Design a sweet and cheerful snowman pillow, wall hanging or door quilt with this snowman block pattern from Sophie Tarrant. Easy enough for quilting beginners, this winter quilt block pattern is fat quarter friendly and can be made with fabric scraps as well. Complete your snowman quilt block with the addition of cute buttons and hand-stitched embroidery details.
Skill Level: Beginner
Finished Size: 12-1/2” x 12-1/2” (to make a 12” block once complete)
Seam Allowances: 1/4”
Designer Note: While we’ve given suggestions for jazzing up your snowman, you can decorate him however you like – you could add a knitted hat appliqué, give his scarf some tassels, or even stitch some jangly bells to make him chime whenever he moves. Experiment and most of all – have fun!
Materials:
- Fabric: White cotton, pale blue cotton, and red cotton, one fat quarter of each; Plus, a scrap of orange cotton, at least 2” square
- Fusible webbing: A scrap, at least 2” square
- Sewing thread: White
- Two small purple buttons
- Three wooden star buttons
- Seven small black beads
- Embroidery floss: Brown
- PDF Diagram – This is located at the bottom of this page. Please see printing instructions below.
Tools:
- Rotary cutter and mat
- Scissors
- Pencil
- Iron
- Ruler
- Water-erasable fabric pen
- Pins or clips
- Sewing machine
- Needle
PRINTING INSTRUCTIONS:
Note: To download the diagram, click on the pattern download button at the bottom of the page. We recommend opening your pattern download using Adobe Acrobat.
Cutting Instructions:
Cut your fabric pieces, as follows:
From the white cotton, cut:
- One 1-1/2” square
- Five 2” squares
- Two 1-1/2” x 3-1/2”
- One 1-1/2” x 5-1/2”
- One 2-1/2” x 5-1/2”
- One 3-1/2” x 4-1/2”
- One 2-1/2” x 3-1/2”
From the blue cotton, cut:
- Three 2” squares
- Two 1-1/2” x 4-1/2”
- Two 3” x 12-1/2”
- Two 2” x 7-1/2”
From the red cotton, cut:
- Four 2” squares
- One 1-1/2” x 2-1/2”
- One 1-1/2” x 3-1/2”
Sewing Instructions:
- We’ll begin by using the 2” squares to construct several half-square triangles (HSTs). To make your HSTs, take two squares of different colors (either white and blue, or white and red – more on that below) and place them together with right sides facing. Use a ruler to draw a diagonal line across the shape from corner to corner, then two parallel lines, each a 1/4” out from the central line. Work a straight machine stitch down each of the outer lines. Cut along the central line to split the work into two triangles. Open each triangle out along the seam and press to reveal two finished HSTs – it’s as simple as that! Repeat these steps to make all of your HSTs, then trim each one down to exactly 1-1/2” square using a rotary cutter. You need to make six white/blue HSTs, and four white/red ones.
- Take two of your white/red HSTs and place them together with right sides facing, taking care to check their alignment using the photos and quilting diagram provided. Stitch them together along the top edge, leaving a 1/4” seam allowance, then open the fabric up and press flat. Repeat to join the remaining two white/red HSTs together in a mirror image of the first two. Stitch one of the white 1-1/2” x 3-1/2” pieces and the matching red piece together along one long edge. Lastly, sew the HST blocks along each side of the longer pieces, again making sure to check the quilting diagram for placement guidance.
- Join the 2-1/2” x 5-1/2” white piece to the top edge of the block you just created. Next, sew two of the white/blue HSTs to the side edges of the remaining 1-1/2” x 3-1/2” white piece, mirroring the shapes on either side as before. Join this strip to the top of the large white piece you just attached.
- Stitch another white/blue HST to the bottom of each of the 1-1/2” x 4-1/2″ strips, as pictured, then join these to the side edges of the block you’ve been working on. Open the fabric out and press flat – you’ve now created the upper half of your snowman!
- Now, to create the bottom half. Stitch the white 1-1/2” square to the bottom edge of the 1-1/2” x 2-1/2” red piece with the right sides facing. Add the 3-1/2” x 4-1/2” white piece along the left-hand edge, then add the 2-1/2” x 3-1/2” white piece to the right-hand edge.
- Stitch the bottom half of your snowman to the top half with right sides facing, making sure to match the seam lines as neatly as possible across the block.
- Lay your remaining white 1-1/2” x 5-1/2” piece out flat with the right side facing upwards. Add the last two white/blue HSTs along the side edges. Open the fabric out and press flat, then join this strip to the bottom edge of the work to complete the main body of the snowman block.
- It’s now time to add some border pieces. Lay the block out flat with the right side facing up. Take one of your 2” x 7-1/2” blue pieces and lay it neatly on top of the block with the right side facing down, aligning the top edges of both layers. Stitch into position, then repeat to add the second 2” x 7-1/2” blue piece along the bottom edge. Finally, add the 3” x 12-1/2” blue pieces to the side edges of the block in the same way.
- It’s now time to decorate your snowman and give him some character! Hand stitch two small purple buttons onto his face to create eyes, then add seven small black beads beneath to create a smiling mouth. Back a scrap of orange fabric with fusible webbing, then cut out a carrot nose and stitch it above the mouth. Finally, stitch three wooden star buttons to the snowman’s chest.
- Last of all, we’re going to give our snowman some arms. Use a water-erasable fabric pen to draw a stick arm on either side of his body, then work over each one by hand in chain stitch, using a sharp embroidery needle and two strands of brown floss. Secure the thread at the back of the work. Your snowman is now complete!
