With My DIY Block Design starting next week, I know some people are starting to wonder how to best go about designing their quilts, so allow me to be of assistance by sharing the pros and cons about these various quilt design tool options.
Offering quilting design software for Windows and Macintosh and sewing/design companion books for quilters. Includes lessons and videos, company information and software downloads. The software helps you by making use of the symmetry present in most blocks: for every line you draw, the software can automatically complete the symmetrical parts of the design for you: You can also use QuiltAssistant to make your own paper piecing patterns, and even export your quilt and block designs to Electric Quilt! Design and collaborate with our free quilt design software. QuiltFusion is free to download. Design & collaborate on amazing fusble applique art quilts! Find Quilt-Pro Systems software downloads at CNET Download.com, the most comprehensive source for safe, trusted, and spyware-free downloads on the Web.
Free
The cheapest, easiest method of designing quilts is with a good ol’ pencil and paper that I know you’ve already got lying around. It’s great to jot down your ideas and draw out some rough sketches quickly without having to think about quilt math and accuracy.
But that can also be the con – it’s hard to go to the next step of working out the quilt math using rough, not-to-scale drawings. Which is why the next option is your best bet for a free or low cost option.
Free or tiny cost
Using graph or grid paper is the best option if you’re going for the manual option, as it will help you draw your designs much more accurately. It will also help you work out the quilt math if you draw it to scale, where 1 square represents a certain amount of inches, ie. 1 square = 2″. You can find plenty of printable options around the web, or pick up a cheap notebook next time you’re near a store that sells office supplies! I highly recommend 5mm, or five lines per inch paper.
![Quilt Pro software, free download Quilt Pro software, free download](https://i.pinimg.com/736x/ac/7e/d9/ac7ed9a8219a8cc5fb516c5e6aa261f6.jpg)
The main con of this method is that it can mean a lot of mental acrobatics working out the fabric requirements for larger projects beyond a few quilt blocks! But using this method is perfect for designing quilt blocks, as it easy to see the proportions of your block, and thus work out the quilt math for your block. It is also the method that I recommend and walk you through in DIY Block Design.
Apps
A popular option is the Quiltography app available on Apple. You can photograph your own stash to use in your designs, it includes over 180 block templates, yardage calculator, design pixel quilts, and more. The cost varies depending on what country you’re in, but it’s under $20 for most countries.
Online
![Download Download](https://img.babylock.com/w_400,c_limit/7c5d36bd-4914-44a7-9716-5afe2fd08394.jpeg)
A program online that is worth checking out is Prequilt. It allows you to design your own quilts (either with custom quilt blocks or with the included free block designs), or colour in pre-loaded quilt designs, as well as importing images of your own fabric stash to see how it would look in the final quilt.
The colouring pages are for patterns by popular quilt designers, and allows you to colour in the pattern before you buy it and start to make it. What a great idea! You can try it for free, or upgrade to a paid account for extra features for $5/month or $50/year.
Software
The premium of all premiums, Electric Quilt 8 (aka EQ8) retails at $239.95. This is the king of all quilt design options, as it includes all the options you need as a quilt designer. While the learning curve can be a little steep at first due to all the different things it can do, it is definitely worth pushing through, plus it’s available for both PC and Mac!
It has an extensive block library already inbuilt, as well as a huge variety of fabrics including a wide range of manufacturers’ basics, i.e. all Kona solids. Plus the ability to import your own fabrics, whether that’s by purchasing EQ’s downloadable stashes, scanning the fabric yourself, or importing JPGs that some manufacturers provide like Moda. It can be used for standard quilt designs, foundation paper piecing designs (and templates), curves and applique, and more. It will also provide the fabric yardage requirements for each fabric you use in your quilt.
If you are looking for some robust software to help take your quilt designing to the next level, this is the one to go with!
Updates for current software versions
Strip Piecing Wizard for Windows
Updater for Windows version of Quilt-Pro Version 6
(2020-06-18)
(2020-06-18)
Version 6.2.0.7 of Quilt-Pro. Click here to download the latest update for Quilt-Pro Version 6. You must already have Quilt-Pro 6 installed on your system to use this file. The file is 18.0 MB, or 18,828,144 bytes.
Save the file to C:. Once the file is downloaded, go to the Windows start button and select Run. When the Run dialog box appears, type in C:wup6207.exe. The updater will begin installing.
Updater for Macintosh version of Quilt-Pro Version 5
(2018-08-09)
(2018-08-09)
Version 5.3.3 Build 37 of Quilt-Pro. Click here to download the latest update for Quilt-Pro Version 5. This version is an Intel Only application. This updater will update any Quilt-Pro for Mac Version 5.0 or later to 5.3.3 Build 37. This updater is 5.6 MB (5,641,940 bytes).
IMPORTANT NOTES:
Quilt Pro software, free download 2012
1. This updater requires Mac OS-X 10.5.8 or higher to run and will work only on an Intel based Mac.
2. After installing this update you may need to activate Quilt-Pro for Mac. If your serial number is an old style number of the form QPM0500-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX (where X may be any alphanumeric character), you will need to get a new serial number before you can activate. If you number is of the form QPM0501X-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX then you already have one of the new style serial numbers. Contact Tech Support for assistance if you need a new serial number.
3. Quilt-Pro for Mac will not run on MacOS 10.15 (Catalina) or higher.
Updater for Windows version of Block Party
(2018-04-25)
(2018-04-25)
Version 1.0.1.0 of Block Party. Click here to download the latest update for Block Party. You must already have Block Party installed on your system to use this file. The file is 15.8 MB (16,569,872 bytes).
Save the file to C:. Once the file is downloaded, go to the Windows start button and select Run. When the Run dialog box appears, type in C:BlockPartyUpdate1010.exe. The updater will begin installing.
Updater for 123-Quilt! Version 2
(2017-08-04)
(2017-08-04)
Version 2.1.2 of 123-Quilt. Click here to download the latest update for 123-Quilt Version 2. You must already have 123-Quilt Version 2 already installed on your system to use this file. It is 6.11 MB (6,410,752 bytes).
Save the file to C:. Once the file is downloaded, go to the Windows start button and select Run. When the Run dialog box appears, type in C: 123QuiltV2Update.exe. The updater will begin installing. After the install is completed, you must reboot your computer. The installer will remind you when it is finished.
Quilt Design Software Online
Updater for Print and Sew Version 1
(2017-06-04)
(2017-06-04)
Version 1.0.8.6 of Print and Sew. Click here to download the latest update for Print and Sew Version 1. You must already have Print and Sew Version 1 already installed on your system to use this file. It is 47.9MB (50,248,520 bytes).
Save the file to C:. Once the file is downloaded, go to the Windows start button and select Run. When the Run dialog box appears, type in C:PrintSewUpdate1086.exe. The updater will begin installing.
Free rise of nations gold full version download. Updater for Strip Piecing Wizard
(2012-02-21)
(2012-02-21)
Naval ships technical manual 505 piping systems. Version 3.0.1.1 of Strip Piecing Wizard. Click here to download the latest update for Strip Piecing Wizard. You must already have Print and Sew Version 1 already installed on your system to use this file. It is 1.14MB (1,205,680 bytes).
Save the file to C:. Once the file is downloaded, go to the Windows start button and select Run. When the Run dialog box appears, type in C:SPW-Update.exe. The updater will begin installing.
Updater for Windows version of Block Factory and Foundation Factory Version 2
(2008-04-16)
(2008-04-16)
Version 2.4.4 of Foundation Factory. Click here to download the latest update for Foundation Factory Version 2. You must already have Foundation Factory installed on your system to use this file. It is 809K (828,559 bytes).
Save the file to C:. Once the file is downloaded, go to the Windows start button and select Run. When the Run dialog box appears, type in C:ff2updater.exe. The updater will begin installing.
Those of you with the KC Star Vol-1 CD will also need to download this file (KCStarLib.exe, 78,122 bytes). It is a self-extracting zip file. Just run it after downloading (see instructions above). By default, it will unzip to C:Program FilesKCStar. If that is not where you installed the KC Star CD, change it to the correct location.
Updater for Macintosh version of Foundation Factory
(2014-01-14)
(2014-01-14)
Version 3.0.5 of Foundation Factory. Click here to download the latest update of Foundation Factory for Macintosh. This updater is 3.0MB (3,040,634 bytes).
The updater file is zipped file. Your Mac web browser will normally decode it for you. If, for some reason it doesn't, you can double click on the file and OS-X should decompress it.
Quilt-Pro File Manager for Windows Ver 1.3.6
(2018-04-13)
(2018-04-13)
This is the Quilt-Pro File Manager utility program. With this program you may copy the blocks from any Block Factory, Foundation Factory or Strip Piecing Wizard program (except the Quilter's Newsletter Edition) into Quilt-Pro version 3 or higher. Macintosh users, consult your Foundation Factory CD for information about installing blocks into Quilt-Pro.
Click here to download the program now (2.74 MB or 2,880,648 bytes). Save the file to C:. Hands off 4.0.1 for macos windows 10. Once the file is downloaded, go to the Windows start button and select Run. When the Run dialog box appears, type in C:QPFileManager.exe.
Or
If you have problems downloading the EXE file or would like a smaller download (998 KB or 1,022,009 bytes), Click here to download a zip file containing the program. Save the file to C:. Once the file is downloaded, go to the Windows start button and select Run. When the Run dialog box appears, type in C:QPFileManager.zip. Extract the QPFileManager.exe to C:. Go to the Windows start button and select Run. When the Run dialog box appears, type in C:QPFileManager.exe.
Quilt-Pro File Manager for Macintosh Ver 1.0.4B9
(2017-12-16)
(2017-12-16)
This is the Quilt-Pro File Manager utility program. With this program you may copy the blocks from any Foundation Factory program into Quilt-Pro version 5.
Click here to download the program now (1.4 MB or 1,433,242 bytes).
The File Manager file is a zipped file. Your Mac web browser will normally decode it for you. If, for some reason it doesn't, you can double click on the file and OS-X should decompress it.