Cirrus Quilt Pattern: Bold, Versatile, & Unique
The Cirrus Quilt Pattern is a modern block-based quilt pattern that features some traditional shapes. If you enjoy classic quilt piecing paired with a modern twist, the Cirrus quilt pattern is perfect for you! Let’s celebrate the launch of the Cirrus quilt pattern!
This pattern features Half Square Triangle quilt blocks that come together to make a bold Flying Geese quilt. The pattern includes 4 sizes and the option to make a strip-pieced gingham quilt or a scrappy version. You can make the scrappy version using 5″ squares, 10″ squares, Fat Quarters, or Half Yards.
See more about the Cirrus Quilt in this quick video:
This article contains affiliate links to some of my favorite quilting tools; the affiliate links allow me to make a small commission on purchases made after clicking on the links, but does not alter the shopping experience for you!
Cirrus Quilt Pattern Sizes
The Cirrus quilt pattern includes 4 complete sizes! The smallest size is Baby size and it easily goes up to bed size by adding more blocks.
- Baby Size: 34″ x 34″
- Lap Size: 51″ x 51″
- Throw Size: 68″ x 68″
- Bed Size: 94″ x 102″
One main component in the Cirrus quilt pattern design is a pieced Half Square Triangle block. The modern Half Square Triangles come together to form large flying geese shapes on your quilt.
Difficulty of the Cirrus Quilt Pattern
The Cirrus quilt pattern is for an intermediate quilter. If you’ve gotten the hang of a 1/4″ seam and are comfortable sewing on the bias, this pattern is perfect for you! If you’re still working to master some of those skills, you might consider the Connector Quilt Pattern as a great skill builder.
Alternatively, some of my pattern testers did describe it as beginner-level as well. So if you’re a confident beginner, it’s safe to give Cirrus a try! Just watch out for any fabric stretching while sewing & pressing on the bias.
Techniques in the Cirrus Quilt Pattern
The Cirrus pattern includes comprehensive step-by-step instructions filled with lots of diagrams to make both a gingham 3-color version or a scrappy version, which can use a wide variety of precut fabrics.
The gingham quilt version of Cirrus utilizes strip-piecing, which makes it very fast to make! The scrappy style utilizes 5″ squares, 10″ squares, or even fat quarters or half yards. Really, it’s a great way to use up fabrics in your stash!
Favorite Tools for Making a Cirrus Quilt
Whenever sewing fabric on the bias, I always recommend using Best Press. Best Press or an alternative to spray starch is helpful to keep your fabric from stretching while you are sewing or pressing. For best results, apply your starch to your fabric prior to pressing & cutting.
A ​large square ruler at least 9″ will be particularly helpful for making a Cirrus quilt. I personally get a lot of use out of my 12.5″ square ruler for making most quilt patterns and recommend that if you are buying a new ruler. A stripology ruler may be useful as well, but is not necessary or required.
If you have an AccuQuilt, you can use the 5″ strip die to cut out some of your pieces. Note: this pattern does not include AccuQuilt-specific instructions.
Using Pre-cuts for Making a Scrappy Quilt
If you have been quilting for a little while, there’s a good chance you may have impulse purchased some pre-cut fabrics! If I’m right about that, this pattern is a great way to show off those fabric collections that you fell in love with. You can make the scrappy version of the Cirrus quilt using 5″ squares, 10″ squares, Fat Quarters, or even a Half Yard bundle. See the full fabric requirements on the pattern to see if you have what you need on hand.
Inspiration behind the Cirrus Quilt Pattern
After making the Sprightly pattern, I knew I wanted to make something with bigger blocks that would come together quickly! I decided to make some very large flying geese blocks, but also wanted the pattern to be pre-cut friendly. This is where the pieced-half square triangles come into play!
While playing with the design on my computer, I colored in 1 block with 3 different shades of blue, and then used the copy & paste function to draw out the rest of the quilt. I had originally planned to color in each block with different colors, but ended up really liking the modern gingham-style that the copy/paste design created! Now the Cirrus pattern includes instructions for both a 3-color gingham version, which is strip-pieced, as well as scrappy & pre-cut friendly version.
Pattern Tester Quilt Variations
I had a few wonderful quilt pattern testers for the Cirrus quilt and I’m so excited to show you their versions!
I was so thrilled to see this baby gingham version of the Cirrus Quilt by Stephanie from @octoberinthewild. You can see she used a dark background fabric and 3 different monochromatic prints for the gingham design. Stephanie finished the quilt with some crosshatch quilting.
I was so thrilled to see what Patchwork and Poodles did with her Lap Size Cirrus quilt! Check out this beautiful gingham quilt top turned into a Patchwork Chore Coat!
Find out more about how to make your own Patchwork Cirrus Chore Coat.
Our friends at Rosie Girl Quilting made this vibrant lap size Cirrus quilt using bright fabrics for the scrappy flying geese and a dark background fabric to really make it pop.
This darling baby quilt was made by Ashley from @whalingcityquiltco using fabrics from BluPrint. This is a fun example of how this quilt looks with a print as the background fabric!
Katherine from @icklequilts shows off the “Not so white” charm pack with this scrappy style baby Cirrus Quilt. and check out her amazing hand quilting – the texture those big stitches add is amazing!!
Nicole from @littlesistersewing made this final scrappy baby Cirrus Quilt. This quilt is another fun example of using a bold background fabric and coordinating scraps for the flying geese sections.
Additional Versions for more quilty inspiration
I’ve personally made a few different Cirrus quilts, and will include more details about each of them up on my blog. Check them out at the links below as they get posted:
