Temperature Quilt Frequently Asked Questions

If you have a question about the Plains and Pine Temperature Quilt that you don't see answered below, please let me know! Check out my first blog post about the temperature quilt here.

Don't have the pattern yet? Get the FREE pattern here!

How much fabric do I need?

I am starting with 1/2 yard of each of my 21 colors knowing I'll have extra in some of the colors. My temperature range is 5 degrees for each color. If you have more than 21 fabrics you might be able to get a little less of each color. Or if you are confident you can get more of a color if you run out you could get less of each color.

You can get 20 days worth of highs and 20 days worth of lows from 1/3 yard of fabric.

Can I use prints?

Yes! I think this quilt would look amazing in prints. There are so many beautiful prints out there, I just didn't want to spend the time searching for the right colors in prints when I was planning my quilt.

I think using solids from one manufacturer is probably the easiest route because you can find a large number of colors and shades easily.

I just looked through my Kona swatch card when I was deciding on my fabrics which also made ordering easy. I just typed the names into the search bar of Stash Fabric's website and could easily add each to my cart.

Can I make a scrappy version from my stash?

YES! And I would love to see this version!

I would recommend sorting your scraps by your temperature ranges and then keeping them organized in gallon ziploc bags with the temp range written on each one. That way you won't forget how you planned your quilt when you are partway through the year.

Can I use prints for the high temps and solids for the low temps?

Definitely! The only thing you will have to keep in mind is a high temp one day will be the low temp for another day so you will need prints and solids for each temperature range. (Ex: A blue print for a high of 31-35 degrees and a solid blue for a low temp of 31-35 degrees.)

I don't want to use a rainbow of colors. What do you recommend?

Use fewer colors and more shades within those colors. For example, pick 4 colors (or however many you want) and then pick 5 shades in those colors (5 shades of blue, 5 shades of yellow, 5 shades of green, 5 shades of pink).

What are placeholders in the pattern?

The "placeholders" show the start of each new month. There are also 6 at the end of the quilt after December 31st just to finish out the quilt. I am making mine in black in white but you can use any colors you'd like.

Sometimes the high temp and low temp are close and might be the same fabric for that day. How do I handle that?

If you live in a climate that doesn't have extreme highs and lows throughout the year, you might want to make a smaller range with your temperatures. If it never gets below freezing then I would have your first range 32 degrees and below, then maybe increments of 3 degrees from there.

If there is a couple occurrences where the high and low for the day fall into the same range, I wouldn't worry about making your temperature ranges too small. If that happens to me I will just use the same fabric for both the background and diamond. I think this will be neat to look back and remember when that happened.

How do I stay organized?

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

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

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

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

How do I find the high and low temperatures each day?

I am going to use the website Weather Underground to find the high and low temperature for each day. I will probably do this weekly, I don't foresee that I will be able to make a "block" each day.

When you go to the Weather Underground site, type in your zipcode or city/state and it will pull up all the information you need. There is a tab called History where you can search for a specific day, week, or month. Super helpful - especially if you get behind!

Do you have any other questions? Please let me know!

If you make the Plains and Pine Temperature Quilt, please use the hashtag #plainsandpinetempquilt so I can see your progress!

Don't have the pattern yet? Get the FREE pattern here!