Hive 2 September 2026 Tutorial Disappearing Four Patch for Nancy

Hi!  I’m Nancy, the September QB.  I’ve been wanting to make a throw for my father-in-law who is perpetually cold, and another for my husband’s cousin who will earn her PhD next year in pediatric cardiology nursing.  This scrappy block will be just the thing for them.  This website was my inspiration.  https://agilejack1.com/2023/10/03/those-aboriginal-scraps-kept-calling-my-name/ 

Colors:  Think organic colors more than glow-in-the-dark bright—plum, purple, blue, gold, teal, rose, rust, olive, russet, brown, burgundy, red, tan, blue, taupe, green, grey, black.  Prints of any scale are great, including florals.  Stripes and plaids will work; don’t obsess over getting the seams lined up with the print fabric.  Please, no seasonal, religious, or juvenile prints.  Batiks are good.  A bit of metallic is okay.  Mix it up, and be creative, but don’t waste too much time agonizing over your choices.

Pick four fabrics that work together without being matchy-matchy, with two darker and two lighter, cutting one 6.5" square from each.  The two darks barely interact, as do the two lights, so NONE of them have to "relate" colorwise .  Having at least one big-scale print works well, and makes the block more interesting.  At the end of this tutorial I have included a photograph of some of the other blocks I’ve made so you can get a better idea of where these projects are going.  

Note:  All seam allowances are .25" wide.

If you’re unsure of how the values relate to each other, take a photo of the choices and display the photo in black and white on your phone.

Sew into a four patch with light and dark squares alternated as shown, matching pressed seams.  (Matching the seams precisely makes the next cuts a lot easier.)  Press with a dry iron.  Check for any folds when pressing since getting the seams pressed without folds can help accuracy.  (Ask me how I know.  🫤)  I pressed toward the dark pieces so I could nest my seams, then spun the seam allowances at the center a bit so the block was less bumpy during the next step.

Next, cut 2” away from the center seams on either side in both directions without moving any of the pieces—four cuts in all.  If you’re careful, you can simply rotate your mat 90 degrees at a time to cut, being careful not to move the pieces out of place.  (I screwed this up the first time by accidentally cutting 2.5” from the center seam, instead of the correct side of my ruler.  I then used a sticky note to make sure I got the correct side of my ruler, since it was too easy for me to get this wrong.)

e 

You then end up with this.

Next, spin the four side pieces 180 degrees.  Everything stays as is.

Reassemble the nine segments like a nine-patch, matching seams, and sew together.  Be aware the middle segments will appear 1/4” too small in one direction—both for the very center unit--because of seam allowances.  Don’t let that throw you off.

Press.  You’re done!  The finished block should measure 11.5” including seam allowances.  No need to trim!

 Thanks for playing!  I’m looking forward to seeing your amazing blocks and incorporating them into these two gifts.  Sam and Genna are looking forward to staying warm this winter.

And as promised, the blocks I’ve made so far.