Safe to say this is the EASIEST quilt I've ever completed. Highly recommend if you are new to quilting and looking for something high-impact and fun to start with. The hardest part was actually picking out the colored fabrics, but because I love a rainbow, that was the most fun part too.
I bought 1/3 yard of 36 different colors. This was not the most economical way to go about it, but I was very picky about my colors and so I couldn't just buy a bundle of rainbow fat quarters. I do, however, have enough fabric to make four rainbow quilts, so if you were going to make a bunch to give as gifts or something, this would be ideal. (I'm going to give away three of the stacks of fabric so three of you can make a similar quilt – details at the end of this post.)
I cut the fabric into squares that were 10×10 inches using a cutting mat, ruler and rotary trimmer. After a million triangle quilts, cutting squares (especially this large) was so easy and enjoyable.
I laid it all out to be sure I had the order right. I wanted to go red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple horizontally and then have it fade from darkest to lightest vertically. I sewed each rainbow together so I had six strips of six squares each and then ironed my creases open and pinned it together. Because there were so few corners to line up, this one actually came together pretty neatly.
I screwed up a bit and cut my backing fabric too small. I went with a white extra wide cotton backing but didn't quite give myself enough wiggle room and over the course of sewing all those lines, it shifted a bit which meant I had to lose some of the front to even it out (you'll notice that the darkest red square in particular is smaller than the others). This sort of thing always bothers me at the time, but I know from experience that months (or even days) from now when we're actually using the quilt, it's not the sort of thing I'll notice or worry about.
To give it a bit of dimension, I quilted tons of horizontal lines across the surface. The thread on the top is white and then I alternated the color in the bobbin so the thread on the backing was multi-colored in a rainbow. It's VERY subtle. Too subtle to be worth it, I'd say. In photos it looks particularly lame. In person you can kind of see, but you really have to look for the color change. If I did it again I would probably just use all one color or even just white.
The finished quilt is about 55×55 inches though it will shrink a bit when I wash it. I bound it in gray stripe but black and white stripe would have looked awesome too.
Overall – it's one of my top ten favorite projects. I'm taking Ellerie to the park tonight for a picnic to break it in.
And now! The giveaway! As mentioned, I have enough fabric for four quilt tops and I only made one. So I have THREE stacks of rainbow squares that are already cut to 10×10 inches. You'd need your own batting, binding and backing fabric but you'd be at least partway there if you won. Please leave a comment if you're interested. I'll draw three winners by the weekend and will ship anywhere.
GIVEAWAY CLOSED, drawing winners now and will announce Saturday AM.
enJOY it 
1,233 responses to “super simple rainbow quilt.”
Oh my. I’m a novice quilter, for sure, and this seems like the best beginner project! I love the impact even with how quickly it came together for you.
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I’d enjoy designing and sewing my own quilt using these colorful fabrics!
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What a fabulous quilt!! (And awesome giveaway!)
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So fun and inspiring! Thanks for the chance to win!!!
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I WOULD SOOOOOOOO LOVE THIS FABRIC PACK! Sorry I didnt mean to shout, this quilt just looks so adorable, but I can already picture my little munchkins on this quilt. Either way, thanks so much for the inspiration! I have been wanting to do a block colour quilt for AGES and this one is just perfect. Super excited for it. Great job 🙂
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That’s very generous to share such loveliness.
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I have a baby on the way & making a rainbow quilt would be perfect!!
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That turned out awesome!! I’ve been wanting a starters project for awhile now, but can never seem to find something simple that I could do as a beginner. This would be sweet to win so I could start learning to sew!
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Oh this is so beautiful!! I have never done a quilt before but i think this would be an amazing first one! This giveaway is truly amazing. I love this. And that you will ship anywhere?? Sending thank you hugs all the way from Sweden 🙂
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Love this project. Perfect way to get back into sewing and to try my hand at quilting!
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I’d love to make a version of this quilt!! It’s starting to cool off here in MA, and it’s about quilt-making/using time 🙂
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This is AWESOME! Thanks for the chance!
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This quilt turned out awesome!
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I’m so inspired by your photos! I would love the chance to make one myself!
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I LOVE this quilt idea! I have just started making quilts (okay, I’ve made ONE lap size quilt for my daughter :)) and I am LOVE how great yours looks using basic squares because it is all about the color. Snaps to you…(and crossed fingers to me to win a quilt topper!!)
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Lovely!!! This would be such a wonderful project to try!
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Today is my birthday, so maybe it could be a wonderful DIY gift for me!
Your quilt is ADORABLE! Thank you, and have a nice weekend!
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It’s beautiful! Would love to enter to win a stack! 🙂
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this would be so great. especially since most of the “hard” part has been completed by you 😛
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Beautiful Quilt! I’d love to make one like it! I saw it on the beautiful mess instagram!
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LOVE it Elise!! seriously so good! fingers crossed I get some of the extras!
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Birds fly over the rainbow ……….
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That would be so great to win this! I’ve been wanting to make a quilt for so long. That would be a perfect start!
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I LOVE this. It is hands down my favorite quilt I’ve seen, and I am totally inspired to make one. I’d be so excited to win the fabric!!
Side note, I cannot believe you were at the Taylor Swift concert with Justin Timberlake and Lisa Kudrow. AHHHHH!!!!!! So jealous!
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I love this so much!! As soon as I saw you starting it on Instagram I knew I had to make one. I’d love to win the fabric!!
Side note, I cannot believe you were at the Taylor Swift concert with Justin Timberlake and Lisa Kudrow. AHHH!!! So jealous!
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I’ve been looking to make my first quilt. This seems like a simple plan to follow. Would love to get the fabric to start me off on the right foot. 🙂
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I would love to try to make a quilt and this looks so starter friendly plus you did what I consider the hard part (all that cutting). We are having our first baby at the end of September and we’ve decided not to find out the sex so a rainbow quilt is perfect for either! I’ve been wanting to make something special for the bun in the oven that they can have and hold on to as they get older but I didn’t really know what until now. This quilt is too cute!
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I’d love it! I’m looking for a new project.
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This is FANTASTIC! I’d love to make one of these!
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This is giving me the guts to make my own quilt!
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Count me in for one of the bundles! I’d love to make one of these quilts for my daughters.
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This looks fun enough to get me out of my sewing drought!!!
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Would love a shot at this! Thanks for the chance 🙂
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