I've had my eye on making a temperature quilt for some time. I've been following the hashtag #temperaturequilt on Instagram because I find these quilts so fun and beautiful. So I spent some time this year thinking about how to make my own version of this year-long project.

Plains and Pine Temp Quilt

I came up with this simple 8 point star design where the diamond represents the high temperatures each day of the year and the background represents the low temperatures. The black and white "blocks" represent the start of each new month. 

Interested in making this quilt with me in 2024? Download the FREE pattern here.

The image below shows how the days of the year are arranged in the quilt. If you are worried you will get confused, I recommend numbering the days on your blank coloring page in the pattern. You can also record the daily highs and lows on the coloring page if that works best for your brain.

How I planned my version

2024 is a leap year so I pulled up the historical temperatures online for my location from 2016 (also my anniversary year) to determine the temperature range I wanted to use. I used the website Weather Underground to find these historical temperatures. You can search for your zip code on the homepage and then there is a tab called History where you can find historical temps for a specific day, week, or month.

I decided to have a 5 degree temperature range for each color of my quilt for a total of 21 colors. My "coldest" range is 0 degrees and below and my "hottest" range is 96 degrees and above. We have a handful of 0 degree days and a handful above 95 degrees but most of the daily temps fall between these ranges. If you live in a colder or hotter climate, you might want to include some ranges in your quilt (ex: 96 - 100 degrees, 101 - 105 degrees, etc).

Once I determined my temperature ranges, I took a look at my Kona swatch card to find the colors I wanted to use. I wanted to use purples and blues for the colder colors and then gradually moving to greens, yellows, oranges, reds, and pinks. 

You do not have to use solids for this quilt. I think a temperature quilt with prints would look really cool. This felt like the easiest way for me to plan my quilt without spending hours scouring fabric shops for the right prints.

You also don't have to make your quilt with this rainbow of colors. If you want to use fewer colors with more shades of each color - go for it! Maybe you don't like oranges or greens. Well you don't have to use them! Use more blues or more pinks or whatever you want. It's your quilt and since you will be working on this for a whole year you want to make sure you are using fabrics you love.

Make Your Quilt Plan

I recommend using the planning sheets at the end of the pattern (Get the FREE pattern here) to plan your quilt before you get started.

1. Figure out the temperature ranges you want to use.

2. Get your fabric

3. Write everything down and paste your swatches to the planning sheets (with the fabric names).

4. Decide how you will stay organized with your blocks and fabric throughout the year.

     - My plan is to keep the fabric name pinned to my yardage as well as written with the swatch on my planning sheet.

     - I will keep my blocks stacked in order until I am able to sew 2 rows together.

5. Print the daily temp sheets at the end of the pattern so you can record the temperatures as you go.

It's almost time!

Ready to begin? Me too! I'm writing this post on December 27th and I'm excited to get started.

Check out my FAQ post about the Temperature Quilt here.

I will also be recording some videos demonstrating how to make these star blocks. Stay tuned!

Let me know if you have any questions! 

And don't forget to download your pattern!