Have you ever had a pattern for a block that didn't work right. I had to recut and resew this block pattern 3 times. Luckily I decided to try just one block before I committed to a whole quilt. Love the outcome, but my brain is tired. My sew friend and I both had trouble so I know it just wasn't me.

Were the original pattern pieces correct?

The "squares" around the center square appear somewhat rectangular in the picture. Are they supposed to be that way?

Sometimes I will do a paper cutout/mockup with the pieces to see if they are right and fit together the way I expected them to.

I had bought some plastic templates (printed on sheets and then one cuts out the ones one wants for a particular block) and the "basic unit" was not square. It was 1/8 inch bigger in one direction. Not a huge amount, but 1/8 inch is quite a bit to ease in on a four inch length. After fighting with the whole quilt, I FINALLY measured the template. YUP. It was off.

That was a few years ago. Now I have a little more trust in myself - and less "complete faith" in patterns and instructions.

That is really cute! Worth the effort!

The only way I could possibly have done those diamond pieces is by paper piecing.

Yours turned out beautifully but I certainly understand your frustration!

What a pretty block :D:D:D

I would pp the diamonds also. That would make it alot easier.

Where did the pattern come from? I have heard others mention getting a pattern that wasn't right.(Maybe the instructions were wrong.)
I am guessing your problem was with the diamonds since the outside points are cut off. It looks like the piece that is sewn to the diamond isn't long enough.....just guessing without having the pattern to actually look at!
I hope you can get it figured out, as it is a neat block! :D :D

I've found that marking the pieces where they are supposed to match up has helped me a lot when making either the diamonds or Peaky and Spike units.

See red dots on attached drawing.

Wow, very nice tho

What a shame you had such trouble making such a pretty block... :oops: