Is a rail fence quilt good for beginners?
Yes. A rail fence is one of the best first quilts because every seam is straight and every piece is cut from a strip. There are no triangles, no bias edges (stretchy diagonal edges) and no points to match. You only need a rotary cutter, a ruler, a mat and a sewing machine that can sew a steady ¼" seam.
It is also fast. You sew long strips together into strip sets, which are strips joined side by side. Then you cut the sets into blocks. A baby quilt can be pieced in an afternoon and a throw in a weekend. Once the blocks are made, you can turn them into many layouts. The same pile of blocks can become a zigzag, a basket weave or a pinwheel.
For more first-quilt ideas, see free quilt patterns for beginners.
How much fabric do you need for a rail fence quilt?
A three-rail throw of 88 six-inch blocks (48" × 66") needs 1¼ yards of each of the three fabrics. A baby quilt needs ½ yard of each, a twin 2⅜ yards and a queen 3½ yards. Each strip set uses one 2½" strip of each fabric. With about 42" of usable width, each set gives six blocks. These numbers match the Patchwork Quilt Builder, which plans the same fifteen 2½" strips per fabric for a throw.
The sizes below are the Patchwork Quilt Builder’s size presets, rounded to the nearest whole number of 6" blocks. Yardage includes 10% extra and is rounded up to the next ⅛ yard.
| Size | Finished size | Blocks | Strip sets | 2½" strips per fabric | Yardage per fabric | Binding |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baby | 36" × 36" | 36 (6 × 6) | 6 | 6 | ½ yd | 4 strips, ½ yd |
| Throw | 48" × 66" | 88 (8 × 11) | 15 | 15 | 1¼ yd | 6 strips, ⅝ yd |
| Twin | 72" × 90" | 180 (12 × 15) | 30 | 30 | 2⅜ yd | 8 strips, ¾ yd |
| Queen | 90" × 108" | 270 (15 × 18) | 45 | 45 | 3½ yd | 10 strips, ⅞ yd |
How do you make a rail fence block step by step?
To make a rail fence block, sew three strips together along their long edges and press. Then cut the strip set into squares as wide as the set is tall. With 2½" strips, the strip set is 6½" tall, so you cut 6½" squares. Each one is a finished block.
- Cut 2½" strips across the width of each of your three fabrics. Trim off the selvages, the tightly woven edges of the fabric.
- Decide the order of the rails, for example dark, medium, light. Keep the same order in every strip set.
- Sew the first two strips together along one long edge with a ¼" seam. Then sew the third strip to the second.
- Sew each new seam in the opposite direction to the one before (top to bottom, then bottom to top). This stops the strip set curving into a bow.
- Press the seams toward the darkest strip. The strip set should measure 6½" tall.
- Straighten one end of the strip set. Cut it into 6½" squares. You get six blocks from each strip set.
- Check each block is 6½" square. Trim if needed.
How many strips go in a rail fence block?
Most rail fence blocks have three or four strips, but any number works as long as the block comes out square. The finished widths of all the strips must add up to the finished size of the block.
| Rails | Finished block | Cut strip width | Cut block size |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 6" | 2½" | 6½" |
| 4 | 6" | 2" | 6½" |
| 3 | 9" | 3½" | 9½" |
| 4 | 8" | 2½" (jelly roll) | 8½" |
| 5 | 10" | 2½" (jelly roll) | 10½" |
What are the different rail fence layouts?
Rail fence blocks can be turned into at least eight layouts. Lay out all your blocks first and try a few before you sew. In the Patchwork Quilt Builder, draw one block from three long rails and save it. Stamp it across the grid, then press R on any block to rotate it.
1. Zigzag. Alternate horizontal and vertical blocks, and turn each one so the darkest rail always meets the darkest rail of the block before it. The dark rails join into zigzags running across the quilt. This is the classic rail fence.
2. Basket weave. Alternate horizontal and vertical blocks in a checkerboard without worrying where the dark rail falls. The blocks look like strips woven over and under each other.
3. Stair steps. This is like the zigzag, but each row starts one block later. The zigzags turn into steps climbing across the quilt.
4. Pinwheel. Group four blocks around a center point, each turned a quarter turn from the one before. The rails spin around the center. Repeat the group of four across the quilt.
5. Straight furrows. Turn the blocks so the dark rails line up along the diagonals, making long diagonal stripes from corner to corner.
6. Stripes. Turn every block the same way. The rails join into long unbroken stripes, which is a good way to show off a big print in the middle rail.
7. Bricks. Turn every block the same way but shift every other row by half a block. The seams no longer line up and the quilt looks like a brick wall.
8. Sashed. Put a 1" or 1½" strip of background fabric between the blocks. Any of the layouts above looks calmer and more modern with sashing.
How do you choose colors for a rail fence quilt?
For a rail fence, the order of value matters more than the colors you pick. Choose a clear light, a medium and a dark, and keep them in the same order in every block. That steady step from light to dark is what makes the zigzags and pinwheels appear.
If two of your fabrics are close in value, they will merge into one wide rail and the layout will look muddy. Check by taking a photo of your fabrics in black and white. A scrappy rail fence works if every strip in the "dark" position is darker than every strip in the "light" position. More in quilt color palettes.
- Sea Glass#A7D9CF · #DDEFE9 · #5E9C95Try it on a quilt
- Kiln Fire#250E05 · #621808 · #941E0B · #BD3B0A · #F5A922Try it on a quilt
- Lavender Sachet#2A1E45 · #5E5690 · #A08AC0 · #BC99C7 · #E2B4CFTry it on a quilt
How do you finish a rail fence quilt?
Finish a rail fence the same way as any quilt. Add borders if you want them. Then layer the top with batting and backing, quilt it, and bind the edges. Because the rails already make strong lines, simple quilting works best.
Straight lines are the easiest choice. Stitch right in the seam lines, called stitching in the ditch, or ¼" away from them. You can also quilt diagonal lines across the whole top. Both work on a home machine with a walking foot, a presser foot that moves all three layers through evenly. Wavy lines are also good, since they soften the zigzags without fighting them.
A border is optional. A plain border in the darkest rail fabric frames the quilt and hides any small differences in block size at the edges. Without a border, choose a binding that matches the outermost rails, or one that contrasts with all of them.
- Press the finished top and trim any loose threads.
- Cut backing and batting at least 4" larger than the top on every side.
- Layer backing (right side down), batting, then the top (right side up). Baste the layers, which means holding them together, with safety pins or basting spray.
- Quilt straight lines with a walking foot, working from the center out.
- Trim the batting and backing even with the top.
- Sew 2½" binding strips together, fold in half, and sew to the front. Turn to the back and stitch down.
Can I design a rail fence quilt online?
Yes. Patchwork’s Quilt Explorer does not have a rail fence pattern yet. Bunting Bars and Stacked Stripes are both strip-pieced, so they make good starting points. Or draw your own in the Quilt Builder. Set a grid with 2" squares. Merge three squares in a row to make each 2" × 6" rail, and stack three rails into a block. Save the block, stamp it, and rotate every other block with R.
Then try Shuffle colors in step 4. The "Rows" look lines the colors up across the quilt. The "Diagonal" look shows how your palette works in a stair-step layout. Step 5 gives you the strip counts and yardage, and step 6 prints the pattern.
For more strip and square patterns, see the quilt patterns guide.
Questions
- How many strips do you need per rail fence block?
- Most rail fence blocks use three or four strips. Three 2½" strips make a 6" finished block. Four 2" strips make the same 6" block with narrower rails. The strips added together must equal the finished block size.
- Can I use a jelly roll for a rail fence quilt?
- Yes. Jelly roll strips are 2½" wide. Four strips sewn together make an 8" finished block, which measures 8½" before it is sewn into the quilt. Each strip set gives four blocks from 42" of usable width. A 40-strip jelly roll makes 10 strip sets, or 40 blocks. That is enough for a 40" × 64" quilt, 5 blocks across and 8 down.
- What size should rail fence blocks be?
- Rail fence blocks are usually 6" to 9" finished. Smaller blocks make a busier quilt with more zigzags. Larger blocks are faster to sew and show off big prints. 6" blocks from 2½" strips are a good default.
- How long does it take to make a rail fence quilt?
- A baby rail fence (36 blocks) can be cut and pieced in an afternoon. A throw takes a weekend for the top, plus time to quilt and bind it.