Cain and Abel Barn Quilt Pattern
A classic barn quilt block you can customize and print as a paint-ready plan.
Planning the board? Use the sizing calculator for exact cell and border measurements, or read the paint color guide before you buy paint.
- Difficulty
- Beginner
- Grid
- 5 × 5
- Colors
- 6
- Suggested board sizes
- 2′ × 2′, 3′ × 3′, 4′ × 4′
About the Cain and Abel block
Barn quilts are large painted wooden squares hung on barns, sheds, and houses across rural America. They trace back to early-2000s Ohio and have since spread along scenic 'barn quilt trails' in nearly every U.S. state.
Each block borrows from the heritage of fabric quilting — geometric stars, crosses, and floral motifs that quilters have stitched together for centuries. Hand-painted on a board, the same pattern becomes a piece of outdoor folk art.
Tips for painting a Cain and Abel barn quilt
Prime both sides of your board and seal the edges before painting to keep moisture out.
Lay out the pattern in pencil first using a grid — every shape lines up on a regular fraction of the board.
Paint the lightest color first, then work toward the darkest so any drips can be covered.
Use painter's tape along straight edges and burnish it down with a credit card to prevent bleed-through.
Ready to design your Cain and Abel?
Customize the colors in the online designer and download a printable paint-by-color plan with a grid diagram.
Open in the designerPainted the Cain and Abel? Share your photo.
We feature finished quilts from real makers in the gallery — it helps other painters see how the Cain and Abel looks in different color combinations.