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A black cat with glowing eyes, slinking through wind-blown leaves in the moonlight—doesn’t that just give you the Halloween shivers? Now imagine it as a Halloween quilt!

These patchwork felines will give you the shivers all right, and then warm you right back up!

Halloween quilts are reader favorites–is there something about the cooler days and longer nights that have us nestling into quilting season? Is it the only opportunity to play with the color orange? Or do we quilters just like spooky? In honor of this frightful holiday, here’s a treat bag filled with black cat-inspired Halloween quilt patterns.

Halloween—Row by Row!

Get together with your quilting friends and try out a row quilt, like Bitty Boo.

Halloween quilts are here! Treat your friends to a patchwork exchange with Bitty Boo! — Halloween quilts are here! Treat your friends to a patchwork exchange with *Bitty Boo*!

You can each use the pattern as inspiration to make your own design, or host a block swap, or maybe every quilter sews a row and the quilt is auctioned at your next Guild event (be sure to bring themed snacks).

Cat-o’-Lantern!

Looking for more Bats, Cats, and Candy Corn? Patrick Lose, one of our favorite seasonal project designers, has this scary quilt that showcases not-scary appliqué!

Simple piecing and simple appliqué combine to make an amazing Halloween quilt. Don’t you want to cuddle under this while waiting for trick-or-treaters on your front porch?

Patrick’s simple appliqué techniques combined with clever, charming Halloween designs result in quilts that you’ll be breaking out as soon as the first leaf changes color!

Sweet, Not Scary!

Patrick’s black cats aren’t always scary! The sweetie in Black Cat Arch is certainly a welcoming face for any entry way, especially parked next to the candy bowl. (Why does the level of the candy bowl drops even before those trick-or-treaters show up…? Some mysteries will never be solved.)

The happy smile and sweet whiskers on this black cat makes for inviting Halloween décor!

Prowling at Midnight

One of our most popular patterns, Stairway to Cat Heaven is a delightful quilt. The appliqué cats frolic on the scrappy nine-patch stairs, with the crescent moon shining bright.

Anyone who has lived with a housecat knows the pitter-patter paws playing on the staircase at midnight!

I love this in rich, dark batiks, but wouldn’t it be amazing in scrappy Halloween hues? If you’re choosing a different color palette, the trickiest part of this treat is choosing the right range of values for the appliqué portion. The sky should relatively dark, but the cats need to be darker—black is a perfect choice, of course! The moon should be the lightest fabric, like white or yellow, so that it shines brightly in the sky.

Pieced and Purring

Take a break from appliqué with these pieced black cats. Simple stitch-and-flip corners (and easy quilting technique, let me tell ya!) make this kitty-cat sweet to make.

With the right Halloween fabric, Trick-or-Meow might just be the perfect Halloween quilt!

The fabric in Trick-or-Meow is to-die-for! The printed fabrics have you peering closer and giggling at all the treats you find. There are so many wonderful Halloween fabrics out there, and Halloween quilts are a great place to let loose and try something crazy—silly novelty prints, glow-in-the-dark fabrics, shimmering metallic.

Happy Halloween quilting!
Vanessa Lyman