2024 Block of the Week – Block 6

Welcome back to the BOW! Before I introduce block 6, I have heard from some participants that you were having a bit of trouble piecing block 4. Because of this, I have written up an alternate piecing plan for block 4 that you can find here. I think you will find this a simpler way to piece the block. Hope that helps!

Now onto this week’s post. If you are just joining the BOW sew along, here’s a link to last weeks post: Block 5. If you click that link, it will take you to the block 5 blog post from last week with a link to block 4, which will lead you to the other block links. Like for the last 5 blocks, this week’s block has traditional roots. I love using traditional blocks to keep them going even in today’s quilts. So let’s go!

Block of the Week

Block 6:

The name of this block is Old Maid’s Puzzle. Oh look… it has half-square triangle squares! Don’t you love those by now? For the block instructions, go here: 2024 BOW Block 6.

A little block history. Like a lot of traditional blocks, this one has a lot of alternate names. A few of them are: Jacks on Six, Double X and Cat’s Cradle. It was published as Old Maid’s Puzzle in an 1895 issue of American Farmer’s Magazine. They had a section of the magazine called “The Farm House” which was the section written for the ladies. You can also find this block design in Amish quilts under the name of Bachelor’s History. Hmmm… wouldn’t be fun to go back in time to ask these women how they came up with these various block names? It was popularized as Old Maid’s Puzzle by Nancy Cabot in the Chicago Tribune in the 1930s.

Tip of the Week

This week, I want to talk about fabrics and directional prints. In scrap quilts when I am using a lot of different fabrics in each block, I don’t often pay attention to which direction a print is going. However, if you are only using a few fabrics in a block or quilt, you might want to pay attention. Here’s some tips on this.

Directional Prints

First, what is a directional print? A fabric has a directional print, sometimes referred to as a “one-way” print, when there is a clear up or down to the pattern on the fabric. Here are a couple of examples of that.

As you can see above, the pattern goes in one direction. It’s especially evident in the fabric on the left. Compare these fabrics to the ones below.

The design on the above fabrics are considered not directional because which ever way you turn the fabric, it looks the same. You can see it clearly in the fabric on the right. The “starburst” design is symmetrical and looks the same no matter which direction you turn it.

There can be one-way, two-way, three-way and even four-way directional print designs. If I use a directional fabric and want the design to all go in the same direction within the block, I try to stick with a directional fabric that isn’t too complicated.

Using Directional Prints

Since this block uses a lot of HSTs, I will cover how to use directional prints when making HSTs, if  you want them to be uniform.

Below are the pieces to make 4 HSTs. Here’s the traditional technique not considering directional prints.

Lay them out as shown and then lay the tan print face down on the color print. Stitch diagonally a scant 1/4″ on each side of the diagonal center line beginning from the same direction on both square sets (see where my finger is pointing).

Once you cut the units apart and press open you will get 4 HSTs where, no matter how they are arranged, the directional tan print will not go in the same direction. 

Now, here’s what you do if you want the tan fabric directional print to go in the same direction in the unit, follow the above steps, BUT stitch each set of squares starting in the opposite corner (see where my finger is pointing in last two photos).

Once you stitch the seams (first photo), cut the units apart, press and arrange them in the pinwheel, the directional print is all moving in the same direction.

Yay! If you keep rearranging them, you’ll notice the directional print always goes in the same direction.

So with a bit of planning you can get all your directional prints in a block going in the same direction, if that’s something you want. Like I said earlier, if you’re making a scrap quilt and using a lot of different fabrics for a block, you may not care.

Make it Scrappy!

Here’s a scrappy version of the block if you are doing scrappy.

Remember to comment or ask questions below to be entered into a drawing for the fat quarter pack below:

That’s it until  next week!

Happy Quilting!
Deanne