The log cabin quilt block has a rich history, dating back hundreds, if not thousands, of years, but its graphic quality and unexpected turns make it ripe for modern interpretation. In fact, this Fine Line Log Cabin Quilt was probably more inspired by the minimalist masters of the 20th century than by any historic pattern or heirloom quilt.

Fine Line Log Cabin Quilt | Purl Soho

With its graphite-colored pencil-thin lines, this Quilt is like an artist’s sketch come to life. And with a surprising asymmetrical construction, it is equal parts dramatic and subdued, traditional and modern, bold and nuanced.

Fine Line Log Cabin Quilt | Purl Soho

To get started on your own, pick up the below listed materials for our Fine Line Log Cabin Quilt, and make this beautiful quilt that holds the weight of history but that has its feet firmly in the present! -Corinne

Fine Line Log Cabin Quilt | Purl Soho

Materials

Fine Line Log Cabin Quilt | Purl Soho

To make your own Fine Line Log Cabin Quilt you will need…

Fabric for the Quilt Top

  • Fabric A: 1 ¼ yard of Moda’s Muslin, 200 Count in Natural, 90 inches wide
  • Fabric B: 1 yard of Robert Kaufman’s Essex in Ivory, 43 inches wide
  • Fabric C: ¼ yard of Robert Kaufman’s Premium Kona Cotton in Jet Black, 44 inches wide
  • Fabric D: ½ yard of Robert Kaufman’s Denim, 6.5 Ounce, Black Washed, 56 inches wide

Fabric for the Quilt Back

  • Fabric E: 2 yards of Robert Kaufman’s Rustica Chambray in Black, 57 inches wide

Fabric for the Binding

Plus

  • Two 274-yard spools of Gutermann’s Cotton Sewing Thread in color 1040
  • One 274-yard spool of Gutermann’s Cotton Sewing Thread in color 1001
  • Quilter’s Dream Cotton Batting, Request loft, Twin size

You will also need …

  • Purl Soho’s Rotary Cutting Tool Kit, which includes …
  • A walking foot for your sewing machine

Size

Finished Dimensions: 54 inches wide x 60 inches tall

Notes

Prewash all of the fabric but not the batting.

All seam allowances are ¼ inch.

Unless otherwise noted, press all seam allowances toward the lighter side of the seam.

Pattern

Cut

Note: If you’re new to rotary cutting, please refer to our Rotary Cutting Tutorial before you start.

For the Binding

From Fabric A, cut three 2 ¼-inch strips from selvage to selvage and then trim off the selvages. Put these aside until the Binding section of the pattern.

For the Quilt Top

You will piece the Quilt Top from lots of long strips cut at varying widths. Cut the strips from selvage to selvage and then trim off the selvages. The exact length of each strip will vary from fabric to fabric.

From Fabric A cut …

  • Five 4 ½-inch wide strips
  • Five 2 ½-inch wide strips
  • Trim a 2 ½ x 8 ½-inch piece off of one of the 2 ½-inch strips. This is Piece A (the remaining length of the strip goes along with the rest of the 2 ½-inch wide strips).

From Fabric B cut …

  • Five 4 ½-inch wide strips
  • Five 2 ½-inch wide strips

From Fabric C cut …

  • Four ¾ x 21-inch strips. Cut each of these strips in half width-wise for a total of 8 strips, each measuring ¾ x 10 ½ inches.

From Fabric D cut …

  • Twenty ¾ x 55-inch strips. Cut four of these strips in half width-wise for a total of 24 strips, sixteen measuring ¾ x 55 inches and eight measuring ¾ x 27 ½ inches.

Piece the Fabric Strips

Note: You will piece the entire Quilt Top with rights sides together and a precise ¼-inch seam allowance. Use the color 1040 Cotton Thread and your machine’s ¼-inch foot, if you have one.

Sew the 4 ½-Inch Strips

Sew a short end of one 4 ½-inch Fabric A strip to a short end of one 4 ½-inch Fabric B strip, so that you have one very long strip. Press the seam allowances open.

Now sew a short end of another 4 ½-inch Fabric A strip to the Fabric B end of the long strip you just sewed. Press the seam allowances open.

Continue to sew all of the 4 ½-inch strips together in this manner, alternating between Fabric A and Fabric B, until you have sewn together all of the 4 ½-inch wide strips into one long strip.

This strip is the Size 1 Strip.

Sew the 2 ½-Inch Strips

Sew all of the 2 ½-inch strips together in the same manner, seaming across the short ends, alternating between Fabric A and Fabric B, and pressing the seams open. (Do not attach Piece A to this long strip. Keep it set aside for later.)

This strip is the Size 2 Strip.

Sew the 3/4-Inch Strips

Note: We used the lighter side of Fabric D as the right side of the fabric for the long strips and the darker side of Fabric D as the right side for the short strips.

Sew an end of a long ¾-inch Fabric D strip to an end of a short Fabric D strip. Press the seam allowances open.

Sew an end of another long Fabric D strip to the short-strip end of the strip you just sewed together. Press the seam allowances open.

Now sew an end of a Fabric C strip to the end of the most recently attached strip. Press the seam allowances open.

Continue to piece the ¾-inch strips following this pattern: 1 long Fabric D strip, 1 short Fabric D strip, 1 long Fabric D strip, 1 Fabric C strip, until you have sewn together all of the ¾-inch wide pieces.

This is the Accent Strip.

Sew the Size 1 Strip to the Accent Strip

Sew the Size 1 Strip and the Accent Strip together, seaming along their long sides. Trim off the excess length of the Accent Strip. Remember to press the seam allowance toward the lighter side of the fabric.

Sew the Size 2 Strip to the Accent Strip

Sew the Size 2 Strip and the Accent Strip together, seaming along a long side of the Size 2 Strip and the Accent Strip’s remaining long side. Press the seam allowance.

Piece the Quilt Top

Note: After each seam, press seam allowances toward the lighter side of the seam.

Begin

Fine Line Log Cabin Quilt | Purl Soho

Fine Line Log Cabin Quilt | Purl Soho

With its right side facing up, lay Piece A out flat so that its short sides run along the top and bottom.

Now with its wrong side facing up and the Accent Strip running along the top, lay the Size 1 Strip on top of Piece A so that their left and top sides are aligned.

Pin the two pieces together along the top and cut the Size 1 Strip to align with the right edge of Piece A.

Sew the two pieces together along the top pinned side.

This is the beginning of the Quilt Top.

Continue

Fine Line Log Cabin Quilt | Purl Soho

With its right side facing up, orient the Quilt Top as shown above.

Fine Line Log Cabin Quilt | Purl Soho

With its wrong side facing up and the Accent Strip running along the top, lay the Size 1 Strip on top of the Quilt Top so that their left and top sides are aligned.

Pin the two pieces together along the top and cut the Size 1 Strip to align with the right edge of the Quilt Top.

Sew the two pieces together along the pinned edge.

Fine Line Log Cabin Quilt | Purl Soho

With its right side facing up, orient the Quilt Top as shown above.

Fine Line Log Cabin Quilt | Purl Soho

With its wrong side facing up and the Accent Strip running along the bottom, lay the Size 2 Strip on top of the Quilt Top so that their bottom and left sides are aligned.

Pin the two pieces together along the bottom edge and cut the Size 2 Strip to align with the right edge of the Quilt Top.

Sew the two pieces together along the pinned edge.

Fine Line Log Cabin Quilt | Purl Soho

With its right side facing up, orient the Quilt Top as shown above.

Fine Line Log Cabin Quilt | Purl Soho

With its wrong side facing up and the Accent Strip running along the left side, lay the Size 2 Strip on top of the Quilt Top so that their top and left sides are aligned.

Pin the two pieces together along the left side and cut the Size 2 Strip to align with the bottom edge of the Quilt Top.

Sew the two pieces together along the pinned edge.

Fine Line Log Cabin Quilt | Purl Soho

You have now made it all the way around the quilt block once and should be able to see the log cabin shape taking form.

Continue in this manner, always attaching the Size 1 Strip to the top and right side of the block and the Size 2 Strip to the bottom and left sides of the block.

Fine Line Log Cabin Quilt | Purl Soho

If you lose track of where you are in your rotation of the block, remember that you always attach your next piece on the side that has two seams.

Fine Line Log Cabin Quilt | Purl Soho

Continue until there are 9 strips pieced out from each side of Piece A.

Baste

Make a quilt sandwich and pin-baste the Backing, batting and Quilt Top together. For instructions on how to do all this, please check out our Pin-Basting Tutorial!

Note: Because of the seaming on this particular Quilt, you may find it helpful to spray the Quilt Top with a light mist of water as you’re basting. This will help make the fabric more flexible as you lay the seams straight and make the edges square.

Quilt

Now it’s time to quilt all the pieces together!

We quilted our Fine Line Log Cabin Quilt “in the ditch” of the seams in a spiral pattern, starting at the center of the Quilt and radiating out on all sides.

Stitching “in the ditch” means to sew right beside the seam on the side without the seam allowances pressed under it, i.e. the lower or “ditch” side. In this case, the ditch of the seam is on the darker fabric.

Using thread color 1001 and your machine’s walking foot attachment, start quilting at the first seam of the log cabin block (the seam joining Piece A to the first strip).

Fine Line Log Cabin Quilt | Purl Soho

Moving from left to right, sew in the ditch of the seam that runs across the top of Piece A until the quilting line hits the next seam.

Fine Line Log Cabin Quilt | Purl Soho

With the needle down, lift the presser foot and pivot the quilt so that you are now stitching in the ditch of the seam that runs down the right side of Piece A.

Sew until the quilting line hits the next seam.

Fine Line Log Cabin Quilt | Purl Soho

Pivot the quilt so that you are now sewing from right to left, along the bottom end of Piece A. Sew until the quilting line hits the next seam.

Fine Line Log Cabin Quilt | Purl Soho

Pivot the quilt so that you are now sewing up the left side of Piece A. Sew until the quilting line hits the “T” stop of the next perpendicular seam.

Fine Line Log Cabin Quilt | Purl Soho

Continue to quilt in this manner, creating a continuous spiral that covers the surface of the quilt. Use the illustration above as a guide.

When you’ve finished, trim the batting and Backing along all four sides so that they align with the Quilt Top.

Bind

Use the Binding strips you cut from Fabric A to bind the Quilt with double fold binding. For instructions on how to do this, please check out our Making Double Fold Binding and Sewing on Double Fold Binding tutorials!Fine Line Log Cabin Quilt | Purl Soho