Compare Updated 2026-07-02
Quilt design software compared
Draft a block on a grid that holds your finished block size, drop pieced units and quilt curves, lay a whole quilt top with sashing and borders, and audition fabrics in a color mockup. Free, in the browser, no login.
A quilt block here is real CAD geometry: you draw it, not pick it from a library.
At a glance
| Software | Price | Runs on | Block drafting | Pieced units + curves | Quilt-top layout | Fabric mockup | Best fit for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pixie Space | Free | Browser | Yes, on a grid that holds the finished block size | HST, QST, flying geese; Drunkard's Path, clamshell, orange peel | Straight or on point, with sashing, cornerstones, borders | Yes, a fabric per layer, plus a coloring-page view | Quilters who draft their own blocks and want it free in the browser |
| Electric Quilt 8 | $239.95 perpetual | Desktop | Yes, plus a large stored-block library | Yes | Yes | Yes, with fabric collections | Quilters invested in the deep EQ block and fabric libraries |
| PreQuilt | Free + paid plans | Browser | Limited; built around preset blocks | Preset-based | Yes | Yes | Planning and coloring a quilt from existing blocks |
| Quilt Assistant | Free | Desktop (Windows) | Yes, traced from a photo or drawn | Manual | Limited | Basic | Free paper-piecing template work from a picture |
| Inkscape | Free (GPL) | Desktop | Generic vector, no block grid | Manual | Manual | Manual fills | General vector drawing pressed into quilt duty |
Directional guide as of 2026-07-02. Electric Quilt publishes a list price; PreQuilt pricing varies by plan. Features and pricing vary by plan, region, and product version.
Pixie Space for quilting
Free browser-native quilt drafting on a real CAD canvas. Draw the block geometry yourself, keep exact finished sizes, and see the quilt in fabric before you cut a single piece.
- A block grid sized to your finished block: one cell is always one block, at any zoom.
- Pieced units at their finished size: half-square triangles, quarter-square triangles, flying geese.
- Quilt curves for curved piecing and applique: Drunkard's Path, clamshell, orange peel. Pull to refine like any pen path.
- Define a block once, then lay it straight or on point with sashing, cornerstones, and borders, or place blocks one by one for samplers and medallions.
- A fabric is a layer: recolor it and every patch of that fabric updates across the quilt.
- Switch between the fabric mockup and a printable coloring page, and export either to SVG, alongside DXF and PDF.
- Seam allowance on the layer, previewed as a cut line beside the finished line.
- Print or plot to scale at 1:1 or any ratio, with multi-page tiling and registration marks.
Common questions
Is Pixie Space a free alternative to Electric Quilt 8?
For block drafting and quilt-top layout, yes. Pixie Space runs in the browser with no install and no account: draft blocks on a grid that holds your finished block size, drop pieced units and quilt curves, lay out straight or on-point sets with sashing, cornerstones, and borders, and audition fabrics in a color mockup. EQ8 keeps the deeper library of stored blocks and fabric collections.
How does Pixie Space compare to PreQuilt?
Both run in the browser. PreQuilt is built around planning and coloring a quilt from existing blocks. Pixie Space is a drafting canvas: you draw the block geometry itself with real CAD tools, snap it to the block grid, then lay out the quilt and color it by fabric layer.
Can Pixie Space calculate yardage or a cutting list?
Not yet. Today it drafts blocks and quilt tops, previews seam allowance as a cut line, and exports SVG, DXF, and PDF, including the fabric mockup and a printable coloring page.
Can I bring in blocks from other tools?
Yes. Pixie Space opens SVG and DXF, so blocks exported from other quilt software land as editable geometry. Your work stays in local files, with a native pspace format for lossless saves.
Does Pixie Space print to scale?
Yes. Print or plot at 1:1 or any ratio, with multi-page tiling and registration marks for tape-together printing at home.
Open Pixie Space
Draft a block, lay the quilt top, audition fabrics. Free, no signup.
Open Pixie Space →Curious where Pixie Space sits at the kernel level? See the 2D CAD comparison.
Electric Quilt, PreQuilt, Quilt Assistant, and Inkscape are trademarks of their respective owners. Pixie Space is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by these companies.