One Quilt, Eleven Looks: Meet Our 2027 RBD Block Challenge Colorways
The 2027 Riley Blake Designs Block Challenge is coming - and this year at Cat's Cuts, we're giving you a lot more than one way to make it!
We've been busy behind the scenes reimagining the 2027 Block Challenge quilt in solids, batiks, florals, modern prints and some wonderful new Riley Blake Designs collections.
And now the quilt previews are ready.
One Block Challenge. Eleven very different quilts. Which one will you make?
It All Starts With the RBD Original
The official 2027 Block Challenge quilt finishes at approximately 76" x 76" and was designed by the Riley Blake Designs team using the Warm Confetti Cottons palette.
It's a beautiful combination - but if you've followed Cat's Cuts for a while, you probably already know we weren't going to stop there!
We love seeing what happens when the same quilt design is given an entirely different personality through color and fabric. So we've created ten additional Cat's Cuts curated versions of the 2027 Block Challenge.
Meet the 11 Colorways
1. Warm - RBD Original
This is the quilt as Riley Blake Designs envisioned it, made with the Warm Confetti Cottons palette. If you love warm, inviting solids and want to make the official version of the 2027 Block Challenge quilt, this is the one for you.
2. Cool - Cat's Cuts Curated
What happens when we take the warmth out of Warm? Our Cool Confetti Cottons version shifts the quilt into blues, greens, teals and purples while maintaining the contrast and color relationships of the original design. The quilt is immediately recognizable - but the personality is completely different.
3. Moody - Cat's Cuts Curated
For those who prefer richer, deeper colors, we reimagined the quilt with Moody Confetti Cottons. This palette gives the sampler a more dramatic and sophisticated feel while still allowing the individual block designs to shine.
4. Riley Rainbow - Cat's Cuts Curated
Prefer lots of color? Our Riley Rainbow Confetti Cottons version brings a cheerful spectrum of color to the sampler. It's bright, lively and a completely different interpretation of the same quilt.
Now Let's Add Prints!
Solids are only the beginning. We also wanted to see what would happen if we took the 2027 Block Challenge beyond Confetti Cottons and reimagined it with some of our favorite Riley Blake Designs print collections. The results are dramatically different.
5. Shabby by Lori Holt - Cat's Cuts Curated
Shabby by Lori Holt of Bee in my Bonnet gives the quilt that unmistakable Lori Holt character while still allowing the geometry of the blocks to take center stage. For Lori Holt fans - or anyone who likes the idea of a print-based sampler without overwhelming the block designs - this one is definitely worth a closer look.
6. Renew by Sandy Gervais - Cat's Cuts Curated
The soft, nature-inspired colors and prints of Renew by Sandy Gervais transform the Block Challenge into something gentler and more organic. This version is a great example of just how much fabric choice can change the feeling of a quilt without changing the quilt itself.
7. Kalinda by Pat Fryer
Kalinda by Pat Fryer of Villa Rosa Designs takes us in another direction entirely.This rich, earthy collection of batiks accented with touches of aqua gives the sampler wonderful depth and warmth. If you love batiks, this may be your Block Challenge quilt.
8. Floret by Gerri Robinson
With its graceful florals and soft, sophisticated palette, Floret by Gerri Robinson of Planted Seed Designs creates an elegant interpretation of the 2027 sampler. It's proof that a quilt designed around solids can take on a completely new character when thoughtfully translated into prints.
Three More Colorways Are Coming in November
We're not finished yet!
Three of our reimagined quilts feature new Riley Blake Designs collections scheduled to arrive in November 2026. We don't yet know exactly when the fabrics will arrive, so we're not promising an early-November date. They'll be available as soon as the collections reach Cat's Cuts and we're able to prepare the kits.
9. Quilt in Color by Christa Watson
We're especially excited about this one. Cat's Cuts is collaborating with Christa Watson of Christa Quilts on our Block Challenge version featuring her Quilt in Color collection for Riley Blake Designs. Christa's collection brings its own energetic personality to the sampler, and we're delighted to be able to offer this version of the 2027 Block Challenge.
10. Sunsetridge by Minki Kim
Sunsetridge by Minki Kim brings another distinctive mix of color and print to the quilt. The result shows exactly why we enjoy reimagining the Block Challenge: the block designs remain the same, but the finished quilt tells a very different color story.
11. Scattered-A-Cross by the RBD Designers
Finally, we're reimagining the quilt with Scattered-A-Cross by the Riley Blake Designs designers. This gives us one more print-based interpretation - and one more example of just how versatile the 2027 Block Challenge design can be.
They're More Than Simple Fabric Substitutions
Creating these alternative versions isn't a matter of choosing a pretty bundle and randomly replacing one fabric with another. We carefully map the fabrics from the original RBD quilt to the fabrics in each Cat's Cuts colorway, paying attention to value, contrast, color movement and balance. A fabric assigned to replace a particular color in the original quilt continues to perform that job throughout the reimagined version. That consistency matters. It helps preserve the relationships between the fabrics and keeps the individual blocks working together as a complete quilt.
And We're Making Swatch Guides
If you're looking at all these choices and wondering:
"When Riley Blake tells me to use a particular fabric from the original quilt, how will I know which fabric to use in my kit?"
We've thought about that, too.
Cat's Cuts is preparing colorway-specific Swatch Guides and Notes for our reimagined versions. They'll make it much easier to identify the corresponding fabric in your kit as you work through the Block Challenge patterns. You won't have to look at a pile of similar fabrics and guess which one was intended to replace a color from the original quilt. These guides will be available as a free PDF download, or printed for a small fee.
What Comes in a Cat's Cuts Block Challenge Kit?
Each Cat's Cuts 2027 Block Challenge Quilt Kit includes the fabric needed for the approximately 76" x 76" quilt top, borders and binding.
Backing fabric is not included.
The individual block patterns themselves will be released FREE by Riley Blake Designs according to the 2027 Block Challenge schedule beginning in January. We will provide the link in our product description when it is available.
Because the fabric collections have different wholesale costs, kit prices vary by colorway.
Which One Will You Choose?
This may be the hardest part.
The 2027 Riley Blake Designs Block Challenge begins in January 2027, and we can't wait to see all these different versions begin taking shape one block at a time.
Take a look at all 11 quilt previews, choose your favorite, and join us for the 2027 Riley Blake Designs Block Challenge!