Every year, I see a flood of “quilting trends of the year” posts, and while they’re fun, most of them are pulled from the same handful of sources. 

This list is different because it comes straight out of my personal crystal ball (Magic 8 ball? Quilty tarot? Or is that just what I call my brain?). They’re based on my experience, my expertise, and maybe a little bit my weirdest dreams and wishes for the near quilting future.

These are the 2026 quilting trends I see gaining real traction in studios, shops, pattern releases, and everyday quilter conversations, and what people are actually making (or talking about making…it’s takes time to put these things into action). 

If you’re planning quilts for 2026, building your stash, or deciding which skills to lean into, here’s where *I think* the vibe is headed.

Pantone announced its “color of the year”, Cloud Dancer, to the absolute riotous disavowal of the internet, demoting themselves from their position as thought leaders in the art and design space. Somewhat-off-white was NOT THE MOVE for 2026.

I won’t get into all of the reasons why this was a terrible decision (or non-decision) for color (non-color) of the year, but suffice to say, we are all needing JOY. Human beings in 2026 need some joy and some energy, and they want to get bold and creative, and they deserve some inspiration. Variety is the spice of our lives.

After years of muted palettes and soft neutrals dominating social feeds across the art and design space, quilters are craving high-energy color and of course all that spicy variety. So move over, Pantone, I’m leading the thoughts now. 

The actual colors of the year 2026 are:

This isn’t about novelty brights or rainbow chaos. It’s about intentional color confidence. It’s about seeing what modern fabric pigments (and the cones and rods in our eyes) are really capable of. It’s about play and experimentation and taking a leap.

If you’ve been sitting on purple prints or vivid greens in your stash, 2026 is their year. If you’ve been lacking these, I have a feeling that the designers are going to have plenty of fun new prints in these hues to offer you this year.

Pictorial patchwork patterns dominate for a reason: they’re approachable, satisfying, and expressive.

• Animals, vegetables, minerals
• Symbols
• Clear silhouettes
• Patchwork doing the drawing AND the talking

Every year, dozens of new emojis are released into our digital lexicons. I find myself communicating in little pictures more and more, despite my early resistance to the whole idea. Quilts (like all art) reflect, express, and interpret the culture around them, so of course they’ve hopped on board the pictorial express.

This style, exemplified by pattern designers like Elizabeth Hartman or Lindsey from Pen & Paper Patterns, has expanded well beyond novelty or juvenile quilts. It’s pop art in quilt form, it’s finding the beauty in the everyday objects around us, and in 2026, I expect to see:

• Grown up and sophisticated pictorial patchwork themes
• Whimsy (because we need a laugh)
• Quirky details and accents (Elizabeth Hartman gives you the option to put glasses on a bear or a cat. What other weird ways can we personalize and upgrade our patchwork pictures?)
• Larger scale blocks that feel modern and pop art

These quilts appeal to both beginners and experienced quilters, despite their often intricate cutting and piecing. Beginners love the structure and the impressive finish, while advanced quilters use color choices or finishing details to push the design further. Quilters of all levels can create gifts for loved ones that delight and feel personal with recognizable iconography, like an emoji-filled text to a friend.

Handwork in quilting isn’t new, quite the opposite, but it also changes and evolves, so let’s keep our eyes on it this year. Quilters have been pushing these techniques further, experimenting with texture and dimension, making something akin to a multimedia piece.

In 2026, I see hand techniques becoming focal points, not just finishing details:

• Sashiko used boldly, not delicately
• Kantha stitching that adds texture and movement
• Embroidery or Cross stitch integrated directly into patchwork blocks
• Big Stitch and Fancy Specialty Stitches on binding adds a fun detail
• Crochet and Knit Stitches around the perimeter of a finished quilt

This trend feels less about nostalgia or tradition and more about slow, intentional making. Quilts that show the human hand of the maker, celebrate imperfection, and invite touch.

I also expect to see more experimentation here: mixed stitches, unexpected thread choices, and handwork combined with modern machine stitching. I'm excited to see where quilters take this!

Space and dimension are becoming just as intriguing as color.

Puff quilts have already broken into the mainstream (have you made one from this tutorial by Lo & Behold Stitchery yet?), but 2026 feels like the year quilters start asking, “What else can we build dimension with?” 

Expect to see:

• Puff quilt technique used more intentionally in modern designs
• New and exciting Cathedral Windows play (have you watched this tutorial from my YouTube channel yet?)
• Raised elements paired with flat patchwork (trapunto and beyond)
• Quilts that are sculptural and multidimensional
• Experiments in scale (teeny tiny 3D elements, giant sculptural quilted works)

This trend taps into a desire for quilts that feel cozy, playful, and physically engaging, perfect both for children and as modern statement art pieces.

Have you checked out the work of NY-based artist Emily Van Hoff yet? She's been pushing the boundaries of quilt sculpture for years now, and she does it in bold, colorful style!

One of the most interesting shifts I’m seeing heading into 2026 isn’t about color or pattern at all, it’s even more basic and foundational. It’s about what the fabric actually is.

While we’ve always had clothing and upcycled fabrics used to make quilts (quilting is rooted in this sort of resourceful repurposing), for a long time, modern quilting has lived primarily in the world of quilting cotton. And while that’s not going anywhere, I think we’re entering a moment where quilters feel more comfortable asking: What happens if I mix things up? Is it still modern? 

This year, I’m especially excited about the rise of linen in quilting, not just as a background fabric, for which it has long been used to great appeal, but as a feature player, the star of the show. Some quilting fabric designers are releasing truly beautiful linen collections (I especially cannot wait for Rashida Coleman-Hale’s Lo Fi collection), and they bring something cotton can’t: texture, breathability, and visible humanity.

Linen wrinkles. Linen softens. Linen changes over time.
And that’s the whole point. That's a feature, not a bug. 

Alongside linen, I’m also seeing renewed interest in flannel, in classic plaids and in all kinds of interesting prints, way beyond baby blanket themes:

• Backings that feel extra cozy
• Mixed plaids for exciting geometry
• Quilts that invite touch, not just admiration

And always in style, cotton lawn, such as Liberty Tana Lawn, makes for a lightweight and luxurious quilt-friendly substrate.

When combined with quilting cotton, these fabrics create quilts with contrast in weight, drape, and texture, quilts that feel more like lived-in objects, perhaps, than perfect showpieces.

This trend ties directly into something a lot of quilters are craving right now: permission.

• Permission to use what they already have.
• Permission to mix thing up: old mixed with new, heavy mixed with light, mix up collections, color palettes, and textures.
• Permission to let a quilt feel a little uneven, a little imperfect, a little unique, and a lot more human.

In 2026, I expect to see more quilts that blend substrates on purpose. Sew cotton with linen, linen and lawn, chambray with flannel, unexpected pairings that make a quilt feel unique to its maker. Not because it’s trendy, but because it feels good, practical, and personal.

Here’s the sleeper trend I think we are all over-the-top excited about: simple, scrappy patchwork quilts based on classic shapes and designs are perennial favorites, and with good reason. 

Let’s not overthink it in 2026! Let’s have less unused fabric lying around and more (WAY MORE) finished quilts to give, to admire, and to wrap up in.

Underthink it:

• Nine-patches
• Squares (any size at all!)
• Strips and strings
• Log cabins
• No complicated construction, no new skills required

These quilts give us quilters permission to:

• Use our impressive fabric stashes
• Make progress without pressure
• Relax!
• Focus on play instead of technique

In a time when so many makers feel overwhelmed by choice, these quilts offer relief. They’re practical, satisfying, and still personal and unique. They remind us that not every quilt needs to reinvent the wheel.

When you zoom out, these predicted 2026 quilting trends all point to the same themes:

• Confidence (in color, in skill, in personal taste)
• Comfort (warmth, simplicity)
• A desire for texture and touch (and human hands showing their care and their skill)
• Making quilts that feel good to create, not just impressive to finish

2026 quilting isn’t about chasing complexity, it’s about leaning into what works, what feels good, and what keeps people sewing. 

(I can't wait to revisit these in approx one year to see if my crystal ball is in good working order, or if it needs a li'l tune-up.) 

2026 is the year for more COLOR, CREATIVITY + CONNECTION. 

Cheers! I'll toast to that.