Let the Friday Fun begin!  EQ Mini may be a smaller version of the full blown Electric Quilt software, but it is packed full of versatility and possibilities.  This cute baby quilt is a great example of a simple but stunning design you can make yourself.  This pattern uses a pack of 5 inch charm squares so it is easy to cut out as well.  Each EQ Mini design project I share will include skill builders to help you work with the different components of the EQ Mini Software.  This is a great beginning project for a new EQ Mini user.

Charming Baby Quilt

Skillset: Beginner

Size: 40.5” x 40.5”

Skill Builders:

  • Working with horizontal layout
    • Editing a 48” horizontal medallion
    • Working with borders
      • Inserting a border
      • Using a block border

Let’s get started designing together!

  1. Open EQ Mini. 
  2.  If it asks you to take a quick tour, click Close.
  3. Read the tip of the day and click Close.
  4.  Let’s start by naming the Project.  The project name will appear at the very top of the EQ Mini Window.  Right now the project says Untitled.  On the top toolbar click the Save button.   The Save As box will display. 
  5.  Save your project file in the default folder which is projects.   Hint: You can then find it under Documents > My EQ Mini > Projects later.  Now in the file name box type Charming Baby Quilt.
  6. Click Save.  The box will close.  Notice the project name Untitled has been replaced with Charming Baby Quilt.Select the Quilt Style
  7.   On the Blue Start New Quilt Tab, select the Horizontal Layout.
  8.  Select the  48” Horizontal Medallion.  It should be in the bottom right corner.  If you move the mouse and hover over the layouts, it will tell you the name of them.
  9.  Select the Orange Adjust Layout tab.  The layout palette will display.
  10.  We want to keep the single center block, so keep the number of horizontal and vertical blocks at 1.
  11. Check the box to keep the width and height equal.
  12.  To make the center block the right size so that we can arrange the charm squares in the border later, we will adjust the center block width and height from 48” to 29.5”.
  13.  There is no sashing, so leave it at zero.
  14. Select the Green Edit Borders Tab
  15.  We want to add a small border on the outside of our large center block.  Select Border 1 of 1.
  16.  Leave the border style as Long Horizontal and the Size to 1” wide.  All adjustments will be at 1”.
  17.  We are now going to add the charm square border.  Click Add under Select Border to add 2 of 2 borders.
  18. Under Select a Border Style, change from Long Horizontal to Blocks.
  19.  Under Lock Size adjustments, check ALL.  Use the sizer bar to change all sides to be 4.5”.(This is your 5” charm square minus the seam allowances.)
  20.  Update the number of blocks in the border to 7 horizontal and 7 vertical. (The corner blocks don’t count.)   On to the design!
  21.  Select the Orange Design Quilt tab.
  22.  Under Sketchbook blocks, click to open the library to select more blocks.
  23.  Add any block to the sketchbook. Once it is added, right click on the block, select Add plain block.
  24.  Click and drag the plain block to the center of the quilt.
  25.  Close Sketchbook blocks.
  26. Click the Paintbrush tool    on the right hand toolbar.
  27.  Using  the fabrics and colors, color your quilt design.  Select the fabric or color and then click on the area you want to color on the quilt.
  28. Once you have the coloring how you like it, save the quilt design to your sketchbook. 

Congratulations, you have designed a charming baby quilt.

Bonus

Now that you have your design, you may want to check out the following Tips and Help Articles to get ready to sew up your lovely design.

How to print the fabric yardage estimates required to piece the top

How to print the cutting instructions

Ready to Quilt?

Now that you have designed this in EQ Mini, why not stitch up this super easy baby quilt?  You can find a detailed tutorial to stitch this quilt on my blog at Lori Miller Designs.
Charming Baby Quilt Sewing Tutorial

Questions or Feedback?

I hope you find these tutorials helpful and I welcome your questions and feedback.  Just share in the comments.  Thanks!

Lori J. Miller lives in Troy, Michigan, where she designs, stitches and sews quilts and quilty things. She loves experimenting with fun colors and designs to make playful and clever products for the modern stitcher.  Sewing since age 11, Lori has deep roots in sewing and quilting traditions that add a unique dimension to her designs.  She loves designing using Electric Quilt 7, Electric Quilt Mini and EQ Stitch.  You can follow her quilting adventures on her blog at lorimillerdesigns.com or on instagram @lorimillerdesigns