Thursday, July 31, 2014

My Scrappy Cross Roads Block Tutorial!!!


I've had several requests to show my
 Scrappy Cross Roads Block
(Beelori1)
here on my blog as well…
so here we go!



This is a traditional block that I have sewn
 many many times 
before and showed to you here
so I guess it's time I did 
a tutorial on it here too!


I love it because it's the 
perfect scrap buster block for

It uses up 2 1/2" scrappy stash squares 
and a solid you may have leftover from a previous project:)
Each block finishes at 16" square.

It looks complicated to sew but when you use my easy corner
triangle method…
it becomes easy to stitch it up quickly and accurately.


This is the background fabric for my quilt.
I chose to use my favorite new solid at the moment…
"Sweet Mint" 
It's a Riley Blake solid:)
YaY!!!

For one of my Scrappy Cross Roads block
 you will need to cut 8- 4 1/2" squares
You can easily get 8 from
 one 4 1/2" x Width of Fabric strip…
so this means 1/8th yard of fabric = 1 block…
1 yard of fabric = 8 blocks and so forth:)



This is my 2 1/2" scrappy stash basket
 that I am cutting my squares from.

I have showed to you my method of creating
 and more importantly USING my scrappy stash several times.
But if you are new here or want to see it again…



For one of my Scrappy Cross Roads blocks…
You will need 48 - 2 1/2" squares

Obviously this is a great project for 
leftover 5" or 10" squares as well 
because they are easily sub-cut into 2 1/2" squares:)


Now that you are all cut…
Lets start sewing!
First choose 16 of your 48 - 2 1/2" squares 
 to sew Easy Corner Triangles onto
 two opposite corners of your solid squares.


Simply lay your 2 1/2" print squares onto
 one corner of your solid square…
line up the edges evenly and
 sew a STRAIGHT LINE from corner to corner.
Do not guess!
Guessing always ends up with a
 crooked line no matter how good you are:)
Either mark a line or use a seam guide like I do.

*EDIT*
 I now have a 
 seam guide to help you
 when doing this step.
and then 
to see how to use it:)



Chain or clothesline stitch 
to save time and thread:)



Give each square a quick press
 to set the stitches before trimming:)


Trim them up like this…
by cutting an approximate 1/4" seam allowance
past your stitching line.


Press towards the triangles:)


Don't you just LOVE
 Easy Corner Triangles?
Now you still have a 4 1/2" square
 that you started out with…
But you have 2 scrappy triangles on two corners.

YaY!!!


Now randomly pair up the remaining
 32 squares and stitch them together.


Press these seams open:)


Then pair them up again and stitch together
Eight 4-patch blocks.


Press these seams open as well:)


When you have all your little segments sewn together...


Lay them out on your design board
 the way that you want to sew them together.
Take it over to your sewing machine and sew!!!


I have shown you my design boards many times over the years…
Let me just say how important they are to me
during every step of making a quilt.
I use them when I cut my pieces…
layout my block…
 sew it and after pressing it.


I have a tutorial on how I make them and use them
 here on my blog…
(CLICK HERE and HERE)
or
I also have a youtube tutorial as well:)



I like to use these fork pins every now and then
(by CLOVER) when needed
to sew a difficult seam that just won't match up.
The beauty of a fork pin is that you can pin on each
side of the seam so that there is 
no slipping when it goes under the feed dogs.
(I sometimes remove mine just before they go under the needle or I just sew over them because they are thin enough)


Here is the back of my block…
seams pressed open
(Except the easy corner triangle seams)
I have been pressing my seams open for over 20 years
because I love how super flat my block ends up.
For those of you wondering…
no.
I have not ever had any problems with my seams coming open in a quilt.


And here you have a finished
Scrappy Cross Roads Block
YaY!
Wasn't that fun?


Here is what 2 blocks look like together.
This would make a great table runner 
and you could make it as long
 as you wanted by adding more blocks!

I'm making a 4 block quilt 
with mine and I'll show you
when it's finished:)
I hope you've enjoyed this tutorial by me…
and I want you to have fun with it!



*On another related note…
This is my Two by Four block.
It also finishes at 16" making it perfect to mix and match
with my Scrappy Cross Roads block
so that you can use them together in the same quilt
and they look great!
All you need to do is 
substitute the 4 patch segments 
by using a 4 1/2" square instead.
Easy Peasy!

I hope you have fun making my 
Scrappy Crossroads Block 
and my 
Two by Four Block

Like I always say:
Scrappiness is Happiness!
  
xx
Lori



24 comments:

Atelier Blanc nord-ouest said...

Merci !

Terry Conner said...

Thank you Lori for putting it on your blog. I've been working on my instagram account over the last week. I just can't figure out where to input the #scrappycrossroads to find your tutorial.

Lisa Clark said...

Love it!!

Little Quiltsong said...

Thank you again for this post. I love this block and had so much fun making it. You have a wonderful way of teaching!!

Nedra said...

love this block, Lori! On my to-do list for sure!

Vicki said...

I love you design boards. I have made some small ones and the are great.. I need to make a few larger ones now.

Kris said...

Lovely! Thanks for putting it on your blog. I don't have a phone to put or see anything on instagram so I am grateful.

susiefloozie said...

Excellent! And thank you so much!

Kimberly said...

Love this SO much! Thanks for another great tut!

Joy said...

thank you so much for the tutorial on the wall quilt. It is a great project. I also was looking at the zippered half square triangle bag and was wondering if you did a tutorial on that as well. I would really be interested in making it also. I am new to your blog so I don't know what you have and don't have. Thanjk you again

Mary Ann said...

Wonderful! Will be on my list to make this. Really like the large size of the block.

Cecelia said...

Thank you for putting the tutorial here on your blog!!!! You are the most sharing est person!! Love your blog!!!

Lorri said...

I love this pattern so much. I started one just last night! Thank you for posting this tutorial and also the link to your boards.I had missed that one. Plan to make some for my sewing room. Love your blog and your sewing room is wonderful
Lorri

Anonymous said...

Great tutorial. I always learn something when visiting your blog. Thank you for sharing.

pharmgirl75 said...

I will have to remember this. I think it would make a cute accent pillow to go with a quilt I am working on for my guest room.

Allison said...

Lori, thank you for this tutorial. I really love the scrappy-ness of this pattern and since I love scrappy 1930s quilts, this is the pattern for me. One question. What is the green solid fabric you use in your Two by Four Block? I ask because as I'm looking at your photos of the Sweet Mint fabric, which is just such a pretty color, I couldn't help thinking that the 1930s green would also look great. Thanks so much.

Angela said...

It's a real beauty! So simple too. You're a master for sure, thanks for sharing.

Anne Hayward said...

I love this block what a great way to use up all the scrappy bits I will definatly be following your lead with the baskets much more organised than my sweat tin lol quilty hugs

Rebecca said...

Hi, I love all of your scrappiness!! I am wondering if the scrappy zippered bag that you show in several of the pictures of this block is available as a pattern or is it your own creation? Would love it!
Thanks,
Rebecca

Rebecca said...

Is there a pattern for the scrappy zippered bag that you show in several of the pictures?

Judy said...

I want to thank you for sharing your knowledge and fun tutorials with us. I will have my hubby make me a board soon. (He needs more glue sticks). I just bought one of your books and will buy the new one soon. You are very special to share your tutorials. Thank you Lori. Bless you.

make.share.give said...

I LOVE THIS BLOCK! I needed to use all caps. Thank you for the tutorial.

Kim said...

So pretty! I really want to try this block. Only 960 squares for a queen size quilt. 😱

Unknown said...

Now I know how to use my 2.5" blocks & strips!!

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