How to Make a French Braid Quilt: Jen Kingwell’s Stripped Tutorial
By Jen Kingwell
A French braid quilt is made by adding fabric strips alternately to the left and right of a growing braid. In Stripped, I join those braids with a zigzag seam to create a quilt full of colour and movement.
It’s a lovely way to use your stash: go wonderfully scrappy, work within a favourite colour palette, or start with a Jelly Roll of 2½-inch strips. The repeated shapes bring the fabrics together, leaving plenty of room for unexpected combinations.
This photo tutorial walks you through making the braids, joining the rows and trimming your quilt top. You choose the length and number of rows to suit the quilt you want to make.
What you’ll need
- Fabric strips, all cut to the same width and length
- A rotary cutter, ruler and cutting mat
- A sewing machine and piecing thread
- Backing, batting and binding to suit your completed quilt top
The sample uses one of my older collectsion, The Lookout. You can use fabrics from your own stash or another collection you love.
What size strips should you cut?
I used strips measuring 2½ inches wide × 8 inches long for this quilt. A Jelly Roll gives you the 2½-inch width; cut the strips into 8-inch lengths before piecing.
You can change the strip size to suit the fabric you have available, but keep every strip the same size within your quilt. I suggest making the length roughly three to four times the width. Her original tutorial also offers 2½ × 6½-inch and 2½ × 7½-inch strips as alternatives.
For smaller scraps, choose a narrower, shorter strip. Where your fabric allows, cut along the lengthwise grain to reduce stretch.
A note on size and fabric quantities: This is a flexible technique tutorial. It does not specify a finished quilt size, a strip count or total yardage. The amount of fabric you need depends on your chosen strip dimensions, braid length and number of rows.
How to piece a French braid quilt
1. Start your first braid
Lay out your strips with a left-hand and a right-hand side. Place the right-hand strip over the left-hand strip, right sides together, as shown in the photo. Stitch along the short edge.
You can start in the opposite direction if you prefer; keep that choice consistent as you work.
2. Add the next strip and leave the end open
Place the next strip in position and stitch it to the growing braid. Stop approximately 1 inch before the end of the seam.
That unstitched section is essential: it gives the pieces room to move when you join the braid rows later.
3. Continue adding strips on alternating sides
Add strips alternately to the left and right, leaving the final 1 inch of each new seam unstitched.
Continue until the braid reaches your desired length. Allow extra length for trimming the ends straight later.
4. Make and arrange your braid rows
Make as many braid rows as you need for your quilt. Lay them beside one another with all the arrow shapes pointing in the same direction.
5. Position two rows for joining
Turn the rows around to make them easier to handle at the sewing machine, keeping their shared direction. Place two neighbouring rows right sides together.
You’ll join them along their zigzag edges. The open seam ends allow you to reposition the fabric as you sew each short section.
6. Sew the first short joining seam
Align the first short section and stitch it. Once it is joined, reposition the rows to align the next section.
7. Pivot and continue along the zigzag
Pivot the pieces and stitch the next short section. Check that the seam allowance you are sewing across isn’t twisted.
Continue section by section along the zigzag until the two rows are joined. Repeat to join the remaining rows.
8. Close the outer seam openings
Once all the rows are joined, stitch closed the remaining 1-inch openings along the outer side edges of the quilt top.
9. Trim the quilt top
Trim the sides and ends to square up your quilt top.
10. Finish your quilt
Baste and quilt as desired, then bind your quilt. Enjoy all those little fabric combinations coming together in one colourful piece.
French braid quilt questions
Can I make this quilt with a Jelly Roll?
Yes. For the sample strip size, cut 2½-inch-wide Jelly Roll strips into 8-inch lengths. This tutorial does not specify how many Jelly Rolls you will need.
Can I use scraps instead?
Yes. Choose a strip size that works with your scraps, then cut every strip to that same width and length. Mix colours and prints freely, or work with a more coordinated palette.
Why do I leave 1 inch of each seam unstitched?
The open seam ends let you pivot and reposition the pieces when joining braid rows along their zigzag edges. After joining all the rows, close any remaining openings along the outer side edges.
How do I change the quilt size?
Change the braid length and the number of braid rows. Remember that seam allowances and trimming affect the final dimensions; the original tutorial does not provide a sizing formula.
Make it your own
Pull out a few favourite fabrics and see which combinations surprise you. Stripped gives those smaller pieces a place to shine, whether you choose a lively mix of scraps or a palette you’ve been saving for something special.