Retro Ornaments 2.0 Quilt Pattern - All the Details

Retro Ornaments 1.0 launched back in November 2019, which made it my 14th quilt pattern! It’s crazy to think it’s been seven years. I still remember designing this pattern like it was last November.

Retro Ornaments was inspired by the ornaments handed down to me from my granny, Lois. I’m lucky enough to have a lot of her vintage ornaments! Since I was her only grandchild, even after my dad and aunt took some, there were tons left for me. I get so nostalgic whenever I decorate my Christmas tree because I have so many ornaments full of beautiful memories!

My hand-me-down collection is a mix of all kinds of ornaments, including a bunch that Granny and I made together. I’ve spoken before about how Granny and I bonded over arts and crafts…just like making ornaments together! I treasure all of my heirloom ornaments, but the ones we made side-by-side are really extra special.

For the quilt pattern itself, I decided to go with a classic ball ornament. Granny’s house had a definite mid-century modern style to it, so she had plenty of these very mid-century ornaments to go with it!

When I came up with the original pattern, I really wanted to lean into that mid-century modern feel. I went with a block repeat that’s a little simple and a little oversized…which has always made Retro Ornaments stand out from other Lo & Behold Stitchery patterns!

I had so much fun playing with that style at the time, and I’ve loved revisiting it over the last few months. This quilt pattern has always felt like something that could have been in Granny’s house…and now it’s updated and better than ever!

I’ve always loved the Retro Ornaments pattern, but as I’ve said about other updated patterns…I’ve learned a lot since I first started writing quilt patterns, and my style has evolved too! The classic pattern deserved an update…and what started as some small tweaks turned into some big changes.

One of the first things you might notice is the new colorway! The original Retro Ornaments quilt pattern included just one colorway, what we’re now calling the Modern colorway, which uses different fabrics for each ornament to make a very colorful quilt!

We added the Traditional colorway, which sticks to three colors (one for the background, one for the ornaments, and one for the caps) for a simpler, unified look.
The Traditional colorway was part of me really exploring that mid-century feel…and I can’t wait to see what y’all do with it!

We’ve also added more sizes! Retro Ornaments originally included three sizes: wall hanging, throw, and bed. While you could easily resize your quilt by adding or removing blocks, but that means extra planning and math. So for the updated pattern, we’ve included nine sizes:

• Pillow (18” square)
• Baby (32.5” x 34”)
• Table Runner (18” x 96.5”)
• Lap (48.5” x 50”)
• Small Throw (64.5” x 66”)
• Large Throw (80.5” x 82”)
• Full (80.5” x 98”)
• Queen (96.5” x 98”)
• King (112.5” x 114”)

Now it’s easier to make the perfect Retro Ornaments quilt for your space!

(I have to say, I really love the new table runner size! The alternating ornament orientation is such a fun detail.)

We didn’t just change what you could make with the pattern…we updated the way you do it too!

Retro Ornaments 2.0 works with our curved acrylic template set (our fourth compatible pattern, along with Mountain Horizon 2.0, Shades of Citrus 2.0, and Retro Blossoms). The pattern also includes paper templates if you prefer working with those. Either way, I’ve filmed a new video tutorial to help you cut, trim, and size your curves.

And speaking of trimming…the original Retro Ornaments quilt pattern was pretty precise. It didn’t have any room for squaring up or trimming, so you really had to pay attention to sewing your curves.

With the updated pattern, your blocks all have room for squaring up. It makes cutting and sewing so much less stressful…so you can just enjoy your project!

Aside from updating the instructions, we also included all of our now-standard pattern extras, like cutting diagrams, trimming diagrams, quilting ideas, a quilt planner, resource links, color inspiration, and more!

Finally, the new pattern also includes a special extra: bonus projects! Now you can use your project scraps to create coordinating projects, from coasters to table runners to lap quilts (depending on the size of your Retro Ornaments project).

We had so much fun coming up with these, and I think you’re going to love them!

While I’m super excited about the big changes to the pattern, some things have stayed the same…and for good reason!

Just like the original Retro Ornaments pattern, the new version is perfect for showing off your favorite holiday print fabrics!

The pattern uses quarter circles, aka Drunkard’s Path blocks, (because I didn’t want to sew a full inset circle, and I doubted you did either!), which means you sew four quarter circle quadrants together. That makes it easy to play with directional prints by rotating the fabrics before creating your quadrants! Or, if using stripes, for example, you can create a diamond or pinwheel effect depending on how you orient your print in each quadrant.

Even if you don’t play with directional fabric, each quarter circle gives you a large cut of the print…making this a super print-friendly pattern!

Retro Ornaments 1.0 included bonus block variations, and I always knew we had to have them in the new version too!

The pattern includes additional instructions to make diamond or stripe ornament blocks. The striped variation was inspired by a specific ornament of Granny’s that I loved, and the diamonds were inspired by all her bulb ornaments that featured a concave side (usually with some extra glitter or contrasting color).

These variations don’t require a lot of additional fabric, so you can definitely use your scrap stash…or even scraps from your other blocks! You can switch up one or two ornaments for a little added interest, or make your whole quilt with the block variations for a truly custom quilt!

Retro Ornaments 2.0 is still classified as an intermediate pattern…mostly because it requires using templates and sewing curves. Don’t let that scare you, though! Retro Ornaments 2.0 was written with beginners in mind, and the quarter circles are so forgiving, making ita perfect introduction to curved piecing!

All sizes are fat quarter friendly, or you can use half yard cuts or yardage:

I’ve already sewed up two different Retro Ornaments 2.0 samples:

• The Cover quilt in the Modern colorway
• The Cactus Flower quilt in the Traditional colorway

I’ll share all about them over the next few days, but I couldn’t resist giving a sneak peek at their photoshoot! Pete brought in our Christmas tree, and I decorated it with some of the very heirloom ornaments that inspired the quilt pattern! (Not all of them…I would have spent hours and hours trimming the tree! I had to narrow it down to a few favorites.)

This beauty is exactly the kind of ornament that inspired this quilt pattern:

I’ve always loved this striped ornament, which inspired the stripe block variation….

…and this is what I had in mind when I designed the diamond bonus block variation.

This sweet little cross stitch was actually made by my aunt…and it was her first cross stitch ever! (She’s a huge cross stitcher now.) She made it for my Granny, and then it came to me…and I love it!

Ready to sew up your own holiday quilt? The Retro Ornaments 2.0 quilt pattern is on sale now, in both digital and paper versions!

We have two different Retro Ornaments quilt kits in stock! You can make the Modern Cover version or the Traditional Cactus Flower version. Both kits come in the small throw size, and you have the option to add on the same backing and binding fabric I used.

You can also design your own Retro Ornaments 2.0 on PreQuilt! And remember, Retro Ornaments is fat quarter friendly, so you can always snag a favorite fabric bundle instead!

I can’t wait to see what you come up with.

Happy holiday quilting!

• Retro Ornaments 2.0 PDF pattern
• Retro Ornaments 2.0 paper pattern
• Retro Ornaments 2.0 quilt kits
• Acrylic template set