July hive 3 Ghost Block for Carolyn

Hi friends. This month I’d like you to make a Ghost block.  It works into an 8” block with fairly simple techniques, and you get to practice tiny flying geese.  This block will have 2 eyes that you can add any way you like- appliqué by turning edges and hand stitch, machine zigzag around the edges, or you can use the circle-in - a- circle technique we learned with the February circle block.  Take creative license with the eyes, can be any shape you’d like so long as it reads eyes.  You could use your background fabric or another dark fabric.  

Use 2 fabrics, one light and one dark.  You can use halloween fabric if you’d like but you do not have to.  For the ghost fabric any print or solid that reads light.  Such as White, cream, tan, gold, silver, light pastels.  For the background any print or solid such as black, charcoal, dark grey, maroon, blue, green, purple so long as it reads dark.

Step 1: cut fabric

From ghost fabric:

1 piece 6 1/2” x 6 1/2”

4 pieces 1 1/4” x 2”

From background fabric:

2 pieces 1 1/2” x 1 1/2”

8 pieces 1 1/4” x 1 1/4”

2 pieces 1 1/2” x 7 1/4”

2 pieces 1” x 8”

2 roundish pieces for eyes, size individual preference

Step 2: create the ghost. Draw a diagonal Line on wrong side of all 1 1/2” squares and all 1 1/4” squares of the background fabric. 

Lay one of the one and a half inch squares On top of the 6 1/2” square of ghost fabric right sides together on the upper right and left corners. Sew along the diagonal line, trim 1/4” seam and press.  

Step two:  Construct flying geese. Layer one of the one and a quarter inch squares of background fabric on top of the one and 1/4” x 2” piece of ghost fabric, Right sides facing. Stitch on your line, trim seam to a quarter inch and press. Repeat with another 1 1/4 inch square on the other side of the one and 1/4” x 2” ghost piece, press. Repeat until you have four flying geese.

Stitch the flying geese together in a line,  matching background fabric.

Stitch the row of flying geese to the bottom of the ghost fabric right sides together press.

Step 4:  sew background fabric to ghost. There is a little wiggle room. Sew the 1 1/2” x 7 1/4” strips to the vertical right and left sides of the ghost block, right sides together and press.  Trim these even with ghost.  Sew the 1” x 8 strips to the horizontal top and bottom of the block, right sides together and press.

Step 5: sew the 2 eyes to the ghost block out of the background fabric.  If you do not have enough of the background fabric, another dark fabric is fine.  You can take creative license here.  Size and shape are up to you, so long as they read as eyes of the ghost.  You can turn the edges and hand stitch, zigzag machine applique or try that circle in a circle we learned with the february block.

Thanks, Carolyn