Winter Fabric: 5 New Collections to Sew This Season
⚡ Quick Answer
- Five new winter fabric collections landed at Missouri Star this season: Woodland Whispers, Nordic Holiday Village, Snow Flurry, Frosted Wishes Batiks and the First Frost wide backings.
- Want to start with a precut? Nordic Holiday Village has the deepest selection - charm pack, 10" squares, 2 1/2" strips and a fat quarter bundle.
- Sewing a soft, snowy quilt rather than a Christmas one? Snow Flurry and Frosted Wishes Batiks stay wintry into February.
- Tilda's Creating Memories line has a whole winter run of reds and burgundies that quilts beautifully with any of the above.
- Back a queen quilt seam-free with a 108" wide backing - First Frost, Good Natured or Snowburst.
There is a particular week in the fall when the fabric cutting tables at Missouri Star change color. The oranges and rusts get folded down, and out come the greens, the deep reds, the icy blues and about nine different shades of white. That week has arrived, and five new winter collections came with it.
Below is every one of them, what is actually on the shelf right now, and which one to reach for depending on what you are making. If you have ever ordered a beautiful bundle in November and then realized it was five weeks too late to finish the quilt, start with the precut sections - those are the ones that sew fast.
Key Takeaways
- ➤Start with a precut if the quilt has a deadline. A charm pack or a set of 10" squares removes the entire cutting session from a holiday project.
- ➤Christmas and winter are not the same palette. Woodland Whispers and Nordic Holiday Village read as Christmas; Snow Flurry and Frosted Wishes Batiks stay snowy long after the tree comes down.
- ➤Fat quarter bundles sell out first. Every collection here has one, and they are consistently the shallowest stock in the line.
- ➤A 108" wide backing saves you a seam. The perfect way to back a queen quilt with no piecing, no matching, no pressing a long seam open.
- ➤Buy the background fabric now. Low-volume whites and creams are what people run out of in December, not the prints.
The 5 New Winter Fabric Collections
Christmas | P&B Textiles
Woodland Whispers
Leslie Trimbach's understated take on Christmas - Santas, woodland creatures and avocado greens instead of bright primaries. 15 prints, plus 10" squares and a fat quarter bundle. Shop the collection
Christmas | Henry Glass
Nordic Holiday Village
Digitally printed Scandinavian village scenes by Mary Jane Carey. The deepest precut selection of the five, and the one to pick if you want a panel. Shop the collection
Winter | Andover Fabrics
Snow Flurry
Laundry Basket Quilts pairs creamy whites with quiet blues and grays. No red, no green - this is the collection that still looks right in February. Shop the collection
Winter | Island Batik
Frosted Wishes Batiks
Jerry Khiev's blue and white batiks - snowflakes, pinecones, deer and trees. Batik's tight weave gives you crisp points on small piecing. Shop the collection
Wide Backing | P&B Textiles
First Frost 108" Wide Backings
Stephanie Ryan's backing line, all 108" wide. Six colorways of snowfall and berry-and-pine-sprig prints. Shop the collection
Which One Has the Precut You Want?
This is the question that actually decides a holiday project. Here is what is on the shelf as of the writing of this post:
| Collection | Charm / 5" squares | 10" squares | 2 1/2" strips | Fat quarter bundle |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Woodland Whispers | - | Yes - $45.95 | - | Yes - $51.95 |
| Nordic Holiday Village | Yes - $15.95 | Yes - $47.95 | Yes - $52.95 | Yes - $70.25 |
| Snow Flurry | Single Scoops | Sundaes | - | Yes |
| Frosted Wishes Batiks | - | Stacks - $41.95 | Strips - $41.95 | Yes - $71.95 |
| First Frost | - | - | - | Backing yardage only |
💡 Pro Tip: If you are choosing between a charm pack and 10" squares, think about the block. Five-inch squares want a simple four-patch or a disappearing nine patch; 10" squares give you enough fabric to cut half-square triangles big enough to actually see the print. On a busy Christmas print, bigger pieces win.
Woodland Whispers: Christmas Without the Shouting
Woodland Whispers by Leslie Trimbach for P&B Textiles is the collection for people who want a Christmas quilt that can stay on the sofa through January. The palette leans on dark avocado and soft whites rather than fire-engine red, and the Santas are the storybook kind.
The workhorse print is the Santa’s Woodland Allover in white - it is the deepest-stocked piece in the line and reads almost as a low-volume from a distance, so it will not fight a pieced block. There is also a Santa panel if you would rather frame something than piece it.
Nordic Holiday Village: The One With Every Precut
Nordic Holiday Village by Mary Jane Carey for Henry Glass is digitally printed, which is why the little village scenes hold their detail at charm-pack scale. It is also the most flexible collection here - charm pack, 10" squares, 2 1/2" strips and a fat quarter bundle all exist, so you can pick the precut that matches your pattern instead of the other way around.
Snow Flurry: Winter, Not Christmas
Snow Flurry by Laundry Basket Quilts for Andover is the quiet one. Creamy whites, subtle blues and grays, motifs that are snowflakes and winter gardens rather than holly and bells. This is the collection to use when you want a quilt that does not have to be put away on December 26th.
Frosted Wishes Batiks: For Sharp Points
Frosted Wishes Batiks by Jerry Khiev for Island Batik runs blue and white - snowflakes and swirls, poinsettias and pinecones, deer and trees. If you have never pieced with batik, the thing to know is that the weave is tighter than a standard quilting cotton. It frays less, it presses flat, and points come out crisp. It is a little stiffer under the needle, so a fresh 80/12 needle helps.
Tilda's Winter Colorways from Creating Memories
Creating Memories by Tone Finnanger for Tilda is not a winter collection as a whole - it is a big line of ditsy florals, dots and stripes. But it has a distinct winter run in deep reds and burgundies that blends into any of the collections above, and it is the easiest way to add a warm red without going full Christmas print.
| Winter colorway | What it does |
|---|---|
| Winter Charm Pack | The only precut in the winter run - the fastest way in |
| Carla Red | Deepest stock in the line; safe choice for a border or binding |
| Frida Red | A softer red floral - reads warm rather than bright |
| Berrytangle Burgundy | Deep berry; beautiful against Snow Flurry's creams |
| Woven Plaid Burgundy | A yarn-dyed woven plaid - does the seasonal work on its own |
| Brie Red | Small-scale red - good filler between busier prints |
| Harper Pink | The soft option if an all-red quilt feels like too much |
| Avery Red | Ditsy red floral; blends with Woodland Whispers |
Tilda also makes a Winter fat quarter bundle and several woven stripes, but those are down to single-digit stock as of this writing - check availability before you build a whole quilt around one.
Back It Without a Seam: 108" Wide Backings
A standard 44" quilting cotton means piecing your backing for anything wider than a throw. A 108" wide backing means one cut, no seam, and no wrestling a long seam through the machine. Three winter options:
| Backing | Look | Note |
|---|---|---|
| First Frost 108" | Snowfall and berry-and-pine-sprig prints | Six colorways - dark red, dark blue, dark green, white gray, white and ecru |
| Good Natured 108" | Tossed evergreen tree bits | Comes in auburn, mint, iron, smoke, sage and christmas |
| Snowburst 108" | Snowflake toss | Enchanted and fossil are the deep-stocked colorways |
💡 Pro Tip: Buy your backing a good 8 inches wider and longer than your quilt top - 4 inches on every side. If the quilt is going to a longarm quilter, ask them how much overhang they want before you cut; most want at least that, and some want more.
Still Not Sure Which to Pick?
| If you want... | Reach for |
|---|---|
| A Christmas quilt that is soft, not loud | Woodland Whispers |
| A pattern that calls for a specific precut | Nordic Holiday Village - it has all four |
| Something that stays up past the holidays | Snow Flurry |
| Crisp points and a cool blue palette | Frosted Wishes Batiks |
| A warm red to blend into any of the above | Tilda Creating Memories, winter colorways |
| To finish the back in one cut | First Frost, Good Natured or Snowburst 108" |
Frequently Asked Questions
When should I start a Christmas quilt?
If you are piecing and quilting it yourself, give yourself from now to Thanksgiving. If a longarm quilter is finishing it, get it to them by early November - their calendars fill fast in the fall, and the quilting is the step you cannot rush at the end.
What is the difference between winter fabric and Christmas fabric?
Christmas fabric uses the holiday's iconography - Santas, trees, ornaments, holly. Winter fabric is snow, evergreens, icy blues and low-volume whites, with nothing holiday-specific on it. A winter quilt can stay out until spring; a Christmas quilt usually gets folded away in January.
How much fabric do I need for a queen backing?
Roughly 8 to 8 1/2 yards if you piece it from 44" wide fabric, or about 2 3/4 yards of 108" wide backing. The wide backing costs less overall in most cases and saves you the seam.
Do these collections come with a free pattern?
The collections are fabric only. Missouri Star has hundreds of free video tutorials that work with any of these fabrics, and printed patterns are sold separately - the Shimmering Snowflake Table Runner pattern is a good one for the Tilda winter colorways.
Can I mix batiks with regular quilting cotton?
Yes. The batik is a slightly tighter weave, so press carefully and let the seams settle, but they piece together fine. Plenty of quilters use a batik as the background precisely because it stays flat.
What if a fabric I want is sold out?
Winter prints often do not come back once the season's run is gone. If a print is central to your quilt, buy that one first and build the rest of the palette around what is available.
Ready to dig through the whole snowy pile? Everything winter lives in one place.