Learning How to Make Quilt Blocks
 

Yesterday I finished my first quilt. I learned a lot doing that first one, but I see there is what seems, an infinite amount of knowledge about the quilting hobby. I really had no clue where to start, but decided it might be fun to learn how to build the various quilt block patterns you can find for free online.

So I copied the necessary information for what is called a "Double Pinwheel. I am guessing I have to acknowledge, and provide credit to the "Generations Quilt Patterns" website. Thanks for posting a source for those of us learning.

Here is my first attempt at doing something other than basic blocks and strips.

Lessons learned: When sewing along the fabric bias, make ssure you securely hold the end of the fabric all the way through to the needle. The fabric tends to want to move outwards, causing the 1/4 inch to widen.

Also, and I am guessing all of us have done this when first starting, make sure you are sewing the correct side of the fabric sandwich. I did four of my sub-blocks the wrong way, and had to get them apart, and do over.

And cutting fabric accurately is difficult enough when just cutting squares. Cutting triangles is even more challenging, especially for those whose eyesight isn't the best. I ended up trimming the edges of my final 8 inch block to get it as even as possible.

I will be making as many different kinds of blocks in the 8 inch size as possible. Eventually I hope I have enough to put all together for my second quilt.

Your piecing is very respectable!

Well, I am impressed. Not only did you do HST's, but you also did Quarter Square Triangles. The combination of the two makes the whole block a bit more difficult. You did great. My first combinations of those certainly didn't look that good.

Gosh! Wish my first pieced blocks had looked that good

That looks good. My first blocks with points were no where near that good. Great job.👍

Thanks so much for the kind words.

I will try to get at least one different patterned block done per week. I'm looking at the various patterns right now, trying to determine which one to do next.

Also thinking of purchasing a Kindle edition of a quilt block pattern book. Would be nice to have that on hand, though I'm not sure if I can post pictures of my finished blocks taken from such a source. Will have to write the author to see if that's OK.

Caley, sewing triangles is a pain, so there's a "rule of thumb" that if you want, say a 4 1/2" hst, the rule is that you cut your 2 contrasting squares at 4 1/2" plus 7/8" inch, then draw 2 diagonal lines a 1/4" from the corner, sew on those lines, thus you're not having to mess with the bias, then cut between the sew lines, press, square to the 4 1/2". Personally, though I give it an inch instead of the 7/8". If you have to cut/sew on the bias, starch the snot out of the fabric before you cut. If you have any questions, feel free to PM me.

But really, your pinwheels look very good. Don't be so hard on yourself.

pocoellie, I prepared the fabric by starching, and ironing it. Tried to be careful, but might have stretched things some during the process. Tough it looked like whomever put together the fat quarters did a little stretching while cutting things.

I remembered watching a video about sewing along the bias. They said you had to firmly hold the fabric ends together, while sewing all the way under the presser foot to keep the fabric from wanting to slip over to the right, causing a wider sew line than the desired 1/4 inch.

Right now I am finding the most difficult part of quilting being measuring and cutting, especially cutting the triangles. I do not see that well anymore, so trying to see those very tiny corners is difficult. I may have to break out my magnifying goggles to do that. Sure is tough getting old. Body seems to want to fall apart. https://cdn.quiltingboard.com/images...es/biggrin.pnghttps://cdn.quiltingboard.com/images/smilies/shock.png

You can post pictures of any blocks you make and all quilts you make from them. What you can't do is sell the pattern as if you created it.

Quilter's Cache has a giant selection of blocks, and they can be chosen by size. And they have all the cutting and assembly directions.
Home page: https://www.quilterscache.com/
Blocks from 7~11 inches, listed by size:
https://www.quilterscache.com/BlocksbySizeB.html

Your points are pointy and your stripes are straight. I wouldn't have guessed you are a beginner! Keep learning and we look forward to seeing more.

If you make blocks listed as "traditional" then they are in the public domain and do not need attribution. There are hundreds of those.

https://cdn.quiltingboard.com/images/smilies/boy.gif Congratulations on a pretty quilt block! The pinwheel is my all time favorite block. You are doing a fantastic job. There are so many great resources online to help you learn to quilt. We all learn from our mistakes throughout the quilting journey. I call each quilt I make an adventure.

One of my favorite online resources for learning about quilting aside from this wonderful quilting board is:
allpeoplequilt.com

Enjoy your quilting adventures and show us more of your lovely blocks!

Great job Caley...it appears you are enjoying your new hobby.

Beautiful! Another quilter is born!❤️

Very nice. You are off to a great start.

Very nice! Lately I’ve been using a touch of fabric glue to hold the pieces together at the end. I use the pink Sewline glue pen. I originally got it to glue baste my pieces for English paper piecing, but I’m finding it works for a lot of things!

You are doing so good as a beginner quilter. Nothing I made as a beginner looked as good as yours. Keep on sewing!

Here's a great, easy way that Jenny at Missouri Star Quilt Company makes pinwheels. It's really fast & easy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ekYpJzHoW6E

Kudos!!! very nicely done. I love to see a new quilter joining in the fun. I can't wait to see your finished quilt!

Thanks Everyone. I appreciate your kind words.

I decided to do another kind of block.today. This time it is called a "Double Star". I got one of the seams slightly out of alignment on this one, so the right hand part is a little out of whack.

This seems to be another fairly easy block to make. It just takes work and patience, and a steady hand on the sewing machine. https://cdn.quiltingboard.com/images...es/redface.png

Your blocks are looking good.

Caley, you're doing a great job!!!!

That looks great!!!

Hello All, I spent the past several days trying to puzzle out another block called a "Union Square". It said it was for paper piecing. But I thought I could do it the traditional way. I managed to get the center three parts done, but when I tried to do the borders, that is where I ran into difficulty that stopped work on this square. Apparently the dimensions of the paper piecing parts are different than the traditional parts. Everything was way over sized, so nothing fit. The only reason I got the three center blocks done is I was able to trim those down to work.

Anyway, I still will want to try making a "Union Square" block, but need to find one that is done in the traditional piecing together way, not paper piecing. I may try that when I have the money to purchase a printer and the paper required

There are several other options to print. You could always copy the file to a thumb drive and take it to your local library, Office Depot, Staples or even some of the Drugstores have printers you can use. IMO...The newspaper/rough type paper is better than the regular copy paper for paper piecing. The cheapest way to do it is to go buy a drawing pad from the dollar store and trim the paper down to 8.5 x 11 so it will run thru a copier/printer. From past experience, I can tell you not to try to print more than a single copy at a time because the paper will jam in the printer. Ask me how I know that???

Which Union Square pattern are you trying to do? The one with the 9 patch on point in the middle: http://quiltingbeargal.blogspot.com/...ilt-block.html
or the one with the Half Square Triangles all around the outside and the square in a Square middle? https://www.generations-quilt-patter...ilt-block.html

Barb, I was trying the one with the half square triangles. I wanted a little challenge, and I got it. I didn't know that you couldn't do the traditional piecing with something that was designed for paper piecing.

I'd still love to try one very much like this half square one, but designed to sew without the paper.

I am a bit persistent when it comes to something that wants me to fail. I kept trying to figure out how to make eight half square blocks all at once, so I had a fair chance of getting them all about the same size. I finally figured it out.

I was then able to make a modified border around that center portion of the "Union Square" I posted previously. Instead of triangles in the center part of the border, I ended up with just a block. The resultant block pattern is 10 inches square.

After three days of this bugging me to death, I am so very happy it is done, and that it turned out fairly well. Now to figure out what I will do next.

Just a note: This block is square and 10 inches on a side. It's my terrible photography that makes things look lop sided

congrats! looks perfect

I've finally decided on the size of block I wish to do. The reason is that I am doing lots of star patterns, and I figured that if all are 12 inches, I can make a quilt out of them when I have enough.

This go around I chose the "Trailing Star Variation"

I am still learning a lot. I have finally gotten to the point where I can iron my seams in the correct direction, or mostly so, so I can nest the intersecting portions of the block.

I also learned, via watching a video just how to use the little tool used to take apart seams that were boo-boo-s. And I managed to make a bunch. First one wast thinking I could chain the blocks to make things go easier and faster. But I tend to be a bit dyslexic, or something of the sort. What I do is I will concentrate on getting something positioned properly, only to unconsciously put everything backwards. I did that with my first attempt. From that point on, I just went two blocks at a time, looking at the pattern, and sewing those, and then positioning them per the pattern on the pressing pad. I actually managed to get things correct the second go around. So I think I will take the slow route when piecing my blocks together

Carly you are doing a beautiful job on your quilt blocks . Believe me I have torn out plenty of boo boos myself I also call it reverse stitching .Keep up the good work.https://cdn.quiltingboard.com/images/smilies/smile.png

12 inch (finished size) blocks are a good choice because so many designs "fit" well.

My moniker on here is for a reason! I am very familiar with that tool!!! Lovely blocks!!

Thanks All, I've finished my second different 12 inch block. It was a puzzle, as it, in the end consisted of five blocks, the center square one, and four rectangular blocks. I've never attached such. But I came to the conclusion that I attached one half of one of the rectangles to the center square. Then I just proceeded to attach complete rectangular blocks around the perimeter. Then I just had to get things to line up on the last half of that first rectangular block and last one. This square was a tiny bit off, but not that bad.

This is called an "Eccentric" which is a variation of the "Friendship block.

I think it came out looking kind of pretty.

It does look pretty.

Nice choices of fabrics.

Your blocks look very good. i can't wait to see the final quilt you make from these blocks.

That's called partial seaming. Good job figuring things out on your own.

Since you have decided to use 12" blocks, that 10" Union Square will be too small. Add 1" framing all around and it will fit just fine.

IceLeopard, There's probably a "Union Square" block pattern for 12 inches online somewhere. I can always look around and see. If not, I'll just save the block for something else. Maybe make a bunch of the same kind of block, but in different colour patterns.

There might be one by that name, but it won't be that block. That's a 5x5 block. 12 isn't evenly divisible by 5. There are lots of other 5x5 blocks out there, so if you don't want to frame it, set it aside for another quilt.

Another block done today. The one problem with this one is probably due to my inability to cut out the parts. And the reason I have problems cutting is that no matter how hard I press down on the cutting template, the fabric under it moves just as I am in the middle of cutting it.

I wish I could figure out just how those who do the videos cut without any problem with moving fabric. It takes me about a minute per cut, because it is so difficult to get the cutting ruller/template precisely positioned, and then the dreaded moving fabric messes up things.

Because of the cutting problems, I am learning how to adjust the fabric alignments before I sew the seams. Unfortunately I miissed one on this block.

The block is called an "Ohio Star" variation. Again, even with the one alignment problem, I am pretty happy with this one. Again, I like the colour match up, though maybe some of you might not.

Many quilters put something on the backs of their templates that prevent them from moving. Some of them swear by a heavy cling-film called Invisigrip. I swear at it, because it peels off too easily.

My solution is unconventional. You know those infomercials for that spray-on rubber in a can? It's called Flex-Shot and it comes in a transparent formula as well as the opaque paint-like ones. I spray that on the back of the rulers & templates. It makes them look frosty but that's OK, you won't notice it once it's on the fabric. Those things do not move. You should be able to get it almost everywhere. I think I got mine at Walmart, but home improvement and hardware stores will have it too.