Midnight Medallion QAL, Week 1: How to Organize Your Pieces Like A Pro
Welcome to Week 1 of the Midnight Medallion Quilt Along (QAL) with Brother USA and me, Wendy from The Weekend Quilter! This week, we’re focusing on gathering and cutting your fabrics (see pattern pages 2 to 4 and 18). You'll find all required fabric quantities, cutting diagrams, and labeling references in the pattern. I'm creating my first version of Midnight Medallion in my debut collaborative fabric collection for Art Gallery Fabrics, GeoBloom. You can read more about the collection here.
This blog post will walk you through how to organize your cut pieces so your sewing experience over the next six weeks is smooth, efficient, and stress-free.
Every Monday throughout the QAL (for 6 weeks, starting March 2, 2026), a new blog post will guide you through that week’s tasks. While many of these tips are tailored specifically to the Midnight Medallion pattern, the organizational strategies can be applied to any quilt project you make in the future.
To receive weekly QAL updates and blog post notifications, sign up for the newsletter here.*
For general QAL information (schedule, tools, supplies, etc.), check out the overview blog post here. We’ll also be keeping all weekly tips and tricks in a single location here — so feel free to bookmark it!
*By signing up for Midnight Medallion QAL updates, you also agree to join The Weekend Quilter email list. Your information will not be sold or shared.
WHAT YOU'LL NEED
This week is all about gathering and cutting your fabrics. Here’s what you’ll need:
• Download the Midnight Medallion quilt pattern for FREE from The Weekend Quilter’s website here.
• Printer to print out fabric labels (optional)
• Printer paper (if you’re printing the fabric labels); paper or sticky labels (if you’re not printing the fabric labels)
• Pen or marker to write out labels (if you’re not printing the fabric labels)
• Iron and ironing board or wool pressing mat
• Fabric starch (optional)
• Rotary cutter
• Quilting rulers—preferably a long ruler (e.g., 6in x 24in) to cover longer cuts and a medium ruler at least 12in square and with a 45-degree angle guide to trim / square up the quilt blocks.
• Cutting mat
• Fabric scissors
• Paper scissors
• Fabrics, quilting cotton – Fabric requirements are based on 42in width of fabric:
Quilt Top – The colors listed below refer to the digital mockup below:
• Fabric A (Pearl): 2⅛ yards (195 cm)
• Fabric B (Tiger Lily): 1 yard (92 cm)
• Fabric C (Pampas): ½ yard (46 cm)
• Fabric D (Apricot Crepe): ⅜ yard (35 cm)
• Fabric E (Sweet Tangerine): ½ yard (46 cm)
• Fabric F (Festival Fuchsia): ½ yard (46 cm)
Quilt Back: 4 yards (412 cm)
Quilt Binding: ½ yard (46 cm)
• Fabric pen or pencil (optional)
• Spare rotary cutter blades (optional)
• Scraps and coordinating thread for making reusable embroidered fabric labels (optional)
• Small trays or bins for organizing fabric groups
• Sewing pins or clips
• Glue stick and small cardstock for color swatching
This project includes many cut pieces — and some are very close in size, which can get confusing quickly. Here are my favorite strategies to keep everything tidy, accurate, and easy to grab throughout the QAL:
1. Create a Color Swatch Card
This is one of the most underrated organization tricks in quilting.
How to make one:
• Cut a small swatch of each fabric: approx. 1in x 1¼in.
• Glue baste and stitch each of the fabric swatches onto a thick piece of cardstock.
• Label each one clearly (Fabric A, Fabric B, etc.).
Why it helps:
When pieces are similar in size or tone, a swatch card becomes your quick visual guide when cutting, laying out blocks, and sewing—especially helpful when fabrics look nearly identical under indoor lighting.
2. Use the Fabric Labels Provided in the Pattern
At the back of your Midnight Medallion quilt pattern (see page 18), you’ll find printable fabric and cut-size labels.
To use them:
• Print the labels.
• Cut them out.
• Pin or clip each label directly to its matching fabric stack.
If you don't have a printer, you could use sticky labels or on a piece of scrap paper, draw out a grid and write labels (printed labels below are from a different pattern).
Why it helps:
This eliminates second guessing, and reduces mistakes later on.
If you want labels you can use on every project going forward, check out my tutorial on embroidered reusable labels here.
3. Organize Everything on a Tray and Labelled
Once everything is cut and labeled, lay the stacks on a tray, shallow bin, or large baking sheet.
Group pieces by fabric color so you can take which fabrics you’ll need for each week of the QAL (or block if you’re going at your own pace).
This keeps your workspace tidy and prevents cut pieces from migrating across the room (we’ve all been there!), and don’t forget to keep the fabric label with the square and rectangle until the pieces are sewn into a block.
Since many cuts in this pattern differ by only ⅛–½ inch, mixing pieces up can lead to mistakes you won’t catch until you're sewing later weeks.
Cutting and organizing fabric may feel like a marathon, but with a good system in place — swatch cards, clear labels, neat trays, and a bit of planning — you’re setting yourself up for six full weeks of smooth, enjoyable sewing.
Seeing your work brings us so much joy. Share your Week 1 progress on social media by tagging @The.WeekendQuilter and @BrotherSews and using #MidnightMedallionQAL and #BrotherSews.
Whether you’re sewing along each week or joining in later, you’re invited to follow the QAL in whatever way works for you. Be sure to bookmark the QAL hub page, where all weekly blog posts will be linked in one easy spot as they publish every Monday throughout the QAL.
To receive reminders about each new post, plus your weekly tasks, make sure you’re signed up for the newsletter here. I can’t wait to keep stitching along with you next week!
Till next time, happy sewing!