birds in the Air

Beginner

A flock of small triangles filling half the block.

Northwind

Intermediate

Birds in the Air stepped across a larger grid — a stronger gust.

Yankee Puzzle

Intermediate

Four hourglasses turned so the darks pinwheel round the middle.

Double X

Intermediate

Triangles crossing the block twice for a strong double X.

Wild Goose Chase

Intermediate

Columns of flying geese repeated into a marching flock.

Split Nine Patch

Beginner

Every cell of a nine patch cut into one bold diagonal triangle.

Pinwheels

Beginner

Four little pinwheels set two by two, all spinning the same way.

Also known as Four Pinwheels

Double Pinwheel

Intermediate

Pinwheels with light and dark swapped — turning blades in a chequer.

Streak of Lightning

Beginner

Triangles all leaning one way stack into bold diagonal bolts.

Also known as Lightning, Zigzag

Zigzag

Beginner

Rows of triangles reversing lean to run a saw-toothed ribbon.

Also known as Rick Rack, Streak

Flying X

Intermediate

Triangles down both diagonals draw a crisp sawtooth X.

Also known as Crosses and Losses

Flock of Geese

Intermediate

A whole sky of geese, every cell a bird pointing up.

Also known as Wild Geese

Hourglasses

Beginner

A field of quarter-square hourglasses ranked into rows.

Ocean Waves

Intermediate

A calm centre square ringed by a churning border of triangles.

Lady of the Lake

Intermediate

A large triangle of shore meeting water along a sawtooth edge.

🧩 Patchwork Blocks

Squares, rectangles and chains — the friendliest place for a first quilt to begin.

Four Patch

Beginner

Four squares in a two-by-two grid — the simplest patchwork there is.

Double Four Patch

Beginner

Four patches paired with plain squares for a nested chequer.

Nine Patch

Beginner

The classic 3×3 grid and the perfect first patchwork block.

Disappearing Nine Patch

Beginner

A nine patch cut and re-sewn into a surprising new block.

Rail Fence

Beginner

Simple strips sewn side by side — turn them to weave a fence.

Split Rail

Beginner

Three rails with a contrasting centre stripe.

Brick

Beginner

Offset rectangles laid like a running-bond brick wall.

Also known as Running Bond

Shoofly

Beginner

Triangles at the corners and a solid centre — a homespun classic.

Churn Dash

Intermediate

Corner triangles and edge bars framing a centre — also Monkey Wrench.

Also known as Monkey Wrench, Hole in the Barn Door

Bear Paw

Advanced

Four clawed paws joined with sashing — bold folk-art charm.

Snowball

Beginner

A square with clipped corners to nestle beside pieced blocks.

Square in a Square

Beginner

A square set on point inside another — the economy block.

Also known as Diamond in a Square, Economy Block

Contrary Wife

Intermediate

A nine patch with triangle corners and its colours turned around.

Bow Tie

Beginner

Two squares and two triangles pinched into the knot of a bow tie.

Jacob's Ladder

Intermediate

Four patches and triangles climbing the block like rungs.

Plus

Beginner

A clean cross of five squares — a modern-quilt staple.

Also known as Cross

Basket Weave

Beginner

Bars at right angles so the block reads as woven strips.

Also known as Woven, Roman Square

Sixteen Patch

Beginner

A four-by-four chequer of light and dark squares.

Twenty-Five Patch

Beginner

A five-by-five postage-stamp chequer.

Also known as Postage Stamp

Double Nine Patch

Intermediate

A nine patch whose dark cells are each themselves a nine patch.

Single Irish Chain

Beginner

Squares corner to corner, tiling an unbroken lattice.

Also known as X Block

Double Irish Chain

Intermediate

The chain's companion, laying a double lattice of colour.

Trip Around the World

Intermediate

Concentric square rings rippling out from the centre.

Sunshine and Shadow

Intermediate

Diamonds of light and dark rippling out on point.

Spool

Beginner

A bar of thread top and bottom with the reel showing between.

Also known as Spools

Framed Square

Beginner

A single square held in a one-patch border.

Also known as Bordered Square

Puss in the Corner

Beginner

Solid patches in the corners and centre joined by a plain cross.

Roman Stripe

Beginner

Three colours stepped along the diagonal in clean bands.

Also known as Diagonal Stripes

Checkerboard

Beginner

A six-by-six chequer — the plainest there is.

Also known as Thirty-Six Patch

Amish Diamond

Beginner

A square on point filling the block, its points touching the edges.

Also known as Diamond in a Square

Concentric Squares

Beginner

Square rings alternating light and dark — a target squared off.

Also known as Bull's Eye

Maple Leaf

Intermediate

A leaf body with sky corners and a stem to the corner.

🪵 Log Cabin Blocks

Strips wrapped round a centre, endlessly re-set into secondary patterns across a quilt.

Log Cabin

Beginner

Strips wrapped around a glowing centre — the most versatile block there is.

Courthouse Steps

Beginner

A Log Cabin variation with logs added in facing pairs.

Design with all 64 blocks — free

Every block here is one click away in the Quiltler design studio. Stamp them onto your quilt, recolour with your own fabrics, calculate exact yardage, and export a printable pattern.

Open the Design Studio

How the block library works in the studio

  • Shared, not copied: the classics are one shared library everyone draws from, so common blocks like the Nine Patch aren’t duplicated into every account.
  • Editable on the quilt: a stamped block lands as separate pieces — change one triangle’s fabric without touching the rest.
  • Your own alongside the classics: the Mine and Community tabs hold blocks you draw and ones other quilters share.
  • Cuts too: the shapes inside a block — half-square triangles, curves, diamonds — live in a matching classic cut library.

Choosing a block by skill level

Every card above is tagged Beginner, Intermediate or Advanced. New to quilting? Start with a Nine Patch, a Four Patch or a Rail Fence — just squares and straight seams. Ready for triangles? Try a Pinwheel or Flying Geese. Want a challenge? A Bear Paw or Card Trick will reward the effort.

🎯 Planning tip: once you’ve chosen your blocks, use the fabric calculator for exact yardage and the quilt sizes guide to work out how many blocks your quilt needs.

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