Quilting Books
Best Sampler & Block-of-the-Month Quilts Quilting Books
Sampler and block-of-the-month books collect dozens of different blocks into one long-running project, worked one block at a time rather than as a single repeated pattern.
All sampler & block-of-the-month quilts books
The Splendid Sampler: 100 Spectacular Blocks from a Community of Quilters
Pat Sloan & Jane Davidson
Built from an online block-along that drew in quilters worldwide making one block at a time over many months, this collects 100 blocks from dozens of contributing designers rather than one author's style. The format itself — a long-running, shared community project — is as much the point as any individual block. A modern take on the sampler tradition, built for a slow, ongoing project rather than a single finished quilt bought as one pattern.
See details
Dear Jane: The Two Hundred Twenty-Five Patterns from the 1863 Jane A. Stickle Quilt
Brenda Manges Papadakis
Papadakis traced and republished the 225 tiny, individually unique blocks from an 1863 antique quilt held in a Vermont museum, spawning a worldwide "Dear Jane" maker community, dedicated design software, and a 25th-anniversary reissue decades later. It's a genuine cult classic — a passionate, narrow following built entirely around reproducing one specific historical quilt, not a media-anointed bestseller. The single-most-recommended book among quilters who take on long-form sampler projects.
See detailsAs an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases. We may also earn a commission from other links on this page, at no extra cost to you. Learn more.
Frequently Asked Questions
What's the best sampler & block-of-the-month quilts quilting book?+
Look for the book marked "Teresa's Pick" at the top of this page — that's NiftyFifty founder Teresa Drummond's personal recommendation for sampler & block-of-the-month quilts. Below it you'll find 2 more books covering the same category from different authors and angles.
Do I need more than one sampler & block-of-the-month quilts book?+
Not usually. Most quilters do fine with one solid reference for a given technique — pick the one whose author's teaching style clicks with you, work through it, and only add a second if you outgrow the first or want a different perspective.