9 PATCH CENTER

Cut strips about 3" x 2" I cut mine longer and wider because I like to have alittle extra to prevent coming up short.

Sew one dk to one med. Trim the med to 3/4"
Sew on the other dark to the med.

Cut into 2 sections

Sew on a med swatch on the cut edge of one of the sections

Lay the second section on the med strip and fold it back to match up the seams. Pin in place. And sew. Iron the seams open

Trim the dk sides to 1 1/4" from the seam. Continue to trim all 4 corners.

CORNERS


Cut med and dk strips and sew them together.
Trim the center strip to 3/4"
Sew on a third dk strip. Open and iron all seams flat

Cut the strips into 4 sections approx 2" from top to bottom

Sew a section on two opposite sides

Match up the seams and lay your ruler on it to check to make sure your seams are all straight. it is easier to fix something now than later. Refer to the troubleshooting I posted on the first block above if you need to fix a seam.

Trim all the sides to 1 1/4" from the seam.

After you have all 4 sides sewn on

Trim them to 1 1/4" from the seam

Now you need 4 swatches for the tip of the corner. Cut them about 2" by 3"

Sew a swatch onto each corner

Lay your ruler on the block so the line on the ruler is laying on the edges of the dk in the corners

Trim along the edge. Repeat on both opposite edges and then the other two edges. Check to see if your block is square as you cut.

This is just something that struck me funny as I cut this.

This cut makes it look like a fish to me or a Christmas Tree if you turn it upright!! LOL

Bet you never thought a DJ would make a good Christmas tree all by itself!

Here you can see the sides cut.

I like to check against the printed block to make sure I am getting the size right. Lay the block on the paper version and fold back the edge to make sure the point of the corner matches the point on the paper version.

You can do this with any of the steps.