Free Garden Sunflower Quilt Block Pattern
Nothing says summer like sunflowers, so let’s spread some sunshine with this free Garden Sunflower Quilt Block pattern! I love the bold look of sunflowers – they’re such a happy addition to the garden. Now you can grow them inside with your favorite fabric scraps!

Fun facts about this block
There are many things to love about this quilt block, but my favorite is the big size. It measures 14″ square (unfinished) and the piecing is simple, but there’s a little sneaky trick that you’re going to love. I’ll give you the sneaky details in just a bit.
You can make a standalone block to use in a quilt or add a border for a pillow cushion or a wall hanging. I added 2 1/2″ borders to one of my samples and it’s now a cute pillow!
One thing to consider with this block is the dimensional part of the flower petal units. If you’re making blocks for a quilt and you plan on having it quilted by a longarm professional, it will require special handling and extra cost. The hopper foot will get caught in the folded areas if they aren’t sewn down. If you’re quilting it yourself on a domestic machine or you’re just making one block for a pillow or wall hanging, you shouldn’t have any problems.
Supplies needed
You’ll be able to make this block with scraps (some larger than others) from your fabric stash! If you want to add borders, you’ll need a fat quarter of fabric (which will also be used for the block background). To give you an idea of amounts, the cutting instructions are below.
Basic Steps
Even though I’m providing the pattern as a free pdf, it’s nice to see more detailed steps of the process. Below you’ll find the basic steps and photos that I took while making one of my samples.
Sunflower Center Unit
After cutting out the fabric pieces, you’ll make the Sunflower center unit. This is just easy stitch & flip corners (or snowball corners). I used the Folded Corner Clipper Ruler to make my corner triangles instead of drawing a diagonal line on the corner squares, stitching on the line and then trimming. Either way, it’s easy peasy!
Leaf Units
The Leaf Units are made with strip piecing and then cutting into units and adding a rectangle. I don’t have photos of all the steps, but you’ll get the idea from the photo below.
Sunflower Petal Units (sneak piecing)
The Sunflower Petals are the last to make and these involve the sneaky piecing. It may look complicated, but it’s really fun and easy! There is only one seam in this unit and it’s hidden by the dimensional triangles. Below are the basic steps.
- Fold A3 and C rectangles in half, wrong sides together.
- Place the folded rectangles onto the large B rectangle so that the folded edges meet in the center. Pin in place.
- Place the second large B rectangle on top, right sides together, creating a sandwich. Pin and stitch with 1/4″ seam.
- Open the layers to expose the folded rectangles inside.
- Using your fingers, spread the rectangle bottom edges to form a triangle.
- Press folded edges.
- Press seam open. You’ll need to snip the folded edges inside the seam allowance in order to press the seam open.
Once you make this unit, you’ll see how easy it is! I hope to make a video to demonstrate these steps for the visual learners out there. I’ll update this blog post once I do.
Assemble the block units
The last step is to assemble all of the units and sew them together into rows. Then sew the rows together to create the block. It should measure 14 1/2″ square.
PDF Pattern Download
The pattern includes cutting and assembly instructions along with full color diagrams. You can download the free Garden Sunflower Quilt Block Pattern below. If you have any trouble with this, please email me and I will get back to you.
Color options
I love playing with color and fabric. I’ve made three Garden Sunflowers and they all have a different look and feel. The first one has classic sunny colors of yellow, orange/yellow and a black & white print for the center. The background is sky blue and they all work together to make it a classic, pretty block.
The second block I made is very traditional in color. You’ll see more gold and brown tones in this one. I love the light brown and white print for the triangles and Moda’s Grunge fabric in gold is perfect for the petals.
My favorite Garden Sunflower quilt block has a modern feel to it with bold solids and the black and white gingham in the center. That gingham is so fun and really says “hello”! I also really like the darker background color for this block because it makes the sunflower petals stand out.
You can toss together so many color combinations and create just about any kind of flower you want. That’s the fun of quilting in my opinion. Just play and have fun! Below are some color options I tossed together in EQ8 using all solids.
I hope you enjoy this pattern. I would love to see your version – use the hashtag #gardensunflowerquiltblock on social media. Make sure to pin the image below so you can come back to it easily. Happy summer quilting!
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Love the block! Very creative!
Unfortunately I could not print the PDF also there was a “sign up” requirement to buy & join Adobe ???? Sorry unacceptable
Hi Julie. Could not save or print the Garden Sunflower block. Would SO appreciate if you could advise as I just love it! Many thanks
Hi Julie, I was able to get the Sunflower Pattern ! Thank you so much ! Love reading your posts !
Have a great summer !
Could not get the pattern to print in pdf. I love the sunflower block pattern, so pretty!
Please tell me how to get this to print.
Thanks Julie!
I LOVE THIS! Very sweet!
Julie, your sunflower block is “sew” cute. I’m excited to make one or two or……….. Love your sneaky stitching trick, very clever. Enjoy the sunshine.
I can’t wait to try this! Thank you!
Where is the PDF?
Hi Julie, can’t get the link to work. Can you please send it? Thanks
That’s a great block, Julie. I just made a sunflower from Elizabeth Hartmann, and this one is just as fun. I love the textured piece – I remember learning this from Jackie Robinson. I love texture on quilts and it is a little harder for a long-armer, but if you have the bowl type foot, you may be able to use it!
Thank you for this very nice sunflower pattern. It is so cute but I could not find a link for the pattern. I have seen the same comment from others so not just me.
Thanks again.
I’m not sure why some people are having trouble downloading the pattern and others are not. I’m trying to troubleshoot, but in the meantime I’ll email it to you.
I used the thread you were trying called Scanfil. I used it to quilt the tote bag I was making. I really like that thread. Thanks for the recommendation. [email protected]
Super cute design! Thank you for sharing it!
Julie,
Thanks for the pattern! I normally wouldn’t use a black background, but that actually will look great as a pillow in my family room. And the folded petals add extra cuteness to it.
Love sunflowers! Thanks for the pattern. I, too, see pillows in my future. Very clever idea for making those points meet & neater … I always have trouble there. PattiK
Hi Julie,
I just love all your wonderful tips and techniques. You explain everything so well. The sunflower block is just beautiful. I am having trouble downloading the PDF of it. I was wondering if it is just me or are other people experiencing the same difficulty. Thank you.
I love this block. Thank you for sharing!
Hi Julie,
I tried to down load the PDF for your sunflower but the link must be broken. I could not make it work.
Thanks patsy
Such a cute quilt block! I too love sunflowers. Thank you so much.
I love it! Thank you.
Hi Julie, I was unable to get the PDF Sunflower pattern. I followed the instructions but don’t have Facebook or google or anything so I was unable to get it .
Thank you
Diane
Hi Julie, Love the sunflower block! I don’t see a link to click to download the pattern. I’m thinking our club would like to make this for a BOM exchange, very lovely.
Sue
Wow!! So beautiful — and your “sneaky” method is brilliant and will save a lot of time/headaches. I love the sky-blue background and the gingham centre. This would make a stunning throw, or single block for a table-topper. Thanks!
So fun!! Ive been excitedly waiting for this pattern. I have just the idea for how to use it!! Thank you
Yes clever tricks! Great to learn something new! Can’t wait to make a couple of pillows for my patio garddn chairs. Thanks Julie!
Love the little trick to make the points for the top and side pieces. Very clever… :-)) Thanks for sharing.