March 2011

March 2011

Sweet Sixteen Series—Block One

Here's Block One!

All of the blocks have the same four patch in the corners, allowing us to tie the sampler blocks together with visual diagonal lines.

The four patches are made with 2½ inch squares. Choose colors that have a lot of contrast, a dark with a light.

Here's your rotary cutting instructions for everything but the corner 4-patches.

Match the colors to the block diagram above.

First, I laid out all my cut pieces, overlapping them a bit, to see what the block would look like. You should have already made the four 4-patches in the corners, if not, sew them first.

Then sew the pinwheel squares in the center, where I have yellow and green.

I sewed my background color (large white) triangles to my 4-patches next.

Then, see the orange and teal triangles that are missing, bottom center, of the picture to the right? I sewed all four of them together next, two half square triangles to make a square.

I'm careful to put my pieces back into my layout as I sew them, so I don't get anything turned the wrong way.

In the picture to the left, do you see the yellow square and the small teal triangle that are missing? Sew them together next, then add the other teal triangle also, to make a large combo triangle out of one yellow square and two small teal triangles.

Finally, I added my eight lavender triangles to the top of the yellow and teal combos I just made.

Now you have the nine colorful units in the center. Sew them together like you would a nine patch.

Last, connect the middle to the four white background units.

Here it is on my design wall, all pressed flat.

It should measure 16½ inches square.

What will YOUR block look like?

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