Exploring Blocks Sampler Quilt – Month 7

January 24, 2024

Hi!

Already it seems we’re at the end of the month – that’s a 12th of this year gone already!! I’d better get my skates on and get busy making new quilts and projects again.  There is always time for some playing around with blocks though, and this month we’re up to our seventh block in our Exploring Blocks Sampler Quilt – the Five Patch Chain Block.

As a quick reminder – this is the quilt we’re working on:

Please go back to Months 1 and 2 for the fabric requirements for this quilt.

Let’s get started then, as we have 4 blocks to make this month.

 

Block 7 – Five Patch Chain Block

These first few photos are a bit dark, but they get better as we go…

 

You Will Need:

Three (3) fabrics that contrast.  We used orange, yellow and pale blue.

* You will need to make FOUR (4) of these 10 inch Five Patch Chain blocks. Refer to the rotary cutting guide below for cutting directions and quantites for EACH block.

 

Cut:

Square A is 2 .1/2 x 2. 1/2 inches.

You need to cut a total of 36 orange squares, and a total of 32 blue squares.

 

Strip B is 2. 1/2 x 4. 1/2 inches, and you need to cut 16 yellow strips in total.

 

Assembly:

Lay out your block as pictured.

Sew the squares in pairs, and press the seam allowance towards the orange side.

You can chain piece these to make it faster.

Join the pairs together to make a 4-patch unit for each corner of the block.

Press seams well.

Join the 4-patch units together with a yellow strip in the middle, and join the remaining yellow strips with the final orange square.

Press seams inwards on the top and bottom rows, and press seams outwards on the middle row.

To finish, sew the rows together and press well.

Make four of these blocks in total.

 

Repeated, this block gets pretty busy, but careful colour placement would make it work well.  Alternatively, separate out on point to really see the chain effect.

 

 

4-Patch:

And now let’s play!  This block can also be cut into  4-patch blocks, the units rotated, and re-pieced, for a completely different block.

We’re going to make a couple of different variations of a four-patch block, this month.

Cut one of your Five Patch Chain blocks into 4, as shown.

As your finished block should measure 10½ inches square, you should be able to cut in half vertically once at 5¼ inches, and do the same horizontally.

However – if your block is slightly out, don’t worry – it is more important to cut evenly through the middle of the yellow strips, as shown.

Rotate each quarter 90 degrees to change up the look.

Join the squares into pairs and press seams well and in opposite directions.

Sew the pairs together to finish your first 4-patch block.

Now make the second 4-patch block.

As you did before, cut one block into quarters, through the centre of the yellow strips.

Rotate the quarters so the small orange squares are in the corners.

Again, join the quarters into pairs and press seams in opposite directions.

Finally, join the pairs together to make a different 4-patch block.

 

9-patch:

And don’t stop there!  Now let’s try a 9-patch as well!!

This is an UNEVEN 9-patch.

Square up your block first, then cut 3 inches in from each edge, as pictured.  Cut horizontally, and vertically to divide your block into 9.

Rotate all the side and corner pieces 180 degrees as shown.

Match up the seams and sew the units together in rows.

Press seams well, and in opposing directions between the rows.

Finally join the rows together to reveal your new re-pieced 9-patch Five Patch Chain Block.

As before, this finished block will be smaller than your original block (approx. an inch), but we will take care of that when we assemble the quilt top at the end of this project.

 

I hope you enjoy playing around with this block this month, and remember to send me photos of what you make, as I love seeing blocks in all different fabrics.

Regards,