Quiltspiration

Storm at Sea barn quilt pattern

The Storm at Sea barn quilt has 31 shapes in 3 colors, laid out from marks along the edges of the board.

Square-in-a-square corners and diamond-in-a-rectangle sides around an Economy block, on a four-by-four grid. All straight lines, though from the road they look like waves.

By Editorial Staff

Storm at Sea barn quilt painted in navy, white, sky blue
Painted in navy, white and sky blue.
Storm at Sea barn quilt layout on a 4 by 4 foot board with measurements
The layout on a 4 × 4 ft board. Numbers are the paint colors below.

Measurements for 2, 4 and 8 ft boards

Marks along the edges
BoardMarks across the top and bottomMarks down the sides
2 × 2 ft3", 6", 9", 12", 15", 18", 21"3", 6", 9", 12", 15", 18", 21"
4 × 4 ft6", 12", 18", 24", 30", 36", 42"6", 12", 18", 24", 30", 36", 42"
8 × 8 ft12", 24", 36", 48", 60", 72", 84"12", 24", 36", 48", 60", 72", 84"

Each mark is measured from the top left corner, rounded to the nearest ⅛". Mark both opposite edges, then join the marks with a straightedge and a sharp pencil.

Paint for the Storm at Sea barn quilt

Two coats of exterior latex on the front, at 100 square feet a quart for each coat (labels say 300 to 400 square feet a gallon). Reds and yellows often need a third coat to cover evenly, so buy the next size up for those. Exterior paint starts at a quart, so on a 2 × 2 ft board 8 oz bottles of outdoor acrylic craft paint go further; what is left is for touch-ups.

Paint by board size
ColorShare2 × 2 ft4 × 4 ft8 × 8 ft
1. Navy50%1 quart (2 oz)1 quart (6 oz)1 quart (21 oz)
2. White31%1 quart (1 oz)1 quart (4 oz)1 quart (13 oz)
3. Sky blue19%1 quart (1 oz)1 quart (2 oz)1 quart (8 oz)
Exterior primerFront, back, edges1 quart (3 oz)1 quart (11 oz)2 quarts (42 oz)

Ounces are what the paint takes; the size is what to buy.

Paint the lightest color first: white, then sky blue, then navy. A darker color covers a lighter one that creeps under the tape, but not the other way round. The full method, from priming the board to hanging it, is in how to make a barn quilt.

The Storm at Sea as a fabric quilt

The Storm at Sea quilt block page has the cutting for four block sizes and the piecing steps. Quilts made with it: Storm at Sea.

Try the colors before you paint

Quiltspiration draws any block in any colors, and gives the cut list when you sew it in fabric.

More barn quilt patterns