Originally Posted by
PBS
I am a fairly new quilter and have been learning so much from you wonderful people here! I have a question and don't believe I have seen it asked before. How do I go about changing the size of a block? I'm talking about a simple block (like Bear Claw or Rail Fence) not a complicated one with a lot of piecing. How do I enlarge it from say a 8" block to a 12" block? Or make it smaller from a 12" block to a 8" block?
Don''t try to make this hard.
Rail fence is easy. 3 or 4 rails? Anyway for a 12" square, a 4 rail block would need 4 pieces that are each 12.5 inches long and 3.5 inches wide-----includes seam allowance
Now, the bear claw is yet another problem. It is a 7 unit by 7 unit block. Trying for any number not based on 7 or 3.5 will be hard to do since the measurements will be choppy.
For a 14" block, the claw squares will be 2" finished. Can't think what the measuerment is to make a 2.5" hst. 2 3/4 or 2 7/8.
Anyway the palm will be a square 4.5" cut, finished 4". The center square will b e2.5 cut adn 2 finished. teh 4 cross bars will be 6.5 long and 2.5 wide, finishing at 6x2
A block based on a 2 unit by 2 unit design (akas 4 patch), will translate easily to a 12" block. As would a 3 unit by 3 unit.
I don't think you'll find a 9 patch that is 8". You'll not be dealing with normal measurements. You can easily redude a 12" to a 9 on a 9 patch. Or change a 12" to a 15".
Do I need to define "unit". a 4 patch, can be 64 small pieces wide by 64 pieces tall and still be a 4 patch square. Each 32 by 32 square would be a unit. Same with a 9 patch---------could be 6 pieces by 6 pieces or 15 pieces by 15 pieces.
OOPS. Starting to sound like I made this hard. But if I could show you, it would be easy.
BTW, you can buy quilting graph paper at JoAnn's and probably other places. I you have any intention of enlarging very often, it would pay to buy some. Not really cheap, but it certainly serves a purpose.