This block is so much fun you won’t want to stop making it! It also uses a bunch of scraps, so that is a win-win. This week, I was dreaming up a block to use as much of my stash and small orphaned pieces as possible. I am happy to say this block did all that and more!
I started with a pile of triangles that were the offcuts from another project. These are very cheerful, spring-like, bright little prints. Then, I grabbed all the orphaned solid 2½” strips I had tucked in my stash and narrowed them down to the colors that coordinated with the printed triangles.
I cut the triangles down to 3½” using the triangle lines on the Large Creative Grids 60-degree Diamond Ruler. Each block takes six of these triangles, so I think I cut enough for about a million of these blocks ;)
Piece the triangles together into two sets of three, pressing the seam open between the first two triangles before adding the third triangle.
Sew the two halves together and press the final seam open. This might make a good leader/ender project while working on something else!
Take the 2½” strips and cut 5½” trapezoids from them. I used scrap strips so I got more cuts from some than others. Using the triangle lines on the ruler, align the bottom edge of the strip with the 5½” line and the 3” star burr line with the top edge of the strip. Cut on both sides of the ruler, then rotate the ruler 180 degrees to make the next cut.
Use the flat tip of the ruler to trim the outer tips off flat. You will need six trapezoids like this for each block.
Here is your basic block layout. The triangle hexie will be in the middle. It should measure 6½” from flat side to flat side. Begin laying out the trapezoids with the wide edge towards the hexie. Starting with the yellow (piece 1) at the top, then adding trapezoids in a counter-clockwise direction.
Here is the whole block layout. Notice the pieces are numbered in order of assembly, 1-6.
Starting with piece #1, tilt the trapezoid down onto the hexie and use the left flat tip as a matchup point against the edge of the hexie center. Put a pin in place about ⅔ of the way across the top edge. This will be the point you stitch to, leave the rest of the seam open.
Finger press the seam open and add piece #2 to that edge. Stitch that whole edge from end to end with the trapezoid piece on top and the hexie side towards the feed dogs.
Now for piece #3. Finger press the seam open from piece #2 and sew piece #3 in place from end to end. Notice the flat tips make the perfect matchup point on either end.
Continue adding pieces in a counter-clockwise direction until you have all six trapezoids in place.
Finally, finish the seam from piece #1 that now covers the seam between the hexie center and piece #6.
At this point, I press all the seams open. I try not to do much pressing with the iron while adding the trapezoids because it could overwork the block. Finger pressing works for most of it. I use the iron and a little starch to open all the seams and make the block really flat.
Before I knew it, I had eight blocks done! These blocks are 8½” from flat side to flat side, so they are nice and big. This layout is already almost big enough for a baby quilt! I have quite a few blocks worth of scraps, so I’ll continue to build blocks this week and see how far I get. Next week, I will you show my background and assembly process!
Here are a couple of helpful charts to show how to maximize your scraps if you are trying to calculate for these blocks. I used the 3½” triangles and the 5½” trapezoids from these charts.
Happy Sunday everyone,
Krista
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