Patterns By Jen

Patterns By Jen Quilt patterns and quilting tips

06/18/2026

Choosing the right thread color for quilting can sometimes bring your beautiful project to a screeching halt. Especially if the fabrics greatly vary in hue, saturation and pattern. In today's 2 Minute Tips with PBJ I quickly share how I audition threads for quilting. And which threads are my go to if I want them to "disappear." Comment Thread and I will DM a link to the video.

Don't let your beautiful piece end up in the UFO pile because you can't decide on thread. 💜

06/16/2026

My number one tip for pressing nice straight seams? Finger pressing. It is one extra step, but makes such a difference in getting nice accurate units and blocks.

Use a hot iron on the seam first, then (carefully, because it's hot) finger press the seam. Once you've given it a good finger press come back and set it with your iron. Nice straight seams ready to match up nicely and become a beautiful quilt.

06/16/2026

Early morning stippling anyone? I had two small pieces to do so I sandwiched both on a large piece of muslin and switched thread in between.

Threads from Hab+Dash by Fil-Tec
Glide: Nickle
Glide: Linen

🌈 The Monthly Color Challenge block for June dropped on the first. A simple block built from the humble half square tria...
06/15/2026

🌈 The Monthly Color Challenge block for June dropped on the first. A simple block built from the humble half square triangle unit. It comes together quickly so you can get back to your summer activities.

Each block comes with a how to video to walk you through first cut, first trim and final stitch. Have you joined in the fun? It's free. 😉

https://patternsbyjen.blogspot.com/2026/06/june-2026-monthly-color-challenge.html

06/10/2026

I love strip piecing, it's such a time saver. When I first started quilting, though, and had to sub-cut those strips, they would inevitably end up with cuts that were angled. Why?

Because I was lining up my ruler with the outside of the strips. Those were (are) going to be a little wavy and off, simply because they are on the outside. That seam in the middle though? That is nice and straight and it will keep your cuts straight, too. We're still going to line up the measurement needed on the straight edge, but we're going to make sure that cut is perpendicular to the seam. Now our cuts are straight all the way down the strip.

If you haven't been sub-cutting your strip pieced units this way, I'd love for you to try it, and then let me know if you see a difference.

🌈 The June block for the Monthly Color Challenge is here and it was designed with speed in mind, because here in South D...
06/08/2026

🌈 The June block for the Monthly Color Challenge is here and it was designed with speed in mind, because here in South Dakota we have a small window of time to enjoy the warmth and I need to be out there. 😉

The how to video included in this month's instructions includes a full tutorial on trimming the Half Square Triangles (HST) in this block. If you have been tempted to join in, but have been nervous about learning something new, this is a great block to start with.

https://patternsbyjen.blogspot.com/2026/06/june-2026-monthly-color-challenge.html

Thank you forthe beautiful fabrics for this year's Monthly Color Challenge quilt. Whisper Weave and Whisper Weave Too provide so much depth and color, they are a great addition to any quilt studio.

This week's challenge was the Axolotl. Confession. I thought these were like unicorns, but I found out a couple years...
06/06/2026

This week's challenge was the Axolotl. Confession. I thought these were like unicorns, but I found out a couple years ago when my son gave his niece a stuffed axolotl, that they are real. Huh. Who knew. Not me. 🤣🫠🤷‍♀️ They are so cute, but in extreme danger of extinction out in the wild. 🙁

This is just my second time joining in this challenge from . There isn't a lot of fun drawing time in my days, so I don't get too deep into the art of these, but I definitely enjoy taking a little time to make art without a purpose. 💜

🌈 The June block for the 2026 Monthly Color Challenge has arrived and that means we are officially half way though the ...
06/02/2026

🌈 The June block for the 2026 Monthly Color Challenge has arrived and that means we are officially half way though the challenge. Whoop whoop! There is absolutely no pressure to keep up, but I hope you are getting your free block each month and saving them for a rainy day, because they will make a beautiful quilt.

This month is my all time favorite quilting unit, the half square triangle (HST). Trimming these babies truly brings me to my happy place. Each month the instructions include a how to video, and that includes how to trim each quilty unit, using your every day quilting ruler, no specialty rulers needed. I love a specialty ruler as much as the next quilter, but sometimes we just don't have them available. That's why we use rulers you will already have.

Shout out to for sponsoring the 2026 Monthly Color Challenge with their Whisper Weave and Whisper Weave Too fabric lines. This month I used Slate and Cloud.

Get all of the information for the June block on the PBJ blog:

https://patternsbyjen.blogspot.com/2026/06/june-2026-monthly-color-challenge.html

🌈 June 1st a new block drops for the Monthly Color Challenge! Who is ready? More fabric goodness from , more quilty ski...
05/30/2026

🌈 June 1st a new block drops for the Monthly Color Challenge! Who is ready? More fabric goodness from , more quilty skills to work on, another pretty block to add to the collection. How can you not be excited? 😉

Don't forget to get May's block and then get set for a new month.

For the first time I'm joining the art challenge. Big cats is this week's challenge. This is my little attempt at a bi...
05/28/2026

For the first time I'm joining the art challenge. Big cats is this week's challenge. This is my little attempt at a big cat. Meow! 🐯

Address

2385 McClellan Drive
Huron, SD
57350

Telephone

+15078280170

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Patterns By Jen posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Establishment

Send a message to Patterns By Jen:

Shortcuts

Share

Category