One Quilt Pattern, Four Different Ways

May 19, 2025 • Tutorials

A modern quilted table runner from Sewn Handmade showcasing the Leaded Light quilt pattern in rust and peach on cream cotton, styled on a light wood floor with one flipped to reveal a peach-print backing.

Hello friends! Olivia from The Quilty VA here. I’m so excited to pop in as a guest again today - thank you for having me!

I've had my eye on Leaded Light Quilt for a long time. Even back in my quilt pattern writing days, I managed to design a quilt that looked pretty similar to this without even knowing it existed. If that's not proof enough that I love the design, I don't know what is! Leaded Light is such a versatile design for a quilt pattern - I love the different things you can do with color choice in the quilt.

Outdoor display of a Sewn Handmade modern quilt featuring the Leaded Light pattern in charcoal cotton with rust, taupe, cream, and lavender bars, held in front of a natural shrubbery backdrop.

BUY THE LEADED LIGHT QUILT PATTERN HERE

If you're anything like me, you'll know what it's like to love a quilt pattern so much that you just want it to be everywhere in your life. And you can only have so many quilts before it becomes a problem. Ha! The solution? Use the quilt pattern to create more than just quilts! I know it sounds a little scary, but trust me - it's way easier than you think. Plus it helps that there are lots of resources here on Sewn's website to guide you through the process. I can’t wait to share how one quilt pattern can become four totally different creations!

Block Tote Bag

A few years ago, there was a guest blogger on here who walked you through how to make a quilted tote bag. Kate used the Natural Harmony quilt pattern to create this super cute bag, but you can choose any quilt pattern you have on hand, pull out your favorite part of it, and turn it into a tote bag by using her tutorial!

Modern quilting tote bag using the Natural Harmony quilt pattern from Sewn Handmade featuring a free quilt block tutorial, showcasing a minimalist peach-and-cream appliqué design on a cream cotton tote, styled on a gray wood floor.

I've made quite a few tote bags in my quilting lifetime, and I believe it is one of the best projects to start with if you're wanting to explore more in the sewing world besides quilts. Once you get the hang of how a tote bag comes together, I promise you - you'll be able to make one in under an hour! They make such good gifts or even really unique gift bags.

Read the Quilted Tote Bag Tutorial Here

Quilted Throw Pillow

Next up, pillows are hands-down my favorite way to show off quilting without committing to wall space or a full quilt. They also make really cool accents to the quilt you've made if you make some matching pillows to go with it!

Just like with the tote bag above, you can pick any quilt pattern you like, make one block or part of the pattern, and use the throw pillow tutorials below to make your own! Lucky for us, there are two throw pillow tutorials available right here on the Sewn website:

Free modern quilting pillow tutorial from Sewn Handmade featuring a black-and-white Playroom quilt block throw pillow on a sofa with children playing.

Classic 18" square pillow - cozy enough for cuddling, with an envelope closure in the back. You'll see the Playroom quilt pattern used for this pillow, but you can replace it with any 18 1/2" quilt block!

Sewn Handmade modern quilting lumbar pillow tutorial using the Living Room quilt pattern showing a long white cotton pillow with green and gray striped triangle quilt blocks, styled on a bed with olive linen shams for a free quilting pillow project.

Lumbar 36" × 14" pillow - a stylish accent that adds a pop of pattern to a sofa or bench. In this tutorial, you'll see the Living Room quilt pattern used for the design of the lumber pillow. I think this quilt pattern fits perfectly here for this long, rectangular-sized pillow, but you could easily replace it with another favorite pattern.

Mini Quilt Wall Hanging

If you’ve got an empty wall begging for some personality, a mini quilt makes an instant impact. I should know - I have about six wall hanging quilts on the walls of my sewing room right now. It might be excessive, but I love them all and that's all that matters. ;)

Modern quilt wall hanging tutorial using the Leaded Light Quilt Pattern by Sewn Handmade featuring a folded corner of a cream quilt with diamond quilting and orange daisy-print border, styled on a rustic wood surface next to a potted plant.

Making a wall hanging quilt is as simple as making a smaller version of a quilt you would make to throw on your couch or lie on your bed. The real challenge is figuring out how best to hang the wall hanging quilt on your wall. That's where the Mounting A Wall Hanging blog post comes in! AND you'll even see the Leaded Light quilt pattern used for this.

Read the Mounting a Wall Hanging Post Here

Table Runner

I've been staring at my empty kitchen table for a long time and have been wanting to buy a table runner to spruce it up a bit. The challenge: my table is super long - about 87" long. That makes finding one that either drapes off the ends or is just the right amount of "short" a problem for me. But then it hit me - I could just sew one myself. And bam, Leaded Light had another use in my life again. Ha!

I used this quilt pattern to come up with a custom-sized table runner that works perfectly for me. It took a little math, but luckily the quilt pattern lays out the sizes of all the pieces nicely and easy to understand. The fabric I used for my project is Fableism Sprout Wovens, which added a nice bit of texture to the project and made the final runner super drapey. As far as amounts of fabric used, the background needed about 1 3/8 yards, the horizontal stripes needed about 1/3 yard, the vertical stripes needed about 5/8 yards, and the backing needed 1 3/4 yards. From there, I follow the steps below:

Piece the Top to Size
Cut and sew the blocks using the Leaded Light pattern so the finished quilt top measures 16" wide by 116" long - just enough to drape neatly over each end of my table without dragging on the floor. I sketched out how I wanted the quilt top to look so I could use it as a visual reference during the piecing process! I also cut the ends of the runner to a point so it matched up with the point of the vertical stripes design.
Fuse Interfacing
Iron on Pellon SF-101 woven interfacing to the wrong side of the entire quilt top. This secures all seam allowances in place and keeps the runner slim, without the extra loft of batting. I needed about 3 1/2 yards of interfacing for this length of table runner.
Skip Batting
For a restaurant-style, low-profile look, I left out batting entirely. I also didn’t quilt it, but you still totally can! If you prefer the look of a quilted table runner, you’ll need a piece of batting that’s approximately 20 1/2" × 120 1/2". You could also opt for piecing scraps of batting together into one large piece - I've done that with a wide zigzag stitch on my machine. In addition, if you are choosing to quilt your table runner, you can choose to skip the interfacing step above.
Prepare the Backing
I cut at the fold of my backing fabric so I had two very long, 21" wide pieces. I sewed them end to end along the 21" edge, resulting in a backing piece that measures 21" × 125 1/2".
Layer and Pin
With right sides together, layer the backing fabric under the quilt top. Pin around all four edges, leaving an 8" gap along one long side for turning.
Stitch the Perimeter
Sew around the runner with a 1/4" seam allowance, maintaining that 8" opening. Snip diagonally at each corner (just up to the stitching) to reduce bulk when you turn. At this point I also used the quilt top as a guide to trim any excess backing fabric.
Turn and Press
Reach through the opening to pull the table runner right side out. Use your fingers or a point turner (or chopstick) to gently push out the corners, then press all edges crisp and flat.
Topstitch to Finish
Sew a line of stitching about 1/8" from the edge, all the way around. This closes the turning gap, locks the layers together, and gives you a clean, professional-looking border - no binding required.

Close-up, shallow-focus view of a modern quilted table runner from Sewn Handmade featuring the Leaded Light quilt pattern in rust and peach cotton bars on a cream background, styled on a wood dining table.

I am SO happy with how this table runner turned out! I'm excited to have something on my kitchen table to make it feel a little more homey and lived in here - I mean, I do live here so it might as well feel like it! Ha!

Modern quilting table runner by Sewn Handmade featuring the Leaded Light quilt pattern in rust and peach cotton bars on a cream background, folded to reveal a peach-print backing, styled on a light wood floor.

I can't wait to hear about all the fun projects you all will make with your quilt patterns now. The sky's the limit really - there are so many other fun things you could do with your patterns. I've even seen people work quilt blocks into their handmade garments! If you have any other ideas for how to use quilt patterns, I'd love to hear about it!

Until we chat again - happy sewing!