7 Best FREE Quilt Design Software for Beautiful Creations
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While most of my quilt designs start with colored pencil doodling on graph paper, I now use quilt software as well to render finished designs.
Quilt software makes it easy to arrange block designs together and audition fabrics for a completed quilt before cutting. Not to mention, most quilt software can calculate required fabric yardages and print templates.
Before purchasing the software I now use, free quilt design programs helped me understand what features I wanted in software and whether it was something I even wanted to learn to use.
Want to learn more?
Check out this list of the best free quilt design software to see if you find something you like!
Best Free Quilt Design Software
First, no free quilt programs do as much as paid programs.
If you don’t plan to design hundreds of quilts a year or do more than play with color palettes, though, you may not need that fancy program.
I used free programs for years before I started quilting more seriously.
I ultimately purchased Electric Quilt 8 when I wanted to do more.
And, as a note, I’ve listed only free quilting programs available online or on PC or Mac. There are several free quilting apps to check out that I’ve compiled in another post, so I’ve left those out of this review round-up.
Lastly, these aren’t necessarily in a specific order but rather just a list for you to check out!
1. PreQuilt
PreQuilt is one of the most popular free online quilt design software. There’s a free demo version and then a monthly subscription fee option.
If you just want to preview colors and design quilt blocks, you can do that easily with the free version. You don’t even have to sign up or log in. Just click to start, and your quilt canvas is ready to be filled with blocks.
However, you must upgrade once you want to start saving work (either a completed quilt or a block). Other features behind the paywall include access to over 1200 pre-loaded blocks.
For reference, you can subscribe to their basic plan for $7.50/month or $50/year to access more features.
If you like binge quilt designing, this is a great option to subscribe for only a month. I don’t know about you, but once I pick fabrics and design a quilt, it then takes me several months to cut and sew it!
Overall, freemium PreQuilt software is easy to use once you get the hang of it (I say this as a very computer-savvy gal, however).
For those with more difficulty learning the program, PreQuilt also has a YouTube channel filled with helpful tutorials.
The free version’s biggest downfall is the inability to save and return to a quilt layout design.
I always like to “sleep on” my designs before starting to cut, and often I’ll return to saved quilts to make changes when the inspiration strikes. This is impossible if you’ve already closed the program window in the free version.
To run PreQuilt software, you must have a phone, tablet, or computer installed with Firefox, Edge, Chrome, or another up-to-date browser. The bigger your screen, the easier it will be to visualize your blocks and grids.
2. AccuQuilt Go! Quilt
I’m in love with my AccuQuilt Go! and the inspiration that AccuQuilt provides in the form of free quilt designs on their website and their virtual get-togethers.
If you don’t have ideas for quilts to design yourself, definitely take a look at the hundreds (maybe thousands?) of free quilt patterns in AccuQuilt’s quilting software. (I didn’t even know this gem existed until recently!)
“Software” might be a bit of a stretch as this isn’t a full-fledged program per se but rather a way to customize pre-made quilt patterns.
When using Accuquilt’s free quilt planning software, you must register or sign in first if you want to save or use your stash.
Then, click to “Create a New Project,” choose the pattern you want to work with, and select your color and fabric options. If registered, you can upload pictures of your fabric stash for extra personalization.
When searching for patterns, you can sort by difficulty, compatible fabric cutter, technique (EPP, applique, or pieced), and size or type.
After your quilt pattern is perfected, you can download the pattern and piecing instructions. (The instructions are not super basic for complete beginners.)
The instructions include a step-by-step tutorial for using the pattern with a rotary cutter OR an AccuQuilt (plus which AccuQuilt dies you need.) In addition, they provide the yardage required for each fabric.
As I have so many AccuQuilt dies, this free quilt software is something I love to use when I’m planning to replicate one of their quilt patterns and only want to preview fabric colors. (This is much easier than getting the pattern to my EQ8.)
One thing I’d wish they’d change with the program is to let you sort by die (you can do this on the website). That and showing the dies required for a quilt as soon as you open the project rather than after you’ve already saved it.
3. MyWebQuilter
MyWebQuilter is an older free online quilt design software with great functionality.
It’s worth bookmarking as a free quilt calculator for sure! (For instance, you can calculate the fabric needed for sashing, binding, backing, borders, etc.)
And, you can browse their free quilt block library for inspiration and use the “Easy Quilt Designer” to create quilts.
Choose “Advanced Designer” for anything more complicated than a single block in one or two colorways.
There are also several onsite in-depth quilting tutorials detailing skills like creating binding and quilt borders.
Since this software is limited in function, there aren’t many exhaustive tutorials I can find for actually using the design tools themselves.
4. PatternJam [Note: Recently Not Working, Awaiting A Fix]
PatternJam is one of my favorite free quilting programs when looking for inspiration from other quilters.
Once you’ve created your account, you can view other users’ finished quilt designs that they’ve made public. You can then download their PDF patterns!
Or, if you like the pattern but want to customize it, you can do that, too. There are no piecing instructions if you are a quilting newbie, though.
To start creating patterns, you have to register with your email address. (They’ve never sent me emails after the day I registered, so don’t worry about spam.) Also, PatternJam only works on my computer, NOT my phone, so make sure you access it that way.
To create a pattern, click “Create Pattern” on the left side of the screen and get to work!
There’s a small library of basic built-in blocks and fabric choices, and you have control over block size, border, size, sashing size, and the number of rows and columns.
In the end, the program gives fabric estimates based on the quilt you want to make.
This is a great free quilt layout program if you don’t want to create blocks from scratch and only want to preview colors and block configurations.
The biggest downfall of PatternJam is there aren’t super detailed user instructions to teach you to use the software (just one 2-minute YouTube video).
But, there is a Facebook group for help, and you can find other quilters’ video tutorials on YouTube.
Almost all features of PatternJam are entirely free, which is excellent! You can even save patterns for free and return to them later.
I recently saw they added a subscription cost if you want to upload fabrics for block preview. (I honestly don’t know how they pay their server costs if they don’t have some premium features or ads!)
5. Quilt Assistant
Quilt Assistant is a quilt design software free download to convert photos to quilt patterns.
What’s unique is instead of creating a pixel quilt from a photo (basically, deconstructing a photo into small different-colored squares and sewing these “pixel” squares together), the software helps divide photos into pieces of different shapes and sizes.
Thus, you can create unique paper pieced blocks and quilts from images.
I always find these quilts to be some of the most creative when I go to sewing conventions and expos. (If you’re in a browsing mood, check out the “My Quilts” section of this site and prepare to be amazed!)
While this software is not a replacement for robust software like Electric Quilt 8, you can draft some quilt blocks in Quilt Assistant and export them to EQ8. (I also like to take paper piecing patterns and import them to my embroidery digitizing software and have my machine piece them.)
One caveat: This program has not had a reported update since December 2012, and the forum hasn’t had activity since 2016.
6. INKSCAPE
For embroiderers, Inkscape is the best free embroidery digitizing software, and it’s also an excellent find for quilters with vector graphics experience.
Inkscape is an open-source alternative to Adobe Illustrator.
It’s not perfect, as it’s contributed to by random code writers worldwide, and it’s also not designed with quilters specifically in mind.
However, if you are already familiar with this software, it’s easy to learn to design and edit certain types of quilts in Inkscape.
Otherwise, there’s a learning curve to mastering quilt design. (I recommend this YouTube live for a basic Inkscape quilting tutorial.)
7. GIMP
Gimp is a popular open-source GNU image manipulation program. It’s always free, and many users create artwork, edit photos, and more.
For the more technologically-inclined quilters, GIMP is also a great option to design fabrics, design quilts, and test fabric colors.
It’s a complicated program for quilters who aren’t graphics savvy, and I recommend this helpful tutorial for users just getting started.
Free Quilt Software – Final Notes
While EQ8, produced by Electric Quilt Company, is my favorite quilting software, these free quilt design software options are worth checking out for quilters learning the possibilities of designing quilts on the computer!
Software comes and goes, so please let me know if there are other free programs or if one is no longer available.
Happy quilting!
I used to have ProQuilter on my computer years ago but the software is obsolete. I loved it. I am going to try the free sites you suggested and see what I can do.
Thank you for your detailed reviews of free quilt design software. Great info for testing the “waters” online.
https://quiltpro.com/ has stopped selling, but made the latest version available on the site for free.
Thanks for letting us know! I’d heard the software was no longer being sold, but I did not know they offered their most recent version for free!
QuiltPro wants a yearly subscription not free any more.
Kathleen
Australia.
WOW, this site is fabulous, so much info to consider. I’m totally confused but know more now than I did yesterday – 😂 Thank you very much.
What would you recommend for laying out tshirt quilt blocks of varying sizes? I’m struggling with how to make everything fit. Thanks!
I actually just finished a t-shirt quilt I’d been procrastinating for years bc planning the perfect fit was such a pain! I ended up using Electric Quilt 8, which has been worth every penny to me so far. I took pics of each shirt, then uploaded the images to EQ8. It took a decent bit of time to upload and crop to size, but it saved my sanity being able to play with placement and then block size on my screen. (Here’s a brief tutorial from EQ8 if you want to check out some of the t-shirt quilt features: https://doyoueq.com/blog/2020/12/design-discover-t-shirt-quilts/.)