On-Point Settings Explained – It’s Easy!

In the beginning of the month, I had a blog post that covered various types of block settings to create a beautiful quilt. One of the settings I briefly talked about was the on-point setting for your blocks. Since then, I thought I should give provide a little “how to” on-point settings to help those of you who have never done it. On-point settings can give your blocks and the quilt a completely different look and create some interesting secondary design. So let’s get started!

On-Point Quilt Examples

On-point settings can be used with one or two block quilts to create some fun designs. If a block has some really interesting elements, putting them together in an on-point setting can create a really interesting secondary design. Like in this quilt, Stepping Stones, below. This quilt only has one pieced block that makes up the top.

This is the block:

There’s lots of elements to this block so when you put them all together into a quilt top on-point, they create a cool “geese” grid look where the blocks meet.

Here’s an example of a two block quilt with the blocks on-point:

In Country Dance above, I made the quilt top design more interesting by adding a checkerboard blocks into the mix with the churn dash blocks. I like to do this when one of the pieced blocks is more of a simple design. The checkerboard block adds in a fun grid design.

My final example for a on-point quilts is my pattern, Wildflower Lane. By putting the log cabin blocks on-point, I created “vases” for my appliqué flowers. 

On-Point Setting Steps

Now that I’ve shown you some examples of on-point quilts, it’s time to explain how to actually make one. To achieve a on-point setting, you need what are called “setting triangles” to make the quilt top square or rectangular when you’ve finished piecing it. Then there is a different way to piece the resulting rows. That’s what I’ll cover in this section.

Setting Triangles

Setting triangles are cut from squares. There are side triangles and end triangles. Below is a diagram that shows these setting triangles and where they go on a quilt top:

When I write my patterns for on-point set quilt tops, I do the calculations for these triangles for you and tell you what size squares you need to cut them from. However, if you are making a pattern with a straight setting but decide you want to do an on point setting, you will need the formulas to do those calculations yourself. So here they are:

Side Triangles –  You take the finished size of your piece quilt block x 1.414, then add 1 1/4″ to that number. For example, if the finished size of your block is 6″, here is how the formula works:

6″ x 1.414 = 8.48″ (round this up to the nearest 1/8″ to 8.5″)
8.5″ + 1 1/4″ = 9 3/4″ square needed.

This square is then cut diagonally twice for 4 quarter-square triangles. For the above quilt in the diagram, there are 12 side triangles, so you will need three 9 3/4″ squares:

End Triangles –  You take the finished size of your block/(divided by) 1.414, then add 7/8″ to that number. Example:

6/1.414 = 4.243 (round this up to the nearest 1/8″ to 4.25)
4.25 + 7/8 = 5 1/8″ square needed.

 This square is then cut diagonally once for 2 half-square triangles. You only need 4 end triangles, so you will need two 5 1/8″ squares:

Block Lay Out and Stitching

Now that you have the setting triangles cut, it’s time to lay out the blocks and the triangles so the quilt top can be stitched together. A large floor space or design wall comes in handy here. Here’s a diagram on laying out the blocks and triangles:

If you look at the top part of the diagram above, you will see how you lay out the blocks and the setting triangles. The bottom part of the diagram shows how you stitch together the quilt top on the diagonal instead of in straight across rows or columns.

I generally start from top left and work my way down until all the diagonal rows are assembled. The top left and bottom right will have a unique piecing method that I will show in the following photos. I call these the “end caps”, since the block is on the end and is surrounded by two side triangles and one end triangle.

Follow these next steps to successfully piece this section of the quilt top.

Step 1: Line up the 90° angle of the left setting triangle with the corner of the quilt block and pin in place. there will be a small “tail” of the triangle overlapping the block (last photo below).

Step 2: Stitch with a 1/4″ seam. Then repeat on the opposite side of the quilt block with the other setting triangle. Press these sides open:

Step 3: Line up the end triangle with the center of the unit assembled above. When you flip it on top to pin in place, you can use a ruler to make sure the point of the end triangle is right in the center of the quilt block.

Pin in place, stitch and press open. Once again, there will be overlapping “tails” from the end triangle:

Here’s what the end cap looks like all stitched and pressed. You can now trim off the “tails” if you want.

Step 4: Now that the end caps are finished, it’s time to join all the blocks and triangles into the diagonal rows. The blocks will be joined just like in regular quilt tops then add the triangles to the ends of the rows. Notice all the “tails”.

Step 5: Now it’s time to join those rows into the quilt top!  Once again, there will be overlapping “tails” from all the triangle points. Be sure to line up the seams of the blocks when joining your rows.

Lining up the seams is a very important step to make sure your quilt top is not “wonky” when you are done piecing it. I start by pinning the seams to line up the quilt blocks in the rows and move out from there, carefully pin the setting triangles. Like when piecing the rows, there will be tails overlapping.

Here is the finished top:

Now you can take any stack of blocks you have and piece in an on-point setting if you desire. With a little practice, you will master this skill. For more tips on aligning seams to help piece a quilt like this, look at this post of mine from February. It’s the second half of the post.

So I hope you enjoyed this mini lesson on this type of setting. Give it a try!

Happy Quilting!
Deanne