Wedding Ring Quilt Inspiration and Free Pattern Day!

The Double Wedding Ring is the most popular pattern in the history of quilting. Here are some inspiring quilts and free patterns!  To go to a pattern: Scroll down the page until you see the quilt you like, then click on the words "CLICK for PDF download" (or the hyperlinked website name) in the title above the quilt.

Note: Please check out our eBay shop for great bargains on quilt patterns, fabric, and unique vintage jewelry ! 

Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow, 2013 Raffle Quilt by the River City Quilters Guild (California);  photo by Quilt Inspiration

First place winner for "Best Group Quilt" in their 2012 quilt show, this is the RCQG’s Opportunity Quilt for 2013. It is adapted from Jennifer Chiaverini’s Caroline’s Wedding Quilt  (a Double Wedding Ring quilt embellished with floral appliqués, a cherished gift for a very special bride). The quilt was made by 25 applique artists and 4 piecers. This quilt has four gradations of red and green fabrics, creating an elegant luminous quality.  You can see the detail of the blocks in the close-up photo:

Bachelor's Wedding Ring by Eric Gunson of Pieceful Expressions

Shown above is Eric Gunson's "Bachelor's Wedding Ring". We first featured this stunning quilt in a 2011 Blue Quilt series called The Blues. Eric Gunson is the lead designer at Pieceful Expressions, which is his family's business in Sisters, Oregon.  To our knowledge they are no longer producing patterns, but you can sometimes find individual patterns on eBay or Etsy.

Double Wedding Ring design

The diagram below shows the pieces which form the rings in a basic Double Wedding Ring quilt:

In this diagram there are 6 fabric wedges in each arc, but there may be as many as twelve or more. The wedges can be cut from templates and pieced traditionally, or they can be foundation paper pieced. Once the arcs are constructed, they are attached to the melons (B) and center shapes (A) with curved piecing; alternatively, the finished arcs can be appliqued on a background block. In addition, the arcs can be made from a single fabric, without any piecing, as in the auction quilt shown below:

The Double Wedding Ring design - first published in 1928 - is believed to be a variation of an even older pattern called Pickle Dish (see the article by historian Barbara Brackman).  Barbara explains that a wedding ring quilt has four-sided patches in the arcs, whereas a pickle dish quilt has triangular pieces as shown below.

Pickle Dish Quilt, c. 1930, seen at Ebay (January 2013)

  Kaffe Fassett's Pickle Dish Quilt

Just when you thought the naming was straightforward, on the cover of Kaffe Fassett's Quilt Romance there is a hot pink quilt which looks like a cross between a fat wedding ring and a Dresden fan.  This is Kaffe Fassett's Pickle Dish Quilt. Whether you call it a Pickle Dish or a Double Wedding Ring, we love Kaffe's brilliant, vintage-inspired design !

Golden Wedding Ring, 1940's, seen at Ebay (January 2013)

This beautiful and unusual vintage quilt from the 1940's features a design known as a Golden Wedding Ring.  We love the sunny orange and yellow stars:

We can hardly wait to show you some more fabulous Wedding Ring quilts. In the meantime, here are some free patterns for your collection!

Forever Yours quilt, ~53 x 70", free pattern at Tilda's World (CLICK for PDF download)

Forever Yours pillows, free pattern at Tilda's World (CLICK for PDF download)

Beach Day baby quilt, ~33 x 43", free pattern at Michael Miller Fabrics (CLICK for PDF download)

Jot Dot quilt, 72 x 84", free pattern by Denise Russell for Blank Quilting (CLICK for PDF download)

Lovey Dovey quilt, 52 x 52", free pattern by Marsha Evans Moore for Michael Miller Fabrics (CLICK for PDF download)

Viennese Waltz quilt, 85" square, free pattern by Natalie Crabtree for Michael Miller Fabrics (CLICK for PDF download)

Blue Jean Baby quilt, 48 x 48", free pattern at Robert Kaufman (CLICK for PDF download)

To Have and to Hold, free pattern designed by Kathryn Smith for McCall's Quilting (CLICK for PDF download)

A Graceful Wedding, 70 x 83”, free pattern by Shelley Pagliai for Quilt Alliance (CLICK for PDF download)

Modern Love quilt, 43 x 43”, free pattern by Victoria Findlay Wolfe for Quilt Alliance (CLICK for PDF download) 

Garden Rings quilt, 84 x 96", free pattern at Robert Kaufman (CLICK for PDF download)

Double Wedding Ring Quilt, ~54 x 54", free pattern by Marsha Evans Moore for Free Spirit Fabrics (CLICK or PDF download)

Double Wedding Ring quilt, 61 x 75", free pattern by Debby Kratovil for Windham Fabrics (CLICK for PDF download) (designed for fusible applique)

Double Wedding Ring quilt, 54 x 70", free pattern by Kathy Hall for Andover Fabrics (CLICK for PDF download)

Flea Market Fancy quilt, 97 x 106", free pattern by Lucy A. Fazely for Free Spirit Fabric (CLICK for PDF download)

Ophelia Wedding Ring quilt, 84" square, free pattern by Konda Luckau for Timeless Treasures (CLICK For PDF download)

Farah Flowers quilt, 60" square, free pattern by Debby Kratovil for P&B Textiles (CLICK for PDF download)

Three Ring table runner, ~21 x 42", English paper pieced, free pattern at Connecting Threads (CLICK for PDF download)

Dill Pickles quilt, 60 x 72", free pattern by Christine Stainbrook for Windham Fabrics (CLICK for PDF download)

Bright Pickle Dish wall hanging, ~48" square, free pattern at All People Quilt (CLICK for PDF download)

Pickle Dish quilt, 60 x 60", free pattern by Michael Michalski for Fons and Porter (CLICK for PDF download)

Image credits: Note: this post was updated on October 4,2023.  All images are copyrighted by their owners. Please respect their generosity in sharing their free patterns, and the restrictions they have placed on the use of these designs. Complete information can be found at the designers' websites provided in the links.  Some of these are tutorials while others include downloadable (.pdf) patterns; we have tried to note which is which in the titles.  We update our links every 6 months as needed; however, websites may change their pages in between updates.  If any link is broken, we'd love to know so we can fix it; email us at quiltinspiration {at} gmail {dot} com.