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Block of the Week – Block 5

We’re on to week 5 of my 2026 BOW sew along. I hope you are enjoying making the blocks and the tips I am sharing. This week’s block is called Four-Patch Star, which is my interpretation of a block I saw in an antique quilt. This is an easy to piece block because I know last week’s block was a bit harder to piece and I think you deserve a break!

If you are just joining the sew along, this block pattern is free, along with the first 4 blocks shared in previous weeks. Click the link above for last week’s post and from there you should be able to continue on back to the first post. Like the previous weeks, I make two blocks, one with a light background and one with a dark background. Choose which way you want to go or make them both. Let’s get started!

Block of the Week – Block 5

This block is simple to piece and only has a few HSTs and flying geese. Here is Four-Patch Star:

Find the free pattern for Four-Patch Star here: 2026 BOW Block 5.

Here’s the version of this block with the dark background:

Tip of the Week

My tip this week is aligning seams. As you can see with this block, there are a lot of seams to align to get the look of the block. My example below involves piecing a nine-patch block, but the same concept can be applied to the four-patch piecing you will do with this pattern.

The key to successful alignment of seams is simple. Pinning! I don’t care how short the seam is. I pin all the time because unpinned areas can lead to uneven pieces. There can be small shifts among the two pieces you are sewing that will cause your seam to be off. And if an initial seam is off in a unit, then trying to align seams when you are joining it to another unit will be frustrating. Here’s an example:

The squares I did not pin are on the left (where I’m pointing). It’s only a little off, but if all your pieces are like that you can see how that would cause problems in aligning seams.

For aligning seams in two units you are joining, line those up first and pin, then pin the ends (photos below).

The second photo (right) shows how I lay one unit on top of the other and then I peel back the top unit a bit to make sure the seams are aligned, then I pin at the seams first before pinning the rest of the unit. After pinning and sewing, you can see how the seams line up.

Follow these aligning and pinning steps when joining units with seams and your seams will line up nicely. Practice it regularly and it will be easier each time.

A Bit of History

My Four-Patch Star is a spin on the traditional 16-patch blocks, sometimes referred to as a St. Louis 16 Patch. It’s a very basic block made up of 16 of the same size squares in at least two different colors and pieced into 4 rows of 4 squares each. If you look at the center of this block, you will see the 16 “patches”.

My 16-patch is made by joining 4 four-patch units for the center of the block. Adding the “star points” made from flying geese, turns this into a star block. 

The only basis I can find for the name  St. Louis 16-Patch is that the women in St. Louis named it for the geographic area they settled in, similar to the naming of the Ohio Star or the Alabama Beauty blocks. 

As far as the four-patch block history, it’s one of the oldest and simplest quilt block designs dating to the late 18th century. It was created mostly out of necessity to use up fabric scraps that were available to make a quilt. Pioneer women cut squares from old clothes and sewed four of them into a block. By making several of these blocks from their scraps they could quickly assemble a quilt for use. Quilts at that time were mainly for use and not display.

So that’s it for this week. Come back next week for block 6. Let me know if you have any thoughts or questions about the block, tips or the history in the comments below.

Happy Quilting!
Deanne

Block of the Week – Block 4

Welcome back to my 2026 Block of the Week sew along! This week’s block is really fun. I call it Blazing Star. If you missed any of the previous block of the week posts, here’s a link to last week’s post and from there you can find the previous week’s post links.

This week’s pattern is free, just like all the others. By the end of this sew along, depending on how many of each block you make, you can have enough blocks for a wall quilt, lap quilt or even a bed size quilt. I’ve decided to make two of each of the blocks, one with a light background and one with a dark background. I’ll have to decide at the end if I’m making one big quilt or two small ones. So let’s get started on Block 4!

Block of the Week – Block 4

This block combines HSTs and flying geese to make a  unique star block that looks like it’s “blazing”, hence the name. Here it is:

Find the free pattern for blazing star here: 2026 BOW Block 4.

Now here’s  my version of blazing star with the dark background.

Now let’s move to the tip of the week.

Multiple Flying Geese 

Last week I covered the techniques to make multiple half-square triangle squares. In week two, I covered the traditional way to make one flying geese unit. This week, I will talk about the multiple, no-waste flying geese method that you may or may not be familiar with. This method comes in handy when you have a quilt with a lot of flying geese in it.

This method makes 4 flying geese units at once and has the added benefit of wasting no fabric. There will be no excess seam allowance to trim off like in the traditional method I showed in week two. Each grouping of fabric will make 4 flying geese at once. 

Step 1: It’s important to get the fabric pieces cut to the right size to begin. You will need 1 large square (base) and 4 smaller squares (wings).

For this example, I want geese units for my quilt that measure 2 1/2 x 4 1/2″ (this measurement includes the seam allowance). The finished size will be 2 x 4″. When you hear someone say “finished size” it means the size of the unit after it’s sewn into the block or quilt. So here are the calculations to cut the pieces needed:

The large square needs to measure 1 1/4″ larger than the finished width of the geese unit. My finished width is 4″ so:

                4″ + 1 1/4″ = 5 1/4″

The 4 small squares need to measure 7/8″ larger than the finished height of the geese unit. My finished height is 2″ so:

                 2″ + 7/8″ = 2 7/8″

Step 2: Draw a diagonal line on the wrong side of all 4 of the small squares. Then lay a small square face down on the upper left corner of the large square as shown:

Step 3: Place another square face down on the bottom right corner. The drawn lines should match up and the squares will overlap in the center. Once positioned, be sure to pin the squares in place so they don’t shift while stitching. Sew 1/4″ on each side of the drawn line.

Step 4: Cut the unit apart on the drawn line and press open:

Step 5: Place another square face down on one of the units from above. The corner of the square should line up with the edge of the unit and the opposite corner will overlap as shown. Sew 1/4″ on each side of the drawn line and cut the unit apart on the drawn line. Repeat this step with the remaining square and other unit.

Step 6: Once you press open all the units, you will have 4 flying geese.

Finally, measure the geese unit and trim if necessary. Be careful when trimming the top because you do not want to cut off points when you piece your geese into a block or quilt. There should be 1/4″ from the top of the point to the edge of the geese unit (last photo).

Like with the multiple HST technique I shared last week, I recommend using scrap fabric and practicing this technique before cutting into your good project fabric.

A Little History

I could not find this exact block in my search of block history books. That doesn’t mean it doesn’t exists somewhere. But this is something I designed by stacking flying geese radiating out from a central square and added the HST accents so a unique star design appears. Let me know if you find a block that looks like this in your searches.

The closest historical block I can find to mine is the Odd Fellows Chain from the Ladies Art Company in 1897. Nancy Cabot renamed the block San Diego in 1935 in a pattern published in 1935 in the Chicago Tribune. Here are the two blocks side by side. My blazing star is on the left.

I shrunk down the center flying geese, which moves in the HSTs on the corners and added the plain strips on the outside.

This is an example of what pioneer women often did. They would make a block and, if they didn’t have a pattern, they considered it an original design. Then they would give it a unique name, one that had meaning to them or represented something in their daily lives. The block they designed may have existed somewhere else with another name, but they often had no way of knowing that in the 19th century. This is why you will see some quilt blocks with several different names.

That’s it for this week. Like I said above, do some research yourself if you like. If you can find my variation of the block somewhere with another name, I’d love to see it. See you next week.

Happy Quilting!
Deanne

Block of the Week – Block 3

Welcome back to my Block of the Week sew along. If you  haven’t figured out the theme to the blocks yet, you will soon. These blocks are all fun to make and, although some are a little more involved, I still think they are easy enough even for beginners. If you missed the start of the BOW sew along, you can find the first two posts here: BOW 1 and BOW2.

All these patterns are free too! That  makes it even more fun. By the end of this sew along, depending on how many of each block you make, you can have enough blocks for a wall quilt, lap quilt or even a bed size quilt. As you will see below, I am making two of each blocks, one with a light background and one with a dark background. I may put them all into one big quilt or I may make two wall quilts, one light and one dark. We’ll see! On to block 3.

Block of the Week – Block 3

Once again I am using two of my favorite quilt designs in this patterns, churn dash and stars. This is kind of a reverse of block one with a twist. Here it is:

I call this block wagon wheel. Find the free instructions for this pattern here: 2026 BOW Block 3.

Here’s my version of the block with the dark background:

On to the tip of the week. 

Making Multiple Half-Square Triangle (HST) Squares

This tip will not only come in handy this week (if you’re  making multiple blocks), but may come in handy with other BOW blocks and other quilts you are working on.

Most of us know the standard way to make HSTs two at a time and the instructions for this are in the block pattern. But if you want to make even more at one time with less waste, here are the instructions. If you are applying this to a pattern you are working on that does not use this method, it may take a little math on your part to re-figure fabric needs.

Four HSTs at a Time: To start, you need to know the size of the unfinished size HST you want to end up with to know what size to cut your fabric pieces for this technique.

If you need your HSTs to measure 2 1/2 x 2 1/2″ (that includes the seam allowance), you divide that number by .64 and then round up to the nearest whole number. Here’s how that formula looks in action:

2 1/2 ÷ .64 = 3.906  – that number is then round that up to 4″

So, you will cut two squares each 4 x 4″ from the two different color fabrics you want for your HSTs. (first photo below), lay the two squares, right sides together, on top of each other and then stitch with a 1/4″ seam around the outside (last photo).

Since my thread doesn’t show too well on the above photo (finger is pointing to the seam), here’s a drawing of what it should look like:

The final step is to cut the unit apart as shown below and then press open the resulting units for four HSTs.

Since the size of the squares used here are rounded up to make these HSTs, they may need trimming to measure the unfinished size needed for the pattern you are making. Be sure to lay the 45 degree line of the ruler you are using for trimming on the diagonal seam for accuracy. 

Eight HSTs at a Time: If the quilt pattern you are making has a large amount of HSTs made from the same color combinations, then the eight at a time method will be more efficient for you. Start with 2 squares that are each 2 times the size of the HST square you are making plus 1 3/4″. For an HST squares that measure 1 1/2 x  1 1/2″ (includes seam allowance) , here is the calculation:

 1 1/2″ x 2″ = 3″

3″ + 1 3/4″ = 4 3/4″

So, you need two squares each 4 3/4 x 4 3/4″.

Draw two diagonal lines on the wrong side of one of the squares (photo on the left below) and then place your squares right sides together like in the four HSTs at a time instructions above. Pin the unit and sew a scant 1/4″ on each side of each drawn lines (photo on right below).

Cut the unit apart into 4 squares and then cut each square apart on the drawn diagonal line. You will have 8 units (last photo)

Once all the pieces are cut apart, you can use your Quilt in a Day triangle square up ruler like I do to make sure they measure correctly. If you don’t have that ruler, press them open for your eight HSTs and trim if needed with a traditional ruler.

So that’s all to making multiple HSTs! I recommend practicing with scrap fabric prior to cutting into that new fabric you just purchased to make sure you have the technique down.

A Little History

Half-square triangle squares, or HSTs, have been used in quilts as early as the 1790s with blocks designs like Broken Dishes or a simple Pinwheel. The 18th and 19th century way to make HSTs was to cut individual triangles, not the 2 square method we use today. Since this exposed the fragile bias edges, they often used paper templates to keep the fabric from stretching. Another method was to carefully cut two squares in half while they were right sides together and then hand stitched the seam on each set with as little handling as possible.

Sounds tedious! Thank the stars for sewing machines. But, we still need to be careful when handling these bias edges, especially if we have to “un-sew” some HSTs. You also need to press them open carefully, no back and forth ironing, so you don’t stretch the seam that way.

That’s it for this week! Join me next week for block 4.

Happy Quilting!
Deanne

Block of the Week – Block 2

Welcome back! I hope you had fun making the first block in the 2026 BOW series. If you missed last week’s introductory post, you can find it here. All the patterns for these nine blocks will be free and I will share stitching tips and, sometimes, some historical information as we go.

Like I said last week, these blocks will give you the opportunity to play in your fabric stash. You can make one of each block or as many as you want. I will be making the blocks with a light background and a dark background for some fun. You can choose either or you can make both variations like me. So let’s get started on the second week of this sew along.

Block of the Week – Block 2

This block builds upon the star block from last week and adds in some more flying geese to make the radiating design. I call the block “star burst”. Here it is:

Find the free instructions for the block here: 2026 BOW Block 2.

Now here is the same block with a black background:

This block with the reds and greens would make a really striking Christmas quilt. Hmmm cool idea?

Tips for Making Flying Geese

Making these involves working with bias seams. They need to be handled with a bit more care, especially if you have to rip out seams. That’s why it’s good to sew these carefully so you do not have to do that.

This is one type of unit that is constructed using the stitch & flip technique. Here’s a simple review on how to make a flying geese unit along with photos. If you are new to quilting, this will help you make them for this block.

For my example, I am using 2 squares 2 1/2″ x 2 1/2″ and a 2 1/2 x 4 1/2″ rectangle, the photos below show the steps:

The above photos show the first steps: Draw a diagonal line on the wrong side of the two squares. When you lay one of the squares face down on the rectangle, pin to keep the square from shifting. Once you sew along the line, the next steps (photos below) are very important:

On the left I am folding over the square, after stitching the seam, to make sure its edge matches up with the edge of the rectangle. The center photo shows that when I measure the unit, it still measures 2 1/2 x 4 1/2″ (the measurement of the rectangle) . I can then trim off the excess fabric in the seam allowance (last photo). That is a key in stitch & flip units, always fold over and measure the unit after stitching before trimming off any excess fabric. 

Repeat the above steps on the other side of the rectangle, and you will have a flying geese unit. 

Keeping sharp points when joining geese units to other blocks or units depends on accurate seams allowance. Here is an example of what can happen to your points:

If you only have a few cut-off points in a large quilt, they may not be noticeable to anyone but you. But if it’s a smaller quilt, like a wall hanging or table runner, it may be easier to notice. So, here’s some tips to practice getting sharp, crisp points.

Tip #1: When you are joining a piece with points to a plain piece, stitch with them together with the unit with the points on top. This way you can make sure your stitching doesn’t cut off that point. 

Tip #2: If you measure the seams as you go when you are piecing flying geese to make sure the top of the point is 1/4″ from the edge of the unit, it saves you from headaches later.

Tip #3: As you are stitching the piece with the point to another unit, watch the point to make sure the stitching line passes just above the point. This guarantees the point will not be cut off when you press open the unit.

See the photos below and where my pointer is and in the last two you will see how the finished seam passes above the point and how the point is not cut off when the unit is flipped over and pressed open (photo on right):

Tip #4: Finally, joining two points so they’re not cut off. First, when pinning the units together, you want to start by lining up the points of each unit and placing your first pin there.

Here are my steps (photos below illustrate): I lay the units right sides together and then pull the top unit down to get the point lined up with the point of the unit below. I slowly inch the top piece back, eyeing the points the whole time to make sure they stay lined up. Then start by pinning at that point before pinning the rest of the unit.

Then you simply follow the stitching tips from above to keep your seam line above the point. When the unit is pressed open, the points line up. The first two photos below show the seam passing over the point on both sides.

A Little Flying Geese History

The exact origin of this design is unknown, but it is thought that it emerged in the early 19th century as early quilt makers drew inspiration from the seasonal V-formation of migrating geese flying across the sky.

There is legend that it was a symbol used in Underground Railroad quilts. The quilts were said to be hung outside, on a clothesline, of a home serving as a station as a road map to the next station. Many modern quilt historians debate the accuracy of this and treat it more as folklore.

No matter the origin, flying geese are fun to make and it’s a versatile design that helps create interesting blocks.

That’s all for this week. Enjoy making the block (or blocks) and come back next week for block 3!

Happy Quilting,
Deanne

Block Party Time!

After a year hiatus… block of the week returns! I will be posting a block for you to make, along with the instructions (for free!) each week for nine weeks. You can make all of one block and make a scrappy one block lap quilt, adding more blocks, or you can make a fantastic sampler. It’s up to you!

Along with the block pattern instructions, I’ll include some other things in the post. One week it could be tips for completing the block and another week it could be some block history. You never know! I think it will be fun and in the end you’ll have a least have nine blocks to make a sampler wall hanging/large table topper. And maybe you’ll have picked up or honed a few of your quilting skills.

These blocks give you a good opportunity to use up scraps of fabric you have, like random 10 x 10 (layer cake) pieces or assorted fat 1/8s. You can also go through your fabric stash and look at what larger cuts of fabric may work in a scrap project and cut those into fats for use throughout the project. If you want your background fabric all the same, I estimate about 1 1//2 to 2 yards will cover making nine blocks.

Let’s get started with the first week’s block!

Block of the Week – Block 1

My first block is made up of two easy to piece, traditional quilt blocks. I love traditional blocks but also like to add a twist in, like combining them. The eight-pointed star and the churn dash combined makes a cool block!

I liked it so much, I decided to make a version with a dark background. If you do this too, you’ll end up with 18 interesting blocks!

You can find the free instructions for this block here: 2026 BOW Block 1.

Block History

Since this is a fairly easy block to construct, I’ll share some block history about each element of the block. 

Star: First up, the star portion of this block. This design is often referred to as a sawtooth star. It’s one of the most common and easiest to make. It’s made with one large center square, four flying geese units and four small squares.

It is also known by other names like Eight-pointed Star, Evening Star or Variable Star. Because women in the west often shared patterns but didn’t know the original name, they would many times rename it with one they liked. That’s why a lot of traditional blocks are know by more than one name. How many other names can you find for this simple pattern?

Churn Dash: The Churn Dash is one of the oldest block designs. It dates as far back as 1800. Since it was an easy pattern to learn, new quilters often learned to piece by making this block. It is thought the name derives from the perimeter of the block resembling a churn and the center a “dash” (the stick that was used) to churn.

What makes this an easier block to construct is it’s mostly straight seam sewing. It’s made up of a plain large square framed by two strips on each side, one the color of the “churn” and the outside one the background color, often the same as the center. Finally, the corners are anchored by four half-square triangle squares.

Final Thoughts

Some final thoughts for the beginning of this Block of the Week sew along. If you want to, just make the nine blocks and have a small wall hanging or large table topper. You can also make two of each, maybe with different backgrounds like I did, and end up with 18 blocks. With some creative sashing, you can end up with a nice lap size quilt. If you decide to make a bigger quilt, make 3 or 4 of each block for a larger scrappy sampler.

The main thing is to have fun!

That’s it for this week. Enjoy making block 1 and come back next week for block 2.

Happy Quilting!
Deanne

Are You a Fabric Stash Builder?

When it comes to quilt fabric, there seems to be two types of quilters. There are those that buy just what they need to complete a project and hope they have none left over. Then there are quilters who seem to stock more fabric in their sewing room than a quilt shop!

Then here are quilters like me. I’m a scrap quilter so I like a stash, but I keep it at a manageable size. When I head to a quilt shop, I go through bolts of fabric from new lines and buy some for my collection. Sticking with the new lines hopefully keeps me from making a repeat purchase. Sometimes I only purchase fat quarters and sometimes I’ll get a yard if I really like it.

This week, I’ll talk about building and organizing a stash, storing it and making use of it. Let’s get started!

Building and Organizing the Stash

This is definitely important to do prior to heading to the quilt shop to shop for a project. When I get to working on projects, sometimes my counter next to the cutting mat looks like this:

This is actually pretty tame compared to sometimes in the past. There’s scraps and larger pieces of fabrics in the stack. First thing I do is organize by size. Here is my organization in progress. I sort fabrics by size and color. I found out I had some fat 1/4s and fat 1/8s in the stack. And if smaller than a fat 1/8, I cut those scraps into strips.

If I have a fabric that is over 1 yard, I cut it up into several different sizes. This makes it easier for me to include that fabric in a scrap quilt. It’s also a good way to use up a fabric that you don’t quite like anymore as a large piece, but looks good when you cut it into strips.

Here’s how I cut up a yard:

Out of 1 yard of fabric, I am able to cut a 1/2 yard, a fat 1/4 and two fat 1/8s. If I didn’t want two fat 1/8s (the rolled pieces), I can cut that second one into 1 1/2″ and 2 1/2″ strips. Then if there is any left over, I cut that into 2 1/2″  or 1 1/2″ strips.

Stash Storage

Now that you have the collection, what about storage? It’s just as important as the steps above. If I don’t store it so it’s easily found, then I wasted a lot of time. For the larger cuts like 1/2 yards and fat quarters, I use tubs like these:

For the fat 1/8s, I found that rolling them was a better storage choice. They are smaller pieces of fabric, so they didn’t stay as neat as the larger cuts above. Here’s some of my fat 1/8s rolled and stored:

I store these in a shallower tub so they are easier to look through. Just like the larger cuts, I have these separated by colors. The rubber bands securing them are colorless small rubber bands found in the hair care section of your favorite store.

Finally, for strips I use the same shallow tubs I use for the fat 1/8s. I make separators from acid free card board. Here’s how one of those looks:

Storing them this way keeps them from getting tangled and frayed.

What’s the Benefit of a the Stash

Now the fun part! Using that fabric you just organized and stored.

First, the biggest benefit to this organization is you are able to shop your stash for the quilt project you are starting. Pick out the fabrics you need and stack them up. I like to do this and then I can decide what is missing. Then I can take a photo or take the stack of fabrics with me to the quilt shop to fill in the missing link.

What if you don’t have a quilt project planned, but just want to make scrappy blocks? Pull out the tubs of strips and make blocks like these below:

All of these blocks are constructed using a mix of 1 1/2″ and 2 1/2″ strips. And the types of blocks made from strips isn’t limited to these. Others that can be made from a mixture of strips and larger pieces cut from fats, like snowball blocks and eight-pointed star blocks. Make enough of a variety of blocks and you can have a sampler quilt before you know it.

Once you make that quilt, either the one you were planning or the sampler from many different blocks, use the stash to create some unique borders.

Finally, if you have a stash of 2 1/2″ and 1 1/2″ strips, you have an unlimited source for bindings, including scrappy bindings, for your quilts. 

Another way to add a little unique personality to your quilts.

So that’s it for this week. Have fun playing with your fabric!

Happy Quilting!
Deanne

Building Block Settings for Quilts Big and Small

One of the fun things about quilting is choosing the type of quilt you want to make. Big or small? All the same blocks or a variety? What setting do I want to use? Some of us may have extra blocks laying around because we make “practice” blocks before making a quilt to test colors and sewing skill. And some of us, like me, like to sit by our bins of scrap fabric and make several of our favorite blocks for fun. So, the theme of this week’s post is how to choose. Let’s get started!

Small Quilts 

If I have an idea for a fun, scrappy block, one of my favorite things to do is make it into a medallion style quilt. This allows me to feature the block itself by framing it with either an interesting pieced border or appliqué.

Here’s a fun one I did. I made one extra large block out of scraps and then accented it with some simple appliqué and a scrappy pieced border.

Rail Fence Blooms, above, is that type of quilt. So if you like a block in a pattern but don’t want to make a large quilt, make one large block and then embellish it with borders or appliqué. 

Here’s another small quilt idea that started as a big quilt idea. The blocks in this pattern were meant to be larger, but I made a smaller version of the block and liked the way it looked smaller. So instead of making a larger quilt with the large blocks, I made nine of the smaller version and made a wall/table topper. Here’s Starfire:

This quilt also has another fun element, a sashing that mimics the star in the center of the piece block.

Finally take several small, easy to piece blocks and piece them into a straight setting surrounded by a scrappy border like in Cabin Stars below.

Bigger Quilts

Now onto bigger quilts. There are a lot of ways to set blocks to make these quilts interesting. The first and easiest setting is in straight rows of just the blocks like in my quilts Town Square and Scrappy Starfield:

The blocks are scrappy so even though they are all the same, the scrappiness creates an interesting quilt. The alternating backgrounds between dark and light prints also adds to the interest. So, consider doing that to jazz up a one block quilt.

The next type of setting is one where you can have fun with secondary design. Still straight row settings, but alternating between two different blocks. In Strips & Stars, there are two different blocks but they are also just set in straight rows.

Two simple blocks. But when joined together, even in a straight row setting, make a very interesting quilt.

Next up, consider a plain sashing between blocks to set them off. The blocks in my quilt, Stars Ablaze, appear to be floating with nothing in the center of the quilt detracting from the blocks. In a quilt like this, your blocks are the star.

Like in my previous example with Starfire above, you can play with the sashing to create another design element where the blocks connect. I did that in my quilt, Open Windows. 

This quilt uses the sashing to make a monkey wrench design by using a dark square connecting the sashing pieces. Combined with the folded corner on the blocks, a monkey wrench design emerges.

Finally, consider setting blocks on point to create a whole new look to a block. This can be done with both small and large quilts. Below is the block from Stars Ablaze. Look what happens to the look of the block when it’s turned on point:

Turning it on point changes the “diamond” look of the center of the block (on the left) to a square design. The same can be said for log cabin blocks like those I used Strips & Stars:

I put on point log cabin blocks together into a quilt top and added appliqué to the centers of the blocks to make Wildflower Lane:

The on point setting turns the log cabin blocks into vases.

I also like to use the on point setting to create interesting secondary design shown here in these two quilts below, Stepping Stones and Country Dance:

The quilt on the left, Stepping Stones, is made up of the same blocks on point and this creates a secondary pattern where those blocks touch. So no sashing is needed to create an interesting look. The quilt on the right, Country Dance, is made up of two blocks, a churn dash and a checkerboard, on point and alternating to create the grid pattern.

So many more ideas out there than use these, but this gets you started brainstorming your next quilt.

That’s it for this week. I hope this inspires you to pull out your fabric and make some blocks to play with. Or if you have already a stack of blocks in your UFO stash, pull those out and start planning a layout.

Leave a comment or ask a question below and I will enter you into a drawing for my newest pattern, Scrappy Starfield.

The drawing will be on Monday, June 22nd. Good Luck! **We have a winner! Congrats, Nancy Schueren!**

Happy Quilting!
Deanne

Don’t Shy Away from Fabric Prints!

There are many types of fabrics with prints. I talked about a few last week, focusing mostly on the size of the print. This week, I want to delve deeper in to fabric prints and tips on using them. As a scrap quilter, there are times where I have so  many fabrics in a block or quilt that I don’t pay attention to how they play off each other. Basically, I enjoy the chaos! I know not all quilters are like  me, so that’s why I have these tips. Let’s get started!

Fabric Prints General Info

I talked about this a little last week so here’s a review.When picking out fabric, most of the time we’re focused on color. It is important to be happy with the colors and how they play together. But what about prints?

Fabrics come with all kinds of prints: large, small, sparsely covered, densely covered, directional and non-directional. The size of prints in a fabric will make a difference in the look of a block or quilt top. I like to plan where to place different size prints in a quilt based on if I want them to attract more attention to that area or fade in the background.

Generally, if I want to emphasize a border, I would choose a larger, bolder print. If I want a part of a block or the quilt to be more of a backdrop, I use a smaller, subtle print. Smaller prints can make a fabric “read” as a solid. That is a good thing if you don’t want that fabric to clash with others in your quilt.

Here’s an example:

The background of the block on the left is dark with a subtle print, so the tan print I chose for the points of the star has a larger, more prominent print. Notice the purple fabric in the center has a bit of a larger print too, but since it’s of a smaller scale than the tan print, it doesn’t clash.

For the block on the right, since the background has a large, noticeable print, the tan print I chose has a more subtle print that fades into the background. I also chose a subtle print for the green fabric in the center to keep the whole block in balance.

My main tip is to balance the prints in blocks, even if making a scrap quilt. I think that creates a beautiful block without overpowering the design.

Directional Prints and How to Identify Them

Now these are the types of prints a lot of quilters shy away from. I’m here to offer some tips to help relieve some of the anxiety. Let’s start with the basics.

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 these fabrics:

Both fabrics above have a print that goes in one direction. It’s a bit more obvious in the fabric on the right since the line of print is prominent compared to the one in the fabric on the left. Compare these fabrics to the ones below:

These prints are not considered directional because the prints are evenly scattered across the fabric and look the same no matter which direction you look. There is no “one-way” to the print. This is what I  call a symmetrical print.

The reason why you want to identify if a print is directional is because when you cut fabric into pieces for your blocks, the fabric with a directional print can effect the way your block will look. Like I said above, in a scrap quilt it might not matter to you since you have a lot of different fabrics in one block. But if you are making a quilt with a small variety of fabrics in each block, individual fabrics will be more noticeable and you might not like how it makes your block look.

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. Also, directional prints need to be handles differently based on whether the unit you are making is all straight seams or bias seams.

Directional Prints and Straight Seams

Using these fabrics takes planning when you are cutting the pieces for your unit or block. The first example I will show you is a unit made up of a square and bordering strips. This the easiest to do because you are working with straight seams. Here’s the fabric I chose for this example:

I purposely chose one fabric with a nondirectional print (the pink) to go with the tan fabric with the directional print to make this example easier. That is actually a good tip to remember. If you use a fabric with a directional print in a block, pair it with a non-directional one or a solid. That way you only have to worry about the print on one fabric instead of several.

As you can see, the lines on the tan fabric run in one direction. So here’s what happens when I cut 1 1/2″ strips from this fabric to border a square of the pink fabric:

Since I cut all the border pieces from the tan print from the same 1 1/2″ strips, the longer strips on the top and bottom have the print moving in the opposite direction as the side strips. To make them all go in the same direction, I need to cut the 1 1/2 x 2 1/2″ side strips from a 2 1/2″ strip instead of a 1 1/2″ strip.

So here are the pieces now. You can see that the stripe of the fabric all runs in the same direction:

As you can see, using a directional print takes a little more planning ahead of time to get the print to run in the same direction. 

Here are the two blocks finished. The one with the prints going in two directions (left, below) is not bad looking, but the other one, to the right, looks more uniform if that’s what you are going for.

Directional Prints and Bias Seams

Handling directional prints when you are stitching bias seams, as you do with half-square triangle (HST) squares and flying geese, is a bit different than above. Here’s my tips for these types of units.

Below are the pieces to make 4 HSTs. 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 from the same direction on both square sets (see where my finger is pointing).

Once you cut the units apart and press open you have 4 HSTs where, no matter how they are arranged, the directional tan print will not go in the same direction (the print on the blue fabric is also a directional but I’m choosing to focus only on the tan fabric for this example).

That doesn’t necessarily look bad, but here’s what to do to make the stripes in the tan fabric go in the same direction. First, repeat the above step but stitch one set of squares diagonally in the opposite direction of the other (where my finger is pointed in the first two photos):

So now when you cut the units apart, press them open and arrange them like the HSTs above, the directional print is running in the same direction. 

Now I put the two concepts together, straight and bias seams, in the churn dash block below.  All the stripes are going in the same direction by using the steps I’ve covered.

Some Final Tips

TIP #1: If you are making a block and want to use a directional print, decide up front if you want to have the print run in the same direction through out. That way you can figure out how to cut the fabric pieces and stitch them together to achieve this. This will save you a lot of “un-sewing” headaches. And also save you a lot of fabric.

TIP #2: If you choose to use directional prints, I recommend only using one of those fabrics within a block or unit. For example, if your block has three different fabric with prints, use only one that has a directional print  (the others can be solids or non-directional prints) especially if you want to have the print run in one direction.

That’s it for this week. I hope I didn’t scare you away from directional prints with this post! My aim is to make you more comfortable working with them. 

Happy Quilting!
Deanne

Fabric Choice – The Importance of Color and Print Combos

Last week’s post covering secondary design focused mostly on design of the blocks and how they play off each other. This week, I will cover fabric choice. There are a lot of things that go into choosing fabrics. Color, prints, contrast, etc. There will be some color theory covered and then I will give tips on choosing fabrics based on the theory and how the color and prints play together. Let’s get started!

Color Theory

First, a bit of the basics and then I’ll provide examples.

To understand color better, start with the most basic term:  hue. That is the base color. Blue, yellow, green, etc. are color hues. Value is the lightness or darkness of a hue. Here are three terms to know when referring to value:

  • Shade is taking the hue, for instance blue, and adding black to it to make it darker, for a dark blue.
  • Tint is taking the blue hue and adding white to make it lighter, making a light blue.
  • Tone is adding grey to a hue to make it less intense. Most colors around us in the world are tones of a pure color.

If you hear a quilter talk about “chroma” or “intensity” they are referring to the purity of a color, or how close it is to the pure hue. Here’s an example:

The blue fabric on the left is closest to the true hue whereas the blue fabric on the right is a shade of the true hue (black added). So, the intensity or chroma is higher in the fabric on the left. That fabric will be more noticeable in a quilt than the one on the right. 

Contrast and Combining Colors

Contrast Tip #1: One way to achieve some contrast is by considering the value, tint, shade, etc. of the each color you choose. Here’s an example using some of my fabrics of the same color family:

The green fabric in the center is the closest to the true hue. On the left, is the tint of the true green and on the right is a shade. Putting these three fabrics into a block would create an interesting contrast within a color. 

Contrast Tip #2: Lets apply the above while using three different colors:

My “tint” color is the blue fabric and my “shade” color is the purple fabric. Switching out the two greens for the blue and purple will create a different kind of contrast than with the three greens.

Contrast Tip #3: Now let’s up our game here by adding in the concept of “warm” and “cool” colors.  Cool colors are generally the purples, blues and greens where warm colors are generally oranges, reds and yellows. Mixing warm and cool colors is another way to create contrast. Here’s an example, side by side, showing the difference between a set of fabrics with all cool colors and one with a mixture:

The stack on the left is all cool color fabrics. There is contrast simply by using different tints and shades. The stack on the right is a mixture of warm and cool colors. The contrast is chiefly achieved by that alone, but you can also use different tints and shades to change the look.

I took the color set on the right from the previous photo and made two stacks that alternate between cool and warm colors of different tints or shades.

Creating Contrast Using the Color Wheel

Understanding the color wheel will also help you in choosing fabrics to make your quilt interesting. The wheel will also help you determine what colors are warm or cool and also what colors contrast highly or not with each other.

Here’s my color wheel:

The easiest thing to remember is the primary colors: yellow, red, and blue. These are the three basic colors that can be combined to make the other colors shown on the wheel above.

Secondary colors are those that are made by combining two primary colors equally. For example, yellow and red make orange.

Finally, tertiary or intermediate colors are made by combining a primary and a secondary color. For example, combine red and orange to make a red/orange color.

The color wheel comes in handy when you are interested in creating contrast as well. Colors located across from each other on the wheel have high contrast. That’s referred to as complementary. Using those in a quilt will create a design that is vibrant because of the contrast. Colors near each other on the wheel are considered analogous colors and will have less contrast. The quilt made from these will be “quieter”. Although you can create a little contrast by mixing in hues of different shades, tints and tones.

This photo demonstrates that:

The two fabrics on the left are far apart on the wheel, where the two on the right are closer. There is some contrast in the one on the right, but there is more contrast in the one on the left.

How Do Prints Fit In?

The size of prints in a fabric will make a difference in the look of a block or quilt top. I like to plan where to place different size prints in a quilt based on if I want them to attract more attention to that area or fade in the background. Bolder, larger prints are more noticeable while smaller, subtle prints are less so and can even read as solid if they are really tiny.

Here are three of the same color fabrics with different size prints:

The fabric on top is an example of a fabric with a small, dense print. It would read more as a solid than the other two. The print in the middle is more noticeable because its bigger and spread out more. Finally, the print on the bottom is a type that is considered directional since the stripes only go in one direction on the fabric. 

Another example of how print scale makes a difference in the photo below. The two fabrics on the left have prints about the same size, but the print on the fabric in the center appears more noticeable because of how it’s dispersed. Both fabrics though could be used with other prints and not take too much attention away. 

I would probably use the fabric on the right as a border fabric because of the bold print or, if I used it in a block,  I would make sure to pair it with a fabric that did not have a large print (see below).

Print Tip #1: Choose one fabric to be the standout. If there are too many prints competing with each other, that could detract from the block’s design.

On the left above, I combined a larger print pink fabric with a smaller more subtle purple print in the smaller inset star. In fact, the purple almost reads solid. The star block on the right is the opposite. The more noticeable print in is used in the smaller star and the green print for the larger star reads more solid. 

Print Tip #2: Venture away from just solid white or tan backgrounds for fun. Consider even a scrappy background with many different printed tans like I did below:

If your quilt calls for 2 yards of a tan print for the background of blocks, consider buying 4 half yards or 8 quarter yards of coordinating tans to make up that 2 yards. Then you can use different backgrounds with the variety of color print pairings for blocks to make a scrappy background.

So that’s it for my thoughts on colors and prints and combining them in blocks for quilts. Let me know what you think in the comments.

Happy Quilting!
Deanne

Quilting Tips for Secondary Design

Are you interested in creating a quilt that has secondary design? I love designing quilts that display a different look when viewing it in a different way. When I go to a quilt show, that’s one of the things I do when standing in front of a displayed quilt. There are several ways to achieve this when creating a quilt so I decided to share some tips. Let’s get started!

What is Secondary Design?

First, let’s talk about what secondary design actually is. When you look at a quilt and you not only see the block designs but you see another design emerge as you continue to study it, that’s secondary design. Sometimes it’s intentional… and sometimes the designer just gets lucky and two blocks they decide to place next to each other combine to make another design.

There are several ways to achieve this. It can be done within a block and with one block quilts, where the elements of the block create a new design when several of them are joined into a quilt top. Also, in quilts that feature two or more blocks, joining two different blocks into rows can cause a new design to appear where those blocks meet. Finally, there’s adding a sashing between the blocks to create a new design, a scrappy background and even borders. I’ll cover all these here.

Within a Block

Tip #1: One of the easiest ways to create a secondary design within a block is with fabric color. Placing a certain color in different parts of alternating blocks can cause a different design to be emphasized. Here’s an example:

Notice how changing the blue and green fabric placement creates two different star blocks even thought the basic block design is the same. On the left, the center is a black square and the corner HSTs are multi-colored while the star points are one uniform color. It makes the 8 pointed star more prominent. The block on the right is the same block, but the corner HSTs are just two colors, the center and large star points are blue and the smaller star point is green, creating a friendship star design.

Tip #2: Changing background color can create a secondary design when the blocks are joined. Here are two blocks from my latest quilt, Town Square, showing this.

Both blocks are the same design but one has a light tan print background and one has a dark black print background. Look what happens when I join many of them together. Can you spot the secondary design that emerges because of this color change?

Here is one circled in the photo below:

Keep studying the quilt and see if you can pick out more. There are a few others.

Interplay Between Blocks

This is the next way to create secondary design. You can do it in one block quilts and two (or more) block quilts. I’ll show you here.

Tip #1: To create a secondary design with one block, choose a block that has movement within it. When those blocks are joined, that element helps create another design. Here’s an example from my quilt, Star Struck:

The block is a combination of a star with some strips and stitch & flip corners to complete it. When joining the blocks, I turned them so the stitch & flip corners alternated in which direction they pointed in each row. If you look at the block columns in the quilt, the corners create an illusion of flying geese “flying” across the quilt.

Tip #2: If the one block has a stationary or more uniform design, create a secondary design with a consistent color in all the blocks. Here’s an example of that in my quilt, Star Wheels:

The black elements of the blocks create a connecting grid when they are joined. But you have to look really closely to see another interesting design emerge. I’ll help you out with the circled area in the photo below:

Tip #3: This tip applies to quilts with two distinct blocks. The key to get a new design to emerge is to chose one block with a distinct directional pattern that, when pieced into a quilt top, will cause the viewer’s eye to see the secondary design. Sometimes they create the design when joined in straight rows and sometimes they look better when they are joined into rows with the blocks on point.

Here’s one example with my quilt Strips & Stars:

The star block on the left has a different kind of movement than the log cabin block in the center. When you put those two blocks together in a quilt, alternating between them and flipping every other the log cabin block in the rows, you get a unique, dark stripe design that runs diagonally.

Also, where the star blocks touch, the checkerboard corners create another secondary design crisscrossing across the quilt. I love these types of blocks that create several secondary designs.

Secondary Design through Sashing and Borders

Tip #1: Using a simple sashing in my quilt Sun Catcher, I have created an interesting secondary design. The sashing is made up of strips and squares to join the blocks. The best blocks to do this with are the ones that have a design that ties into the sashing.

The block in Sun Catcher has a ring of black squares framing the center star. The placement of the black square in the sashing serves to connect the blocks making a kind of a crisscross design across the quilt top.

Tip #2: Create a block-like design using sashing. This example below in Starfire shows how the sashing creates a star design that looks like it’s another planned block.

The strips of the sashing have stitch and flip corners that, when joined with a square at the block corners, make a star that mimics the one in the featured block.

Tip #3: Finally, here is an example how a border can create and interesting design in two of my quilts, Sister’s Reunion and Twilight Desert:

In Sister’s Reunion on the left, the inner brown geese border creates a radiating frame around the quilt center. On the right, a similar concept with the radiating inner border created with flying geese with scraps instead of one consistent color creates an interesting secondary design on the outside of the quilt.

So that’s it for this week’s tips. Try searching out secondary design in quilts the next time you are at a show. And if you’re lucky enough to see it when the designer is there, ask them about it. Was it intentional or was it a great surprise to them when they completed the quilt?

Share you comments and questions below and I will enter you into a drawing for my quilt pattern, Starfire. The drawing will be on Monday, June 1st. **We have a winner! Congrats, Mary!***

Happy Quilting!
Deanne