Brown Bag Mystery 2026

Welcome to the 2026 Brown Bag Mystery – Two Step Tango!

Cupcake Quilts is thrilled to once again participate in this beloved yearly mystery quilt with Karen Montgomery. This exciting quilt top is full of surprises—the mystery is truly multi-faceted!

The first mystery? What fabrics are inside the bag (hint: the bow on the outside gives you a clue!). The second? What the quilt will look like! The pattern is revealed in a series of clues, so you won’t know the final design until the BIG reveal in mid-May.

Pattern clues are either snail-mailed to you or may be picked up in the shop on the release dates listed below.

2026 Clue Release Schedule:

Clue 1: March 21
Clue 2: April 4
Clue3: April 18
Clue 4: May 2
Clue 5: May 16 - The BIG Reveal!

*There is also a bonus project, with its video released on February 14.

Once you purchase a Brown Bag, you’ll be invited to join a private Facebook group, where participants share inspiration, progress, and encouragement throughout the mystery. Karen also releases a video clue on each clue date, allowing many quilters to cut and sew the segments while waiting for the paper instructions to arrive by mail.

What’s inside the bag?

6½ yards total of 6 different fabrics
Finished quilt size: 60" x 60"
Pattern includes options to make the quilt larger (you may purchase two identical bags if desired)
Borders (optional) and binding are not included

What you’ll need:

Quilting rulers
Optional paper-piecing supplies here
Cupcake Quilts will carry the paper-piecing paper, which is only available through participating BBM shops.

This mystery is always a customer favorite—and part of the fun is quilting together while discovering the design one clue at a time. We can’t wait to share this journey with you!

We're an official Sewposium shop in Texas!

*Exclusive Sewposium Membership: We're proud to be part of the Sewposium group, recognized for our commitment to our local stitching communities. We're excited to bring the Brown Bag Mystery Quilt to you.