Four point pattern - HELP!
 

I'm in a mathematical dilemma!

I'm trying to make this quilt: http://www.quilterscache.com/F/FourPointBlock.html

But I need to make finished 9" blocks and not 8" ones - any suggestions on how to resize all the measurements? Or better still, any place I can find the measurements for this please please? My brain is about to explode trying to work it out!!!

Merin: This is almost a non-answer but I would start with graph paper. Draw a nine inch square then draw your shapes within that square. For instance the larger square points are at the halfway mark on the sides and top of the square (4.5 inches). Hopefully someone else will come up with a better answer, but the gaph paper is the way I would do it.

it looks like the pattern has templates. Print them off making sure they print the correct size by measuring the 1 inch square. I find that a lot of their templates and paper piecing patterns don't print at 100% so I have to adjust the sizes. Then when you get them done go to the copier and increase the size by 112@ and that should give you templates for a 9 inch block. I would get some scrap fabric and make by block before starting on the whole quilt.

I'm willing to try anything at this point! Thanks for the suggestion, Emma S!

Phew, I'm glad I'm not the only one having printing problems!

Thank you, all great suggestions! Will give the copier a shot and try out on scrap fabric first :)

OMG I did that block early in my quilting life and about half of them came out wonky. I was not up to speed on templates and how to cut around them and my templates were too thick and made by a carpenter. :(
However the ones that came out good look great - I now love that block.

I suggest get that excellent 1/16" graph paper and plot it out. That way each template piece will come out to the correct size and you won't be measuring angles and worrying about 8/9 of anything.

Also I found the little triangles kept getting out of shape every time I looked at them.

Good luck and have fun with it - a super block. I sashed mine and made placemats.

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I would be willing to draft it in EQ and e-mail it to you...as a fellow quilter (free!)

Starch will help tame the triangle bias.

Here you go - one of my favorite blocks! I had this in EQ with a totally different name, so the measurements may be slightly different but it sure looks close.

And here's a second version that was in Blockbase (an add on to EQ) that is called Four Points. It's just slightly different.

Starch will help tame the triangle bias.

What a great group quilters are. So many helpful suggestions. Even though I might not be making a particular pattern I always learn something from all of you.

Actually, this is almost always my solution. I love drafting mine to size!!!

Hey Dianne! Would appreciate that :) I'm trying everything that everyone here has suggested - I figure that I'll get it right from at least one!

This is my first time at this forum and I am blown away by the support I've received! Thank you so much!!!!

Those are such good helps. Lyndy H when I open your EQs the A section does not appear. Do you know if I'm doing something wrong? Thanks.

Print out the templates at 112%. Make a practice block. Should give you a 9" finished block.

I really dislike working with 1/16 measurement. I would just make the 8" blocks and add an extra border to get the finished size that I want.

I would cut the a and b blocks for the pattern the outside blocks a 1/4" bigger and trim the blocks to the exact size which is 9-1/2" unfinished. Great blocks. Luann

I know you can do it with all the great gals here on the board, just remember your seam allowances

Whoops - I didn't notice that. EQ won't include a piece it doesn't think is rotary cutable. I'm attaching the templates for the block (the second one I posted) so you can have that A piece.

Why 112?? Where does that number come from? Is it so much per inch?

Hi! Several months ago I purchased a "Quilter's Scale - Easy Guide to Resizing" by Dritz, and it really helps.

If you have a printer and you can "increase/decrease" size on it, I think this would work.

It says if you have an 8" block and want to increase it to 9", enlarge it 113%.

No, I am not paid by Dritz to endorse this product, but I really like it!

This might be worth a try. Good luck!

I'm with Crafterrn1 if you did it this way you wouldn't have to deal with 11/16 inch and the inner block would look like it is floating. IMHO. Good Luck.

Division. Divide the size you want by the size you have.

9 ÷ 8 = 1.125, or 112. So you would push the enlarge button on the copier and set it to 112%.

To reduce a block is the same. If you have an 8 inch block but wanted a 9 inch block:
8 ÷ 9 = .88, you would push the reduce button on the copier and set it to 88%.

Or, you could use the cheat sheet found here (as long as your blocks are whole numbers):

http://www.thequiltedsnail.com/scale.html

Thank you!!!! That is very helpful. I have one question though. Usually when you divide and the answer is .5 and higher, you would round up to the next whole number. You didn't so your answer was 112 but I saw someone else said 113 (figuring she rounded up), which way gives you the most accurate size?

I suppose you could always make one copy at 112 and another at 113, then lay each one on top of the other and hold it up to the light to see how accurate it is. At 1.125, the 5 represents thousands of an inch, so in my humble opinion, it won't make that big of a difference.

edit: I just asked my husband about this question. He works for a large photocopier manufacturer and therefore has extensive knowledge regarding copiers. He made 2 points: First, the difference between making a copy at 112% and 113% will be fractions of a millimeter. Second, photocopiers never make exactly 100% the same size anyway. He said you can make a copy at 100%, and it may turn out to be 100.5% of the original horizontally and 99.5% of the original vertically.

So, the short answer is it doesn't really matter if you round up that 5 or not. :)

Good to know! Thanks for checking it out!! :)

Not sure where I found this but here goes:
Ya start with whatcha want, and ya divide it by whatcha got.
So
begin with your goal-- it's the reason you have to deal with quilt math in the first place. What you want is a 10" block, so punch "10" into your calculator first. Hit the division key, then enter the number 'ya got," which is 12. Press the "=" key The number 0.83333333333 pops up.
The copy machine wants a percentage, so move that pesky decimal point to the right by two spots, and then you're done. Because this is a quilt, not a suspension bridge,you don't need all of the decimal points, so ignore them. You need to reduce the 12" patters to 83.3% to make a 10" block.
Now lets work it the other way and make it a little more complex. You have an applique pattern for a 6" x 7 l/2" heart, and you decide you'd like to make it at least 8" wide, but you're clueless how tall that will be. Ask yourself, what is it you want" An 8" wide block. what do you have"? A 6" wide block 8 divided by 6 = 1.3333. This is what I call the 'proportion number." Move the decimal point two places to the right and you've determined you need to enlage the heart pattern 133.3%. How tall will it be" in this case you multiply the original height (7 1/2") by the proportion number, which is 1.3333. so 7.5 x 1.3333 = 9.99975. the heart will be about 10" tall.

The proportion number will always be greater than 1.0000 if you are enlarging something and will always be less than 0.999 if you want to make something smaller.

When changing the sizes of blocks, always do the proportion calculations with the numbers for FINISHED sizes, not cut sizes. This is because you use different numbers to add seam allowances to a triangle (7/8" for half-square triangles or 1.25" for quarter-square triangles) than you add for the seam allowances of a square or rectangle (1/2"). Do all the proportion calculations for the finished pieces first, and then add the seam allowances.

Hope this is clear
Janice

Wow! A lot of good information. I had no idea that you could use a simple percentage to increase to the desired size. Going to look for the Dritz Quilters Scale. Thanks everyone.