Hey y’all! I’m Emily, the maker and designer behind Martha Jane Creations. Martha & Jane were my grandmothers. They meant the world to me and it is my privilege to honor each of them through my creative outlet. I am a born and bred Tennessee farm girl! I love the simple life, at a slower pace, family and tradition. This is ever present in my quilting and design.
I am here today to provide you with a fun tutorial making complex appearing blocks with very simple steps.
WHAT?!? You want me to cut my block up?
I have mentored a few new quilters in my day. I personally like to start them out on some simple, classic blocks to learn the fundamentals, before jumping to more complex blocks. Did you know that some of the most traditional, simple blocks can create complex, intricate quilts?
Imagine that you are a new, green quilter and you have just made your first nine patch, then I tell you to cut it up!! WHAT?!? I’m sure you would have a slight panic and hesitation getting your rotary cutter out. But have no fear, I am going to walk you through slicing and dicing your traditional blocks to make fun and intricate new blocks!
Traditional Block Tutorials
First off, let’s start with some pretty quick tutorials for three traditional blocks: the nine patch, the hourglass and the pinwheel.
The Nine Patch
Let’s make a quick and simple nine patch block. This, aside from stars, is one of my favorite traditional blocks. It is quick and easy, and a perfect first block for beginners focusing on just learning to sew pieces of fabric together, in a straight line, and focusing on maintaining a consistent quarter inch seam allowance. In this tutorial we will make a 13” finished block.
Supplies: (for all blocks)
Rotary cutter
Quilting ruler
Cutting mat
Sewing machine
Scissors
Thread
Iron and pressing mat
Fabric Requirements:
Fabric A – (5) 5” x 5” squares
Fabric B – (4) 5” x 5” squares
Assembly:
Use your rotary cutter, quilting ruler, and cutting mat to cut the required 5” x 5” squares out of your two fabrics.
Lay your squares out in a 3 x 3 checkered grid.
Sew squares right sides together (RST) in rows. Press seams to the dark side (this allows for seams to nest when sewing rows together).
Sew rows together, nesting seams, and press seam open.
Congratulations, you have created a nine patch!
The Hourglass
The hourglass block is another quick and simple block that can boast many different looks all based on fabric choices. It helps new quilters focus on half square triangles (HST). While there are many ways to make HSTs based on quantity, for this tutorial, we will focus on two at a time.We will create a 9” finished block.
Fabric Requirements:
Fabric A: (2) 5 ½” x 5 ½” squares
Fabric B: (2) 5 ½” x 5 ½” squares
Making two at a time HSTs:
On the back of both Fabric B squares, mark a diagonal line.
Pin (1) Fabric A and Fabric B square (RST). Sew a scant quarter inch seam on each side of the marked line.
Cut on the marked line. Open square and press seam to the dark side. Trim to 5” x 5” square. **I prefer the Clearly Perfect Slotted Trimmers for trimming HSTs. It allows for trimming in 2 cuts, and then you open and press.**
Repeat for a total of 4 HSTs.
Assembly:
Lay HSTs out in a 2 by 2 pattern as shown. Pay close attention to orientation of the HSTs.
Sew squares RST in rows. Press seam to the dark side (each row should have the seam pressed in opposite directions).
Sew rows together, nesting seams. Press seam open.
Congratulations, you have created an hourglass block!
The Pinwheel
The pinwheel block is yet another simple traditional block. It is very similar to the hourglass block, the only difference being the orientation of the HSTs. We will again create a 9” finished block.
Fabric Requirements:
Fabric A: (2) 5 ½” x 5 ½” squares
Fabric B: (2) 5 ½” x 5 ½” squares
Follow the instructions for creating HSTs under the Hourglass Block above.
Assembly:
Lay HSTs out in a 2 x 2 grid as shown, again paying close attention to the orientation of the HSTs.
Sew squares RST in rows. Press seams to the dark side (each row should have the seam pressed in opposite directions).
Sew rows together and press the seam open. **A tailor’s clapper comes in really handy here to get a nice flat seam, especially at the bulky center.**
Congratulations, you have created a pinwheel block.
Disappearing Blocks
So, I have been teasing about slicing and dicing a perfectly good quilt block. But, I promise, it is a thing. They are called disappearing blocks. You start with a finished, traditional block, slice it up, and sew it back together in a new orientation. Some pretty intricate and eye-catching blocks can be made using this technique.
Below, I am going to walk you through one version each of a Disappearing Nine Patch, Disappearing Hourglass, and Disappearing Pinwheel. There are so many other possibilities out there for different blocks that can be created all based on how the block is sliced and the new orientation when sewn back together.
If you would like written instructions for these blocks, and a few more, they can be found here:
Disappearing Nine Patch
Let’s go back to our nine patch block created earlier. Lay the block out on your cutting mat. **This is when a rotating cutting mat comes in really handy!!**
Take your quilting ruler and your rotary cutter and slice the block in half both horizontally and vertically. This should create (4) new quadrants.
Rotate both the upper left hand quadrant and the lower right hand quadrant clockwise a half turn (or 90 degrees).
Sew quadrants RST in rows pressing seams in opposite directions.
Sew rows together, nesting seams, and press seam open.
You have now created a disappearing nine patch and a whole new look, without the tiny pieces.
You can make 20 total blocks and assemble them in a 4 x 5 grid and have a throw size quilt. You can get fabric requirements here.
Disappearing Hourglass
Now, let’s go back to the hourglass block that we created earlier. Take it to your cutting mat.
Using your ruler and rotary cutter, slice the block into thirds both horizontally and vertically. **An easy way to measure would be to cut 4 ⅝” away from each side of the center seams.**
Rotate every square except the center square clockwise a half turn.
Sew pieces RST in rows. Press seams in the first and third row towards the outside and the second row towards the center.
Sew rows together, nesting seams, and press seams open.
You have now created a disappearing hourglass block that measures 8” finished.
You can repeat to make a total of 42 blocks and assemble them in a 6 x 7 grid and have a throw size quilt. You can get the fabric requirements here.
Disappearing Pinwheel
Now, let’s go back to the pinwheel block that we created earlier. Take it to your cutting mat.
Using your ruler and rotary cutter, slice the block into thirds both horizontally and vertically, just like with the hourglass block.
Rotate the four corners clockwise three quarters of a turn. Rotate the middle square of each outside row clockwise a quarter turn.
Sew pieces RST in rows. Press seam in the first and third row towards the outside and the second row towards the center.
Sew rows together, nesting seams, and press seams open.
You have now created a disappearing pinwheel block that measures 8” finished.
You can repeat to make a total of 42 blocks and assemble them in a 6 x 7 grid and have a throw size quilt. You can get the fabric requirements here.
I hope you have had fun hanging out with me today and making some fun new blocks! You can find more fun by heading over to my instagram page and following along on my journey. I would also love to see if you make any of the disappearing blocks we worked on today, or a whole quilt, so please tag me, @marthajanecreations, and use #marthajanepatterns and #marthajanecreations.
Also, if you enjoyed this tutorial but would prefer written instructions in a clean PDF form, you can get those here:
Disappearing Nine Patch – 3 different variations are included
Disappearing Hourglass – 3 different variations are included
Disappearing Pinwheel – 2 different variations are included
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