Sunday, February 15, 2015

My Flower Box Quilt Block Tutorial and Sew Along!!!


The last two weeks have been 
unusually calm weather wise here
 for this time of year
and I have an early case
 of spring fever!
The days are warm 
and the nights are cool…




So I'm completely 
in the mood to make
 a spring quilt for snuggling 
in my favorite chair. 
Perfect while I'm doing handwork
 or watching Downton Abbey:)

My quilt will measure 60" x 80"…
big enough to pull over my shoulders
and keep my toes covered
 at the same time:)
...a perfect snuggly size!


It's always fun to sew with friends…
so I decided to have a sew along!
Do you want to play?

I announced my new 
Flower Box Sew Along
on my Instagram last week
and have started a 
#flowerboxsewalong
hashtag so that others can 
share thier progress as well.


If you are joining in on the fun…
of course you can use any fabric you want.
"you are the boss of your own quilt"

***I do recommend using 
several different colors.
***For each color use
 a few different prints.

Doing this will ensure that
 each block doesn't 
end up looking the same
because you've only used 4 colors.


I wanted to use fabric in  
happy colors and a style
  that represents spring...

So I chose to use my 
current fabric collection
that's in quilt shops now...
There are 33 different prints 
in this collection…
21 come on the bolt and …






And 12 of the prints
 come in FQ's …
(it's a way I have chosen to 
"GROW" each of my fabric collections)
These come in the form 
of fat quarter panels.
(3 panels = 12 FQ's)


I'm using 30 of my 
Flower Patch FQ's 
for the block colors…
and using the 3 remaining prints 
that have a lot 
of white in them
for my background, 
binding and back of my quilt.



I'm using my favorite 
vintagey text print
 from the collection
 for the background in each block.
I will need 3 yards 
of background fabric.


This "queen bee" print 
will be the back of my quilt.

I'll use 5 yards and will 
have some leftover to 
trim off of the sides:)


This large floral
 will be my binding:)
5/8 yard needed.



The block I am using is
 an old traditional one 
and I love it!
I've named it 
"Flower Box" 
in honor of spring!
My block finishes at 10"square.

In the past…
this has been a 
very hard block to piece 
because of the needed 
use of templates and
cutting out all 
12 pieces on the bias.

But don't worry!
I will be showing you 
my easy peasy
no template method…

YaY!



Here are a few tools 
I am using for this sew along.
They are of course not necessary 
but make the process a lot easier!
6 1/2" square ruler
5 1/2" square ruler
1/2" x 12" ruler
Pink Circle Rotating Cutting Mat

I got all of mine at


Of course I think that
 a good stack of my
 mini design boards 
are completely necessary!!!


for my tutorial 
if you haven't made any yet.
I promise 
you will LOVE using them!


So hurry into your sewing room…
turn on some music…
tie on your apron…
  put a new blade in your rotary cutter
 and lets get started!


From EACH of 4 different prints;
Cut 1- 6 1/2"square
and 
Cut 2 - 3"squares



From your background fabric;
Cut 4 - 6 1/2" squares

***Take note that you have just cut for
 2 - FLOWER BOX BLOCKS


You will need to mark TWO lines onto
 the BACK of each 6 1/2" background square.
The lines need to be 1/4" on each side of the center.
Using this 1/2" wide ruler makes it easy.
If you don't have one…
you can just draw a line down the center 
(from point to point)
 and then mark a 1/4" line away from
 that center line on each side.
I use a mechanical pencil for marking.


Place onto one of your 6 1/2"square prints 
(with right sides together) 
and stitch directly onto your marked lines.


Now cut them apart…
 in-between the two stitched lines like this.



Leave them closed
and place your 5 1/2" square ruler 
diagonal line on top of
your stitched line and square up
 with your rotary cutter...


Like this.
This is where the turning mat comes in handy
because you don't have to move your ruler …
just the mat:)


Open it up and press the seams open like this.
Repeat for the other one as well.
You now have 2 - half square triangle units
 that each measure 5 1/2" square.

(Repeat process for the other three 6 1/2"
 colored squares and three background squares)


Now mark a center line from point to point
 on the matching 3" square and place onto the corner
of the background like this.


Stitch directly on that line.
Repeat for the remaining half square triangles:)


Trim off excess 1/4" past your stitching line.

Press seams open like this:)


Next…lay four different color sections
 out like this and sew together.


One cutie patootie Flower Box:)
YaY!
At this point your block should measure 
10 1/2" x 10 1/2"
And because you pressed your seams open…
 it will be easier to line up points
 and you blocks will lie flat too!


This is what the back of my block looks like:)


Don't forget to sew the other block!


For my quilt I will be
 making 48 different 
Flower Box blocks.
I'll sew them together
 in a 6 x 8 setting.
No sashing…no borders.
I told you
 this would be fun and easy!

You can make your quilt 
any size you want
you could make 20 blocks
in a 4 x 5 setting and
 it would be a 
perfect baby quilt size!


***NOTE***
Here is some Flower Box 
quilty math for you!
***From one 10" square;
 you can cut a 6 1/2"
 and two 3" squares
***From one F8th;
You can cut two 6 1/2" squares 
and four - 3" squares
***From one FQ;
You can cut four 6 1/2" squares
and eight - 3" squares
***From a 6 1/2" x WOF strip
(for your background)
You can cut six - 6 1/2" squares


So choose your fabric and sew with me!
Follow me on Instagram
to see my progress on this sew along
as well as all of my others:)

Have a quilty kind of day!
xx
Lori