Want to make a square like this? Or like the ones I showed in my previous post? Here's my first attempt at a tutorial!-
Disclaimer: I am a beginner and I don't use patterns, but this is how I freestyled this block. Hopefully these will be clear enough directions should you want to make one (or a whole bunch) too!
-
The finished square is 12.5 inches. It is a great way to have fun using scraps!
Okay, to start, dig through your fabric for a nice fussy cut for the center. A nice single stand-alone face, object or animal would work great! Cut a 3.5 inch square centering your feature fussy cut.
Next, using four other fabrics you like, cut four more 3.5 inch squares, which will be used in the outside corners. If you have lots of cool novelty fabrics, these would also be neat to do as fussy cuts.
Choose the fabric you want to border your center square. Choose something wild, but wonderful! Cut 2 strips 2.25 by 3.5 inches. Cut two strips 2.25 by 7 inches.
Look in your drawer, bin, or wherever you keep your smallest scraps. Grab out a nice big handful. Cut a bunch of strips that are 3.5 inches long and of random widths (between 1 and 2 inches wide works well, or even a little wider ... but I wouldn't go smaller than 1 inch wide as things get pretty skinny and hard to deal with if they are smaller than that.)-
Okay, that is the end of the cutting!
Sew a bunch of the little strips together. You want to end up with 4 pieces that are each 7 inches long. A little trimming may be necessary, so I would suggest ending each strip with a wide piece. That way if you have to trim a bit, you won't get a little minuscule sliver on the end.-
Iron the strips. I pressed all the seams in the same direction. I have no idea if this is the best plan, but I find it works for me.
-
Set these pieces aside.
Next, grab your fussy cut center and sew the 2.25 by 3.5 inch strips to each side of it. Iron.
Sew the 2 strips that are 2.25 by 7 inches to the top and bottom. Iron.
Grab 2 of your sewn-up-strip pieces that are 7 inches long. Sew to each side of your square. Iron. Trim if necessary.
Grab your other 2 sewn-up-strip pieces that are 7 inches by 3.5 inches. Grab your 4 squares that are 3.5 inches for the corners. Move them around until you like how they look.-
Sew a square to each end of these other two 7 inch strips (the ones that have not yet been attached to the main center of the block). Iron.
Line up the sewn strips to prepare to sew again.
I hate using pins and only do so when absolutely needed. I did pin at this point in order to be careful that the corner seams matched up.
All pinned and ready to go.
All sewn up and ironed.
At this point, your block will be 13 inches square. I trimmed mine back to 12.5 inches. With so many little strips on the sides, the trimming made these nice and even. (Please ignore how crooked I have the ruler laying in the picture)
As a final step I stay stitched the edge of the block. My blocks get a lot of handling by both myself and my kids, so this is just a precaution so nothing comes loose.
Ta da! All done! I have really enjoyed putting together the six squares like this I have made so far and am planning a whole quilt of them. -
Happy Quilting!
