Snowshoe Hare Quilt Pattern

The Snowshoe Hare winter quilt pattern makes a lovely homemade gift or quilty addition to your home décor!!

The inspiration for this adorable, woodsy table runner quilt comes from spotting a white snowshoe hare in the woods last winter! I felt very lucky, indeed, to see that beautiful white rabbit!!!

This is an easy quilt pattern to follow for even a novice quilter! But I think experienced quilters will also like making this fun and quick table runner quilt!! 

Finished size of this quilt is 15″ x 47″.

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General Sewing Directions for the Snowshoe Hare Quilt Pattern          

Read through all directions before starting the Snowshoe Hare Quilt Pattern.

The directions for this quilt are for rotary cutting and machine piecing.

Accurate cutting and sewing enhances your final product.  Pin your pieces together before sewing them to ensure proper seam alignment.

Use a carefully followed 1/4” seam allowance to help you get uniform seams and matching corners.

Follow the pressing directions described in the pattern. 

Fabric Requirements for the Snowshoe Hare Quilt Pattern

I used two different dark gray fabrics (one print and one solid) for the background of the trees. 

For the tree branches I used three different cream print fabrics that had little gray/black patterns on them. 

The rabbit was made with a white tone on tone small print fabric. 

I framed the quilt with a black striped binding and made the backing out of a black/gray print.  I really like the monochromatic look of this quilt and now I want to design a larger quilt in this contrasting palette!!  It’s such a stunning color combination!

Here are the fabric requirements for each of the fabrics needed to make the quilt…

Dark Gray Fabric: 

7/8 yard total or 3 fat quarters

Cream Print Fabric: 

1/2 yard total or 3 fat quarters

White Fabric:  

4” x 6” piece

Light-weight Fusible Interfacing: 

4” x 6” piece

Binding: 

3/8 yard

Backing: 

3/4 yard

Batting: 

19” x 51” piece of thin cotton batting

Cutting Directions for the Snowshoe Hare Quilt Pattern

Use your favorite rotary cutter, plastic quilt ruler, and cutting mat to cut the following pieces.

Dark Gray Fabric: 

Cut a total of 6 – 9” x 18” strips and 2 – 1 1/2” x 15 1/2” strips

Cream Print Fabric: 

Cut a total of 3 – 1” x 42” strips, 3 – 1 1/2” x 42” strips and 3 – 2 1/2” x 18” strips.  Trim the 2 1/2” strip so it measures 2 1/2” on the bottom and about 1 1/4” at the top.

Binding: 

Cut 4 – 2 1/2” x 42” strips.  Trim each end at opposite 45° angles.  Sew the strips together along the 45° edges to form one long binding strip.  Press seams open.  Fold the strip in half along the long edge with the right sides facing outward.  Press along the folded edge to hold the folded strip in place.  You can use a little spray starch to press a nice, crisp fold.

Backing: 

Cut along the folded edge of the 3/4 yard piece to get 2 – 20” x 27” strips.  Sew together along the 20” edge to make a 20” x 54” backing piece.

Sew the Tree Block

Lay two 9” x 18” gray strips vertical on your cutting mat, about 2” apart from each other. 

Use your ruler and rotary cutter to cut apart these rectangles in the places you want the branches to be.  Here is an example of how you could cut these lines to represent the branches.

You don’t need to follow this exactly, nor do you need to make the branches of your tree blocks look exactly alike.  Keep the narrow branches close to the inside edge or they’ll be cut off when the block is trimmed to size.

The 1″ strip of cream strips will be used for the narrow branches and the 1 1/2″ cream strips will be used for the wider branches.

Cut the cream strips apart to fill in the branch locations you cut in the gray strips. Make sure the cream strips that are filling in the spaces extend a bit beyond the edges of the gray pieces.

Sew in the Narrow Branches

Use the 1” strip of cream fabric to sew in the narrow branches. 

Select a branch to start with.  Sew the 1” strip between the cut sections for where the narrow branch will go. 

Press seams toward cream branch.

Repeat until you have all of the narrow branches sewn in for both rectangles. 

Use your ruler and rotary cutter to trim the sides of the branch units that will connect with the wider branch.  Trim at the same angle of the gray pieces, just enough so the unit doesn’t have any cream overhang and is nice and straight. 

You don’t need to trim the outside edges of the unit right now. 

Sew in the Wider Branches

Next you’ll sew in the wider branches! 

Use the 1 1/2” strip of cream fabric to sew in the wider branches. 

Follow the same directions as when you sewed in the narrow branches, only now you’ll be working with some gray pieces that have a narrow branch sewn into them. 

Press the seams toward the wider cream branch. 

Repeat until you have all the wider branches sewn in for both gray rectangles. 

Use your rotary cutter to slightly trim along the edge of each rectangle where the tree trunk will be sewn in so there is a straight edge to sew along. Trim inside of rectangles at as straight of a 90° angle as you can. 

Add the Trunk Strip

Sew the 2 1/2” x 18” trimmed cream strip to each gray rectangle unit to connect the sides of the tree together between cream tree trunk.

Trim the Top and Bottom of the Block

Trim block to measure 15 1/2” x 15 1/2”.  Use your plastic ruler and the lines on the cutting mat to get the block trimmed to size. 

Lay your tree horizontal and lay the plastic ruler along the center of the cream trunk.  This will allow you to see where a good placement for the tree is within the 15 1/2” block.

Mark or eyeball where you want the bottom of the block to be trimmed.  Make sure you’ll have enough room at the top of the block to measure 15 1/2”!

Cut along the right side (the bottom of the tree/block) so you now have a straight side to measure from.

Lay this straight edge of the block along the zero line on your cutting mat.  Locate the 15 1/2” measurement on the cutting mat.  Place your plastic ruler squared up along the 15 1/2” line of the cutting mat and cut the right side again (the top of the tree/block).

The top and bottom of the block now measure 15 1/2” high and you have two squared up lines to measure from.

Trim the Sides of the Block

Lay the block on your cutting mat so the middle of the trunk falls close to the 7 3/4” to 8” line of the mat.

Double check that the left edge of the block extends beyond the left side of the cutting mat and beyond the 15 1/2” line on the cutting mat.

Locate the 15 1/2” measurement on the cutting mat.  Place your plastic ruler squared up along the 15 1/2” line of the cutting mat and cut the right side again (the right side of the tree/block).

Turn the block so the tree is upside down and the right side lays along the zero line on the cutting mat.

Locate the 15 1/2” measurement on the cutting mat.  Place your plastic ruler squared up along the 15 1/2” line of the cutting mat and cut the right side again (the left side of the tree/block).

Your block will now measure 15 1/2” x 15 1/2” square!

Repeat all of these steps to create the other 2 tree blocks!

Add the Rabbit Applique

Print the rabbit template attached here:

Use a paper-cutting scissors to cut out the rabbit template.

Trace around the template onto the wrong side of the white piece of fabric.

Place the right side of the white fabric together with the fusible (bumpy) side of the interfacing.  Pin in place.

Slowly machine-stitch around the outline of the rabbit.  Carefully turn the piece as you stitch and stop at the points with the needle down, turning the fabric with the presser foot up before continuing on.  Use the smallest stitch length.

Trim both the fabric and interfacing 1/8” around the outline of the rabbit.  

Carefully snip all around the 1/8” outside edge.

Cut an “X” into the interfacing being careful not to cut into the white fabric. 

Turn right side out by gently tugging the fabric through the “X”.  Roll the fabric between your thumb and finger to get it to completely turn.  Carefully use a pin if needed to get the points of the ears or any other parts of the edge turned right side out. 

Finger-press the edges of the rabbit piece and place it where you want it to be on the center block of the quilt top.  Place the rabbit about 1/2” from the bottom edge so it doesn’t get sewn into the binding seam!

Use your iron to press the fusible interfacing side of the rabbit piece to your quilt top. 

A small needle and fine thread works best for disappearing-stitch applique!

Using tiny disappearing stitches to hand-stitch applique the rabbit permanently in place on the quilt.

Assemble Quilt Top

Sew the tree blocks together by sewing a 1 1/2” x 15” gray strip on each side of the center tree block.

Finish Your Quilt

Now that you have your quilt top completed, it’s time to get your quilt finished!

Use your favorite methods to baste, quilt, and bind your quilt together!  And don’t forget to add a label!!

Layering the Top, Batting, and Back

I refer to layering the quilt as “sandwiching”.  You need to sandwich the top and back with the batting in the middle.  For a larger quilt, this process takes a bit more time and steps.  But for this small quilt, it’s a breeze to sandwich the layers together! 

Tape the Backing Down

On a table or countertop, use masking or painter’s tape to tape down the backing fabric.  As you tape the back to the table, you’ll want to make sure the fabric is smooth, without wrinkles.  Also, make sure the right side of the fabric is facing down! 

Add the Batting

Lay the batting on top of the taped-down quilt back, and move your hands across it to smooth it all over.  This will get rid of any wrinkles in the batting, and help to adhere it to the backing fabric. 

Place the Quilt Top

Once you have the batting placed on top of the quilt back, center the quilt top over the two bottom layers.  Right side facing up, of course!  The two bottom layers of the quilt (the back and the batting) should extend about 2” all around the outside edges of the quilt top.

Move your hands across the quilt top to smooth it all over, and help remove any wrinkles.  This will also help adhere the quilt top to the batting a little bit. 

How to Baste the Quilt Layers Together

Once you have the top of the quilt all smoothed out, use large safety pins to baste all three layers together.  I like to use 1 ½” stainless pins, and I keep them all in a cute old canning jar that was my grandma’s.

Put a pin in each corner of the quilt sandwich and around the entire quilt every 4-5 inches so the three layers don’t move around when you’re machine quilting this project.  You really don’t want to use more pins than this or you’ll be needing to stop a lot when you’re quilting to remove pins, which upsets the mojo of your quilting rhythm, lol!

Use whatever free-motion stitch you’d like. You’ll need a darning foot to free-motion quilt, and you’ll need to either be able to lower the feed dogs on the machine or place a special cover over them.  If you’re using a straight stitch to machine quilt you’ll need a walking foot.

As an alternative, you can hand-quilt these layers together too.

How to Bind a Quilt

When you’ve finished quilting the layers together, it’s time to bind the edges of your quilt! 

Prepare the Binding Strip

Sew cut strips together along 2 1/2” end to form a long binding strip.  Press seams open.  Press this strip in half lengthwise, right sides facing out.

Sew the Binding Strip to the Quilt

Begin to sew the raw edge of the binding to the quilt by pinning it along one side.  Be careful to sew the raw edge of the binding strip to the quilt, not the folded edge!

I usually start sewing the binding strip in the middle of the quilt side that I’m starting with.  Start sewing about 5” in from the end of the binding strip, leaving a hanging “tail” on the binding.  You’ll sew this to the end of the binding strip when you finish sewing all along the sides of the quilt.

Stop sewing on the first side 1/4” from the corner, use a pin to mark this location and sew right up to it.  Backstitch a bit, and cut your thread but DON’T cut the binding strip.

Making the Mitered Corner

Now, remove the quilt and binding strip from your machine and fold the binding strip straight up so it’s perpendicular from the side you were just sewing on. 

Fold the binding strip back down on itself and match it to the edge of the quilt you just sewed it to, and the next edge of the quilt you’re about to sew it to.  Pin this fold in place, and pin the binding strip to this edge of the quilt and continue to sew it, again stopping 1/4” from the next corner and repeating the folding process described above. 

Continue in this manner until you are on the last side of the quilt, the side you started on. Stop sewing about 12″ from where you started sewing the binding strip on.

Connecting the Ends of the Binding

You now have two “tails” of the binding strip, tail #1 from where you started stitching it to the quilt and tail #2 from where you ended.  You’ll need to join these tails together so that you have a continuous binding strip to finish sewing onto the quilt.  Follow the steps below to join the tails!  

STEP 1

Lay tail #1 of the binding strip along the unsewn edge of the quilt.  Trim it at a 90° angle about half way between this unsewn edge.  

STEP 2

Lay tail #2 of the binding strip over tail #1 along the unsewn edge of the quilt.  Measure 2 1/2” beyond the trimmed straight edge of tail #1.  Mark this 2 1/2” measurement with a pin or pencil, and trim the tail #2 at a 90° angle also.  The two trimmed binding strip tails should overlap by 2 1/2”.

STEP 3

Unfold the two tails so they lay flat. Pin the two tails together perpendicular to each other (right sides together).  Use a fine pencil to draw a diagonal line from the corner of tail #2 to the opposite side, as shown here. 

Sew along the drawn diagonal line.  Trim the outside corner 1/4” from the seam and finger press the seam open.  Fold binding strip in half again, lengthwise.  The continuous binding strip should now lay flat along the unsewn edge of the quilt.  Finish sewing the binding strip to the quilt.

Trim the Batting and Back

Trim the batting and quilt back to 1/4” from the edge of the quilt top.  I use a ruler and a rotary cutter to accomplish this task.  Work carefully, so you don’t cut into your quilted project.

Hand-Stitch the Folded Binding Edge to the Quilt Back

Here is my FAVORITE part of the process, hand-sew the folded edge of the binding strip to the back of the quilt.  When you get to the corner, carefully turn the corner right-side out to make a nice, mitered corner.  I tack a few stitches up the corner to hold it in place, and then continue stitching along all sides and corners until…VOILA!  Your binding is complete!

If you like this fun bunny quilt check out my Cottontail Cutie mini quilt!

The Snowshoe Hare Quilt Pattern was released for the Just Let Me Quilt blog hop challenge! Check out the other quilters listed below who are also sharing their quilty “White Rabbit” designs!!!

Here’s who are “White Rabbit” hopping too, check them out!!

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