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How to do Color Magic for this Square In Square
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Introduction:
We will be making this quilt. It's called Square In Square and is made without PP (paper piecing). It is made less than precise as paper piecing, but is easy and quicker for a nice sized lap quilt. |
The focus of this tutorial will be more on color selection rather than block construction since more help is needed with color than any other area and some already know how to do this block. I'll show you how easy it is to put together when you know what to do and how to do it! The steps to making the block will be included for all newbies.
Although you will use lots of scraps in making this quilt, you will also end up with 1,680 leftover triangles! There are 8 triangles left over per round x 3 rounds = 24/block or 1,680/quilt! Since the first 2 rounds produced only small triangles not worth saving, I saved only the last round's 560 triangles. These can also be reused for your 1st round and scattered in your quilt so they don't meet up together. You will see in the pics how I salvaged from my pre-cut triangle pile of thousands to reuse them. One nice result of using 2 triangles of one print with 2 triangles of another print for your 1st round adds to the dimensions of color, especially when using a darker shade for one pair than the other pair. It can produce a sparkle in your quilt while using up some older triangles at the same time!! |
Specifications:
quilt top: 64x82 finished block: 5" - 5.25" (depending on bias stretch) # of blocks needed: 70 (7 x 10) # of cut 2" assorted squares needed: 280 # of cut (your choice)1.5 x 2's, 2x2's or triangles needed: 280 (I used all 3 in this quilt) # of cut (your choice) 2.5 x 4 or 2.5 x 4.5** rectangles needed: 280 **My test block shows a 1/4" margin when using this size rectangle and only a 1/8" margin with the 2.5x4. Inner border: Muslin border: cut size - 5.5" Scrappy border: cut size - 3.5" x assorted lengths Outer border: Muslin border: cut size 7.5" |
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Special Block Colors:
The following pics will help you in putting together a similar quilt using specific color combinations. After I had about 50 blocks made, I decided to pull blocks that you could duplicate yourself with your fabrics to give you an idea of how this quilt was put together and took pics of those type blocks for use as a guideline. The first thing you notice about the quilt is that it is made up mostly of near-solid looking fabrics or small and medium scale prints and when combined with other colors, it really packs a punch, especially from a distance! It is also important to include a few blocks that are different in many ways from all the others. This gives the quilt some excitement!! Busy fabrics are just a no-no for this type block because of its small size. However, using some med.-lg. scale prints as the background can give it some pep! This will work because the last round's pieces are larger and can handle that size print. So keeping it to small scale and med. scale will be your best bet for those strong colors to emerge! Here are some suggestions for the following type blocks to make. |
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In the previous picture, you will want to use blocks with highlighting center squares!
In the pic below, you will want blocks made with all dark centers. Make lots of these blocks! |
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These next blocks are all dull mediocre blocks and they mix in well with the darks and brights. You should make a good number of these blocks. They are typical small scale prints but provide color impact in a big way!
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It's good to include some blocks with large scale backgrounds. From a distance, they show up well and add a lot of interest to the quilt.
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Believe it or not, you really need some blocks that are downright (I call) 'outrageous' blocks with some crazy fabric combinations! This will definitely kick it up a notch!
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All good scrappy quilts always contain a bit of white or maybe a lot of white in the quilt. I chose to only use a little bit of white or light colored fabrics in the 1st or 2nd round. It helps to bring out all the colors when using white. Make sure to include either a touch of white or a lot of blocks with white in.
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I chose this block to point out the use of gradation colors in a quilt. It's always very effective and starting a block's center off with a dark shade and continuing in the block with a lighter shade of the same color is very effective. You may want to include some of these type blocks. You'll notice I made several of these types.
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In this block you will notice I used mismatched red fabrics and you might want to do the same. I mention the use of this later on in the tut.
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In this picture, you will notice how the points and intersections come together and must meet well. I'll show another pic also, but I did have a few that were (shhh) 1/8" off! haha!
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I like to show the few pics where they do meet well! haha! Here's another one!!
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Block Placement:
In the next few pics, you can see how the blocks were scattered to highlight certain areas. When I look at the quilt, I like to just visualize a lower case "t" going down the block and across and using that to centralize the highlighting blocks when placing the blocks on the design wall. You can use anything as a focal point and artists are great for pointing you to look in the right direction at their work when finished so keeping that in mind, we will focus on the mid-center sections of the quilt as the focal points up, down and across. You'll notice, too, that there may be an area where some dark blocks congregated. This is okay to let this happen~! There may be some areas where 2 light background blocks came together and I left it that way, or maybe 2 med. colored blocks came neck to neck. That's okay too! You're the artist, after all, so do what you want best! Point the onlooker to the area in the quilt you want emphasized! Sometimes I do; sometimes I don't! |
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In one of the pics we'll be looking at the pale background blocks. The pales are needed! Select your palest of pales for a great highlight! One light blue I selected looks white online, but is actually not. It worked great! In life and in nature, there are pale, dull areas and not everything is bright and shiny! We need neutral areas in life and in art! It's the pales that make the darks look good!! It's those darks that make the pales look good! I had wanted to do some low contrast in the pales but never got around to it so the quilt got finished without them, but there's always another time when low contrast will call out to you! The whole idea with the final quilt is to have it look natural and not everything in order as everything is not in order in real life! The artist doesn't always give you the full picture, but sometimes just a hint of something is certainly more appealing and interesting! It's the same thing for quilts! Do the unexpected in a quilt with a shape, a color, a focal point, a mystery, a mismatched color and you will have a 'unique' creation! Put in a surprise element!
Here is a pic of the light background blocks: |
One of the worst things in the world is a quilter not knowing when to stop on her creation! I'm sure you've seen one of those 120x120 quilts that would've looked better if they had stopped at 36x36! Just think how boring it must have been for them to repeat the same 3 colors months/yrs on end 10-ft. wide or more. Since the block only finishes at 5 or 5.25, it certainly is not a size you would want to do that large so it is nice to just give a small sampling of these blocks and use the rest of the spaces to fill in with inner/outer borders to make a lap size or twin size quilt. It kind of gives you a hint of how beautiful a full size quilt of this would be, i.e., that is if you would want to undertake such a large project on. I love this block, but let's face it; it is not a quickly made block! It's one of my most favorite blocks to look at, but not do! I certainly would never PP one for the accuracy alone when you can get a quicker version of one not so perfect! You can see how by the pics of how challenging it can be to not cut corners off, meet all points precisely as well as intersections too! Which block can give you that kind of challenge? Ok. There are a few more like it too! lol.!! Hopefully, you won't cut off as many points as I did in this one! And if you do cut a little corner short, it's no big deal! It will add to the glamour of it we hope!
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Joining Blocks:
In taking the blocks off the design wall, do them row by row and place a piece of masking tape on the beginning block of each row with its appropriate row number. You can see how I've done that in these pics. Lay a single row out and sew them together while keeping them in order at the same time. Then join the rows together. Next is a pic of all the blocks stacked neatly and numbered ready for sewing! Then the following pic shows a close up so you can see the block with masking tape marked #3 on the block for easy identification and keeping it all in order! lol. |
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These are the steps to making the block.
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....and pics of the final steps:
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Conclusion:
In closing, I just want to say that I hope this tutorial has been a big help to you! At least by seeing some of the sample blocks, you now have a better idea of what to make and how to get that 'updated antique' look without it being too bright yet still maintaining those wonderful warm colors used in antique quilts that give it that charm. Hope yours turns out great and be sure and post pics of your creations for all of us to enjoy!! Happy quilting! n2 |
This is great! Thank you for all the hard work!:thumbup:
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Great tute, thanks so much!
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thanks for the tut
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I like the idea of adding rectangles and trimming. I'd never seen that way of doing square in a square. Granted there is some waste, but they come out perfect. Thanks for the tute.
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This is an amazing tut. Your avatar proves how well you understand color. Really like that block. Drew it in my EQ5 and colored it, even though the design is exactly the same the 3D effect did not come out at all. Maybe you could do a tut on that one? Hint, Hint. Yeah Iknow, shameless.
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Originally Posted by Emma S
(Post 5874960)
This is an amazing tut. Your avatar proves how well you understand color. Really like that block. Drew it in my EQ5 and colored it, even though the design is exactly the same the 3D effect did not come out at all. Maybe you could do a tut on that one? Hint, Hint. Yeah Iknow, shameless.
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Here's a tip:
Consider the fabrics you are using in your quilt and stand back 8 ft. or more from your design wall and observe which of your colors is standing out the most to you. These fabrics will also pop out in your quilt to you. Is it that crazy shade of neon orange? You can tell which ones will overshadow the others this way! Use those colors very carefully to highlight areas of your quilt that will stand out stronger than any other color! Let's look at this pic again. The 3rd row from the bottom has a background fabric that is really popping out!! Do you see it? Yes! You're right! It's that cheddar yellow! And straight above it near the top I used a similar shade. Also notice, because of its vibrating strength, I only used 2 blocks like that in the quilt. Any more of that color would knock it off balance! Let's look again to the upper right of that same block and notice the light blue background one! Wow! Is that a powerful light blue or what? You cannot just have too many of those in your quilt. Also, the very powerful lime greens I used could only be in there twice. Do you see those 2? See how powerfully they exhibit? Another technique I used was to take that same background cheddar fabric and use it as a center square for another block. It's located straight up near the top from that block. Repeating the same fabric in another section of the block is a great trick for giving it a 'coordinated' look. You might want to do the same with certain colors and fabrics you want emphasized in your quilt! Sure hope this helps you in your fabric/color choices. Taking a pic of the fabs on the design wall will help when seeing them on the comp screen for their strength/vibration. Hope your quilt will be radiating beautifully!! That's all for now....until the next tut!! :cool: p.s. About that light blue fabric ~~ it is mixed with a white color. If you really want intense shades, consider buying a print that is mixed with a white or black and from a distance, that print will really stand out!!!:cool: :cool: |
Thank you. Very informative
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Oh, my! Wonderful tute!
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Thank you. :) I learn something every time you show your work or do the tutorial. Your talent is admired and appreciated.
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Thanks for the great tute!
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What a bright and fun quilt. Sounds like a great way to do a little stash busting too!
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Great tute!
Thanks for taking the time to post it. I made a postage stamp quilt and used some pieces of bright yellow. After it was finished I saw where that splash of yellow could have made a big difference if I had placed them in strategic areas. Your comments and photos will be a big help to me on my next all-scrappy quilt. Have a wonderful day. |
Thank you for doing this - Choosing colors is a basic that so many find it difficult to really understand. With your tute, it will definitely help with those trying to choose the right combination - thanks!
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So you just don't slap a bunch of colors together? Seriously, thank you! I need to spend a lot more time at my design wall.
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Thank you so much for your tutorial. You are such a blessing.
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GReat job. You have inspired me to get to work arranging the scrap colors. Pegeth
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Thanks everyone so much! I love your comments!! They are so encouraging!
In scouring my Specifications section yesterday, I noticed I left out the size of round 2 and # needed so here is the corrected version. You'll need 280 of 2x3's for round 2. However, there is a pic of those in the 'Steps' section. If you are printing this out, here is the corrected version for you: Specifications: quilt top: 64x82 finished block: 5" - 5.25" (depending on bias stretch) # of blocks needed: 70 (7 x 10) # of cut 2" assorted squares needed: 280 # of cut (your choice)1.5 x 2's, 2x2's or triangles needed: 280 (I used all 3 in this quilt) # of cut 2x3's needed: 280 # of cut (your choice) 2.5 x 4 or 2.5 x 4.5** rectangles needed: 280 **My test block shows a 1/4" margin when using this size rectangle and only a 1/8" margin with the 2.5x4. Inner border: Muslin border: cut size - 5.5" Scrappy border: cut size - 3.5" x assorted lengths Outer border: Muslin border: cut size 7.5" p.s. That's the only size I used for that round also. |
Thankyou so much for this , it sounds like so much fun!
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Wonderful tutorial, I love this block but color is a huge problem with me, this will help a lot. Thank you so much.
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