MEMBERS ONLY: To gain full access to the Half Yard Club projects please login or sign up

Quilt Block Keeper | Patchwork Storage Bag Sewing Pattern

Quick Links: What you'll need Project steps

Keep your patchwork pieces organised with Debbie Shore's handy quilt block file.

Suitable for beginners, let's make a quick and easy quilt block file. You can store blocks of up to about 12in (30.5cm) square in this quilt block keeper, and of course you can fold larger blocks inside if you wish. It’s particularly useful for projects that take a while to make, such as EPP (English Paper Piecing), or to store your blocks from our Block of the Month projects until you are ready to sew them together. The pages are made from wadding/batting so the fabric pieces ‘stick’ to them and don’t fall out: I’ve used an 80/20 wadding, a lovely cotton and polyester blend, but polyester wadding would work well too.

I’ve used a simple 12in (30.5cm) Churn Dash block on the cover, but it might be nice to use one of your own blocks if you have a favourite. If making the Churn Dash block, you’ll need two fabrics with a good contrast plus a small amount of fabric for the heart in the centre. For the printed fabric, a small, non-directional print works best. For the block keeper in the video, I’ve used a different colour for the half-square triangle corners, in fabrics that match the quilt I’m working on, and I’ve used a lighter fabric for the background which combine to give it a very different look!

I’ve left the back of the folder plain, but you could make up a second block for the back cover if you wish.

Note: Use a ¼in (5mm) seam allowance throughout.

Finished size: 14½ x 14½in (37 x 37cm)

MEMBERS ONLY: To gain full access to the Half Yard Club projects please login or sign up

You will need:

Equipment

• Sewing machine with a standard foot and ideally also with a ¼in (5mm) sewing foot 
• Rotary cutter, quilter’s ruler and cutting mat 
• Fabric shears 
• Basting spray: I use 505 
• Optional: fabric clips 
• Optional: chalk fabric marker 

Materials

• 20 x 10in (51 x 25.5cm) of printed fabric: mine is pale grey and green 
• 25 x 24in (63.5 x 61cm) of background fabric: mine is teal 
• 16 x 33in (40.75 x 84cm) of lining fabric: since this is used for the handles as well as the lining, choose something you are happy to have on show, or use more of your printed fabric for the handles instead 
• 5 x 10in (12.75 x 25.5cm) of fabric for the heart: mine is plain red 
• Four pieces of ¼in (5mm) wide ribbon, each 12in (30.5cm) long 
• 45 x 60in (114.5 x 152.5cm) of wadding: this is sold as crib size  

Cut:

• 7½in (19cm) square of background fabric for the patchwork block 
• 4½in (11.5cm) square of background fabric for the patchwork block 
• 19 x 2½in (48.25 x 6.5cm) strip of background fabric for the patchwork block 
• 7½in (19cm) square of printed fabric for the patchwork block
• 19 x 2½in (48.25 x 6.5cm) strip of printed fabric for the patchwork block 
• Two 13 x 2in (33 x 5cm) strips of background fabric for the border of the block 
• Two 16 x 2in (40.5 x 5cm) strips of background fabric for the border of the block 
• Two 15 x 4in (38 x 10cm) strips of lining fabric for the handles 
• Four 13 x 26in (33 x 66cm) rectangles of wadding for the pages: this will make eight pages (16 sides) 

MEMBERS ONLY: To gain full access to the Half Yard Club projects please login or sign up