Originally posted - 1/10/18

Updated - 1/16/22

Temperature crafts are nothing new, knitters and crocheters have been making temperature afghans for years. Cross-stitchers have been stitching their own version too. I can crochet pretty good but knitting and cross-stitch are not my mediums no matter how much I want to do them. I'm a quilter though and I wanted a quilt. I didn't want to borrow from the knit and crochet patterns because that would just be a jelly roll race quilt. I batted around several ideas before settling in on doing half-square triangles.

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Temperature Quilt

So thanks to technology we can make temperature quilts for any year we want. Weather Underground has a historic weather page that you can put in your zip code and pick your year. For this quilt, we are using both the high and low for each day. This is a great project to bust your scraps up and to use as a leader ender project.

Supplies for Temperature Quilt

The first thing you need to do is decide how you are going to make your half-square triangles. The size of the half-square triangles is 3 1/2" unfinished, 3" in our quilt. This will give us a quilt approximately 71"x70".

If you are doing a past year the magic 8 method might be best for you. You'll need 8 3/4" squares for this method.

If you want to use smaller pieces of fabric you can use the two half-square triangle blocks at a time. You'll need 4 1/2" squares for this method.

If you are going to be doing a current year or you want more variety in your half-square triangles I recommend using a triangle ruler. You'll need to follow the manufacture's directions for fabric requirements. I recommend the Fons & Porter quarter & half triangle ruler or the EZ Quilting Easy Angle ruler.

One last option, if you have an Accuquilt they make a 3" finished size half-square triangle die.

Fabric for Temperature Quilt

Besides the colors below for your temps you'll need some neutral 3 1/2" squares. You'll need about 55 squares, depending on what year you are doing.

Dark Blue - Negative temps
Yellow - 0-20
Pink - 21-40
Green - 41-60
Light Blue - 61-80
Orange - 81-100
Red - 101+ temps

Construction of Temperature Quilt

You'll need to be organized for this project. Sticky notes will be your best friend. If you are making the current year or using a previous year as a leader ender project you'll want to keep your days straight. A sticky note with the date will save you a lot of headaches. If you have days that only have one color just cut 3 1/2" squares.

Each month will be a block in your quilt. This is where those neutral blocks come in, you'll those to fill in the blank days of the calendar. Each month has 35 squares and is laid out like a calendar, 7 blocks across, 5 rows down. The quilt also has 2 1/2" sashing strips between each block.