Festival of Quilts 2026: Everything You Need to Know 

If you love patchwork, quilting and fabric there really is nothing quite like spending a day surrounded by thousands of quilts, hundreds of quilting products and a whole lot of people who understand exactly why buying just one more fat quarter is completely necessary!

The Festival of Quilts is one of the biggest quilting events in Europe and brings together quilters, designers, fabric companies, shops, teachers and makers from across the quilting world into one huge space.

I headed to the Festival of Quilts this year, as I have done every year for as long as I can remember. It has become a bit of a tradition. 

This year I was lucky enough to win tickets too - which gave me a few extra £££ to spend on the day.

I was so excited as I had been watching the promotional videos on Instagram and had seen some snippets of some of the quilts which had been entered. I was also REALLY excited to meet up with some friends, which up until the festival, I had only chatted to online.

Can you see the bag already starting to fill up!

Where is the Festival of Quilts?

The Festival of Quilts takes place at:

NEC Birmingham
North Avenue
Marston Green
Birmingham
B40 1NT

The NEC is a huge venue, so don't underestimate how much walking you'll do!

There is plenty of parking at the NEC, and Birmingham International railway station is right next to the venue, making it relatively easy to reach by train.

When is the Festival of Quilts?

The 2026 Festival of Quilts took place from:

Thursday 30 July – Sunday 2 August 2026

The show runs over four days, giving visitors plenty of opportunities to explore the exhibitions, competitions, workshops, talks and shopping.

If you're planning to visit in a future year, always check the official Festival of Quilts website for the latest dates, ticket information and programme.

What can you actually see at Festival of Quilts?

This is where the show gets really exciting.

It's not simply a giant shopping event. There is an enormous amount to see and do.

You'll find:

• 🏆 Quilt competitions

• 🎨 Quilt galleries and exhibitions

• 🧵 Fabric and haberdashery stalls

• ✂️ Quilting tools and equipment

• 📚 Books and patterns

• 🪡 Workshops and demonstrations

• 🎤 Talks and presentations

• 🛍️ Independent quilt shops and businesses

• 🌍 International exhibitors

• 👩🎨 Textile artists and designers

And, of course, lots and lots of quilts!

This was one of my favourites - the colours and the unusual shapes.

If you do plan going, I would suggest checking regularly as to what workshops and events they are holding and book them up quickly, as there are limited spaces. I decided this year, as we would only be there for a day, not to book onto anything. But there were some fantastic sounding classes!

The quilts

For me, one of the best things about Festival of Quilts is seeing the competition quilts in person.

You can look at photographs of quilts online, but seeing them hanging in front of you is completely different.

You get to see the tiny details, the quilting, the fabrics, the stitching and all the little things that don't necessarily show up in a photograph.

And if you're a beginner, don't be intimidated.

You don't need to understand every technique or be able to imagine making something similar yourself.

Here are some of the photographs I took...

1st prize in Quilt Creations category – Matt Wilding, Pride Around The World

I loved this stand and checking out the Legit Kits quilts- the details!! I almost got talked in to buying one... can you guess which one?

Well actually there was two..

The colour inspiration is incredible

If you're anything like me, you'll probably come away with about 47 new colour combinations in your head!

One of the things I love about seeing quilts in person is spotting combinations that I might not have thought to put together myself.

You can see traditional and modern colour palettes, scrappy quilts, two-colour quilts, prints mixed with solids and unexpected fabric combinations

No prizes for guessing this was a firm favourite of mine too - it combined bright bold colour, careful piecing and EPP!

 

I also have to give a dear friend a special mention who was brave enough to display her first ever quilt created from her own quilt pattern.

The designer is Pina Aleo and she is obsessed with this gorgeous stained glass window effect. I had seen photos of this quilt, but getting to see the original, was fantastic.

The shopping

Now let's talk about the other reason many of us go...

THE SHOPPING.

Festival of Quilts brings together a huge number of quilting businesses, so it's a brilliant opportunity to discover fabrics, tools, patterns and products that you might not normally see in your local quilt shop.

You'll find everything from fabric and precuts to rulers, sewing machines, threads, books and patterns.

I did buy a few things, but I was more restrained this year than previous years. You'll have to wait to see my "haul".

 

Have you been to Festival of Quilts?

I'd love to know whether you have been and what you thought... (and bought). If you haven't been - has this inspired you for next year?

Has this inspired you to head into your sewing room and get sewing...

Check out my full range of patterns Pattern Shop – Beginners Quilting Hub.