Sticks and Stones Quilt Tutorial: Jenny Doan's Modern Strip Quilt Design
Looking for a quilt that's modern, graphic, and surprisingly simple? The Sticks and Stones quilt is one of Jenny Doan's most clever designs — using nothing but 2½-inch strips and small white squares, you'll create bold, staircase-style blocks that look like they belong in an art gallery. It's strip piecing at its most satisfying.
This tutorial has racked up nearly a million views, and it's easy to see why. The cutting is straightforward, the sewing is all straight lines, and the finished quilt has that striking modern aesthetic that quilters and non-quilters alike can't stop admiring. Grab a jelly roll (or cut your own strips) and let's get started!
What Is a Sticks and Stones Quilt?
The Sticks and Stones quilt is a modern strip quilt built from 2½-inch strips ("sticks") cut to varying lengths, separated by small white squares ("stones"). Each block features strips arranged in a staircase pattern — shortest at the top, longest at the bottom — with a white square at the end of each strip. When blocks are assembled together, the white squares create a diagonal cascade down the quilt, giving it a contemporary, architectural feel.
What makes this design so approachable is the simplicity of the components. You're only working with two shapes: rectangles and squares. No triangles, no curves, no complicated piecing. It's the arrangement that creates all the visual interest, and Jenny's method makes it foolproof.
Jenny makes this modern design look effortless — and it really is!
What You'll Need
🌈 1 jelly roll (40 strips, 2½" × WOF) or equivalent yardage
These are your "sticks." A jelly roll gives you a gorgeous mix of coordinating colors. You can also cut your own 2½" strips from fat quarters or yardage. Shop precuts.
⬜ Background fabric (white or cream) — 2 yards
For the 120 "stones" (2½" squares) that create the staircase effect. A solid white makes the colored strips pop. Shop fabric.
✂️ Rotary cutter, long ruler & mat — Shop rotary cutters
📏 Quilting ruler (at least 12½") — Shop rulers
🪡 Sewing machine with ¼" presser foot
Step-by-Step Instructions
Step 1: Cut Your Background Squares
First, cut 120 white 2½-inch squares. That sounds like a lot, but Jenny has a fast method: cut eight 2½-inch strips from your background fabric (selvage to selvage), then stack them up and sub-cut at 2½-inch intervals. You can cut 3-4 strips at once if you stack them carefully.
Step 2: Cut the Colored Strips to Length
Open up your jelly roll strips and cut them to five specific lengths. For each block, you'll need one strip of each size:
2½" — the smallest piece (same size as a square)
4½" — a short rectangle
6½" — medium rectangle
8½" — longer rectangle
10½" — the longest piece
The easy way to remember? 2, 4, 6, 8 — who do we appreciate? The half-inch! Every cut is an even number plus ½ inch.
Five simple cuts from each strip — that's all it takes to build the block!
Step 3: Add a White Square to Each Strip
Take each colored strip and sew a 2½-inch white square to one end. This is the "stone" that sits at the end of each "stick." Chain-piece them to save time — just feed one pair after another through the sewing machine without cutting thread between them.
Press the seams toward the colored fabric. You'll end up with five strip-plus-square units per block, each a different length.
Step 4: Build the Second Side
Now pick a different colored strip for each length and sew another white square to one end. You'll have two strip-and-square units of each length — one for each side of the block. Make sure the strips for each pair are different colors for visual interest.
Each block needs 10 strip-square units total: two of each length (2½, 4½, 6½, 8½, 10½), each with a white square at the end.
Step 5: Assemble the Block
Lay out your strips so the white squares form a staircase pattern running diagonally from top to bottom. Arrange them with the shortest strips at the top and the longest at the bottom:
Row 1: 10½" strip (left) + 2½" square (right) — white squares meet in the center
Row 2: 8½" strip (left) + 4½" strip (right)
Row 3: 6½" strip (left) + 6½" strip (right)
Row 4: 4½" strip (left) + 8½" strip (right)
Row 5: 2½" square (left) + 10½" strip (right)
Sew each pair of strips together into rows, then sew the rows together. Make sure your seams are nesting nicely for flat, accurate blocks.
Step 6: Arrange and Sew the Quilt Top
Once you have all your blocks completed, arrange them in rows. You can alternate the direction of the staircase for a zigzag effect, or keep them all going the same direction for a consistent diagonal cascade.
Sew the blocks into rows, pressing seams in alternating directions. Then sew the rows together. For a throw-size quilt, a 4×5 block layout works great. Add sashing strips between blocks if you want more breathing room in the design.
The finished blocks have a striking modern look with those cascading white squares!
Step 7: Quilt and Bind
Layer your quilt top with batting and backing. This design looks stunning with straight-line quilting — try quilting horizontal lines across the quilt to echo the strip direction, or go with diagonal lines that follow the staircase pattern.
Bind with a coordinating solid or a fun print that ties all the colors together. A white binding creates a clean, modern frame.
Pro Tips for Your Sticks and Stones Quilt
📏 Accuracy in cutting = accuracy in blocks. Since the strips must line up to create the staircase, make sure your cuts are precise. Double-check that 2½" measurement every few cuts.
🌈 Use a jelly roll for easy color coordination. A curated jelly roll takes the guesswork out of color selection. Every strip already coordinates! Shop jelly rolls.
⛓️ Chain piece everything. With 120 white squares to sew, chain piecing saves you a ton of time and thread. Just keep feeding pairs through without stopping.
🔀 Mix up your strip colors within each block. Jenny recommends using different colors for each strip in the block. This gives the quilt a scrappy, lively look.
📐 Square up each block before assembly. Trim all blocks to the same size to ensure your quilt top lays flat and your staircase lines stay crisp.
The Sticks and Stones quilt proves that sometimes the simplest components create the most dramatic results. With just strips and squares, you'll have a quilt that looks like a modern art installation — and you'll have a blast making it. It's the perfect project for using up that jelly roll you've been saving, or for diving into a new color palette.
Happy quilting! 💛