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$5 in April 2023: Cathedral Tile Quilt

Your new $5 pattern awaits… Cathedral! This one’s a stunner. Inspired by a fancy tile floor, this one takes your skill level up a notch with an intermediate technique classification. It uses a combination of beginner techniques (half-square triangle and easy corner triangles) and has a bunch of different pieces to keep track of.

Cathedral tile quilt PDF pattern by Lella Boutique. Fabric is Bloomington by Lella Boutique for Moda Fabrics. Beautiful custom quilting by Natalia Bonner

The Fabrics

The “Cathedral” tile quilt pattern was designed originally in 2019 as part of the Bloomington fabric collection. Over the weekend, I mocked it up anew in Country Rose fabrics. I arranged it in rainbow order and absolutely adore the outcome. I only realized after the fact something very important I neglected to consider…

Cathedral tile quilt by Lella Boutique. Cool rainbow quilt using Country Rose fabric. Download the PDF here.

The “Cathedral” tile pattern calls for (10) fat quarters, with each print color used 2x. Well I used (20) prints in the rainbow mockup. Logically, you’d *think* that (20) fat eighths would work – but it doesn’t. So, in order to use (20) prints like I did in the rainbow mockup, you would actually need (20) fat quarters (and have big scraps leftover). If you want to go this rainbow route, cut the following per fat quarter (referring to the pattern instructions for the particular cut specifications):

  • (2) “A” rectangles
  • (3) “B” rectangles
  • (4) “C” squares

The original scrappy charcoal version (below) uses (5) half-yards of assorted charcoal prints + Moda Bella “Lead” for the solid charcoal blocks. I used a skinny stripe print for the accent diamonds.

Cathedral tile quilt PDF pattern by Lella Boutique. Fabric is Bloomington by Lella Boutique for Moda Fabrics. Beautiful custom quilting by Natalia Bonner

I’ve even thought about an even simpler version – using just two prints. The mockup below simply uses Moda Bella “Lead” for the charcoal blocks AND accent diamonds. In place of fat quarters or half-yard cuts, I’d simple use 2-1/2 yards of a single print. (In this case, the blue “Magic Dot” print from Country Rose.)

Cathedral tile quilt by Lella Boutique. Cool rainbow quilt using Country Rose fabric. Download the PDF here.

No matter what, I always like to have a strong presence of charcoal with this one. (An all-charcoal version could be stupendous as well.) What are your thoughts on a design like this? Would you make it colorful, or lean towards a more simple combination? Let me know in the comments below.


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4 Comments

  1. dianne

    April 4, 2023 at 8:45 pm

    this truly is a stunner! i feel like it would take me the rest of my life to complete – kinda got a backlog – but what a way to go! i particularly like the idea of two shades of one color (maybe raspberry & fuchsia) against a white background. gorgeous.

    1. lellaboutique

      April 5, 2023 at 4:34 pm

      That sounds like a lovely color vision. And I hear you on being backlogged haha! Still won’t stop me from continually adding to the list. Thanks for the love, Dianne!

  2. Kathy Clayton

    April 11, 2023 at 3:10 pm

    I’m quite sure, no matter the combination of colors, this quilt would be a show-stopper. Sitting here thinking about the possibilities, I think my favorite (pictures only in my head, of course) and they are endless, would be the two shades of the same color family with the light background. I think I must make this very soon! Thanks for sharing you wonderful talent!

  3. Pam

    April 24, 2023 at 7:00 am

    Just when I think I have my next quilt pattern selected, I’m presented with another stunning possibility. Definitely leaning towards two shades of gray with a white background. Thank you for such a lovely and unique pattern.

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