Fibonacci quilt

by Linda Theil

Sample illustration of Fibonacci blocks as a quilt

When Steve asked for a quilt based on the Fibonacci Sequence, I thought it would be easy to create a block constructed on the same principal as a Log Cabin block. I wasn't sure if he wanted one big Fibonacci block, or a more traditional quilt made up of multiple blocks. I realized I could make sample blocks of placemat size to illustrate his options.

Fibonacci block placemats with two-inch border measure 20x14-inches

To make a Fibonacci block, cut contrasting squares of fabric in the following sizes, as illustrated in the photo below:

1.5x2-inch rectangle
2-inch square
3-inch square
4.5-inch square
7-inch square
11-inch square

The yellow line indicates the quilting pattern representing the Fibonacci spiral

At least, that's the way I did my block -- based on my computations developing a sequence using the 1: 1.6 Golden Ratio. Alternatively I could have simply added 1/2-inch to the 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 56, 90 etc. series available everywhere on the Internet. Duh.

Once you have cut your squares, beginning with the small rectangle, sew the rectangle to the smallest square, then sew each larger square to the resulting rectangle as shown in the illustration above. I sewed a two-inch border to my block to make a large placemat, then sandwiched the block with iron-on batting and a 21 x15-inch piece of backing. My backing is "Boro" from Debby Maddie's Yukata collection for Moda.

I machine quilted around the inside edge of the border to hold the quilt sandwich in place, and hand-quilted the block using Sashiko thread in the Fibonacci spiral as shown above. I trimmed the edges, and finished with traditional binding -- about two yards for each placemat.

My backing is "Boro" from Debby Maddie's Yukata collection for Moda.

To make a large quilt with one Fibonacci block, here is a sample diagram.