Barn Quilt Patterns

Choose one of 17 traditional barn quilt designs, the size of your board and your paint colours, and print a painting plan. A barn quilt is a quilt block painted on a square board, usually 2 × 2 ft to 8 × 8 ft, and hung on a barn, a fence or a porch. Every block is drawn on its own grid from squares and triangles, the way the fabric block is pieced, so the lines you tape are straight and land on grid points. The plan numbers every patch with its colour, lists every tape line with its start and end in inches from the top left corner, and gives the area of each colour so you know how much paint to buy. For boards up to 4 ft you can also print the design at full size over several sheets, to trace onto the board. Nothing is uploaded.

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How to paint a barn quilt from a pattern

1. Choose a block and the size of your board.
2. Pick a paint colour for each number, or keep the block’s own colours.
3. Download the PDF: the painting plan, the tape lines and, if you want, full-size pages.
4. Prime the board, paint colour 1 all over, then draw the grid with a pencil and a straightedge.
5. Tape along the lines for one colour at a time, paint the numbered patches, let them dry and peel the tape.

What you can use it for

• A first barn quilt on a 2 × 2 ft board
• Community quilt trail boards
• Porch, fence and garden signs
• Classes and workshops: one plan per student
• Choosing colours before buying paint
• Matching a barn quilt to a fabric quilt block

The 17 barn quilt designs

#	Design	Grid	Grid square on a 2 ft board	Tape lines	Colours
1	Four Patch	2 × 2	12 in	2	2
2	Nine Patch	3 × 3	8 in	4	2
3	Ohio Star	3 × 3	8 in	8	3
4	Friendship Star	3 × 3	8 in	8	2
5	Sawtooth Star	4 × 4	6 in	12	3
6	Shoofly	3 × 3	8 in	8	2
7	Churn Dash	3 × 3	8 in	12	2
8	Dutchman’s Puzzle	4 × 4	6 in	20	3
9	Jacob’s Ladder	6 × 6	4 in	16	2
10	Economy Block	4 × 4	6 in	8	3
11	Rail Fence	6 × 6	4 in	10	3
12	Log Cabin	12 × 12	2 in	20	3
13	Bear’s Paw	7 × 7	3.429 in	36	3
14	Flying Geese	8 × 8	3 in	74	3
15	Pinwheel	4 × 4	6 in	8	3
16	Broken Dishes	4 × 4	6 in	14	2
17	Snowball	6 × 6	4 in	18	3

Tape lines are counted for the inside of the board (the board edge is not taped). Fewer lines and colours make a quicker first barn quilt.

Board sizes and grid squares

Board	Inches	3 × 3 grid square	4 × 4 grid square	6 × 6 grid square	Full-size pages (Letter)
1 × 1 ft	12 × 12 in	4 in	3 in	2 in	4
2 × 2 ft	24 × 24 in	8 in	6 in	4 in	12
3 × 3 ft	36 × 36 in	12 in	9 in	6 in	20
4 × 4 ft	48 × 48 in	16 in	12 in	8 in	42
6 × 6 ft	72 × 72 in	24 in	18 in	12 in	measurements only
8 × 8 ft	96 × 96 in	32 in	24 in	16 in	measurements only

Mark the grid first with a pencil and a long straightedge; every corner of every patch is on a grid point or at the centre of a grid square.

Paint area example: Ohio Star on a 2 × 2 ft board

Paint	Area	Square feet	Share of the board
Colour 1	384 sq in	2.67 sq ft	66.7%
Colour 2	128 sq in	0.89 sq ft	22.2%
Colour 3	64 sq in	0.44 sq ft	11.1%

For a fabric version of the same block with a cutting chart, see Quilt Block Patterns.

Which tool to use

You want	Use
A painting plan for one block on a board	Barn Quilt Patterns (this page)
The same blocks in fabric, with a cutting chart and templates	Quilt Block Patterns
A whole fabric quilt with sashing, borders and yardage	Quilt Pattern Maker
Any big picture printed over several sheets	Poster Tiler

Also handy: the Quilt Pattern Maker for a full quilt and the Poster Tiler for other large prints.

Frequently asked questions

What is a barn quilt?

A single quilt block painted on a wooden or composite board and hung on the outside of a barn, house or fence. Quilt trails link barn quilts across a county so visitors can drive from one to the next.

What size should a barn quilt be?

2 × 2 ft is a good first board and reads from a porch or a garden. Barns are often 4 × 4 ft or 8 × 8 ft so the pattern can be seen from the road. The grid squares on the plan get bigger with the board, so bigger boards are not harder.

Which designs are easiest for beginners?

Blocks with few, large patches: Four Patch, Nine Patch, Shoofly, Friendship Star and Economy Block. Stars with many small triangles, Flying Geese and Bear’s Paw take more taping.

What are the tape lines?

Every straight line where two colours meet, joined into the longest runs. Each one is listed with its two end points in inches, measured from the top left corner (across, then down). Our tests check that every edge between two patches is on exactly one tape line.

How much paint do I need?

The plan gives the area of each colour in square inches and square feet. Check the coverage on your paint can, and allow for two or three coats. The colour areas add up to the whole board (tested).

Can I print the pattern at full size?

Yes, for boards up to 4 × 4 ft. Each page shows one tile of the board at real size with a dashed trim line; trim on the lines, butt the tiles together and tape them, then trace or transfer the lines. Bigger boards use the measurements instead.

Which board should I use?

Exterior-grade plywood or an aluminium composite sign board, primed on every side and edge. Use exterior paint, and seal the edges so water does not get in.

Are these the traditional blocks?

Yes. Each design follows the traditional quilt block of that name (Ohio Star, Churn Dash, Bear’s Paw…) and we checked each drawing against a published block diagram. Colours are up to you.

Is it free?

Yes. There is no sign-up, no watermark and no limit.

Is anything uploaded?

No. Everything is drawn by JavaScript in your browser and nothing is sent anywhere.