My block is inspired by my sweet little cockatiel Gwenie,, who is both elegant and funny. Check out those orange cheeks!
When I saw this bird block, I was excited to think of all the silly little bird personalities that would appear! I would love for this quilt to have some variation in bird size, position, and even directions they face! I like an off-center block too!
Fabric:
Here's my pull of fabrics, Except for the really light floral second from top on the left. That ended up being too much light color mixed in, so use that as an example of what not to do! I also didn't end up liking the yellow on the right, so disregard that too!
SKY: fabrics that are predominantly dark navy. Can have the colors of the color scheme in the background, as long as it is mostly dark navy. I love a scrappy look, so if you have a few navys that work, you can use multiple, or just one! If the bird has very busy pattern, then use a more simple background, such as a more low-volume style.
Bird BODY and WING: predominantly creamsicle pinkish orange/peach, light muted soft oranges. No bright primary color-esque oranges. Can have hints of fushia and muted pinkish purple, or black, or botanical colors as long as it mostly is peachy. If the background is busy, then please use a more simple fabric for the bird. If the background is simpler, go for a more bold patterned bird! Use a different fabric for the wing than for the body. Wing and body should be two different fabrics, with a change in tone or color to distinguish them in the block.
Bird LEGS and BEAK and CORNERS: predominantly white fabric, with an interesting pattern of some sort! I even used some cool selvage for the legs in one bird! You can mix these up in the block.
For this block, please no creams/off whites, and no novelty prints! Batiks fine if mixed with other types of pattern :)
Cutting: (feel free to make adjustments to these measurements! We will add several strips at the end to bring the bird block up to a 13” finished square) I have additional measurements at the end for a smaller bird if you want to try one small (but tall!) bird, or two in one block!
From SKY, cut:
One 4 ⅞ inch square cut in half diagonally
One 1 ½ inch square
One rectangle 1½ by 4½ inches (make 1 ½” section wider for a longer beak!)
One rectangle 3 by 6½ inches (cut last to make sure it’s long enough)
One rectangle 3* by 8 inches (cut last to make sure it’s long enough)
* for a taller bird, make the block taller! Up to 7”x8”. The top sky portion (3x6.5) can be a little shorter to allow more room for the border if needed!
PLUS: Extra sky pieces to add to the block to result in a 13x 13 square, maybe need up to about 4” on top and side to square up the bird block, which comes out as a rectangle prior to adding extra sky strips.
From WING, cut
One 4 7/8 inch square, cut in half diagonally
From BODY, cut:
One rectangle 1 ½ by 4 ½ inches
Two 1 ½ inch squares
From LEGS & BEAK & CORNERS, cut
Legs: Two 1 inch by 4 ½ inch rectangles (can be a bit thinner if you like!)
* for a tall bird, make these longer!
cool selvage fabric can be used!
Beak: One 1 ½ inch square (make a bigger square for a longer beak, that matches the width of the 4 ½ tall sky piece)
Four 3” squares (corner triangles)
You can also make a right facing bird with the same cuts, just flip the directions!
I generally press open unless it will be smoother to press one direction.
Directions:
1:Take the small body square and place on the wing triangle. Check that when you flip up the body square, it will be able to replace that portion of the wing triangle. Stich and press open. 
2: Sew on the triangle portion of sky.
. 
3: Add the second body square to the obtuse point of the wing triangle. Stitch across at any angle, but be sure that the body piece will be able to flip down and complete the corner of the square. Trim excess.
4:Take the rectangle body piece, and place a sky square piece on the bottom. Sew across at a diagonal angle, ensure that the sky piece will still flip down and fill out the rectangle shape. Trim excess.
5: Sew rectangle body/sky piece to body/wing piece, with sky triangle at the bottom facing away from the wing.
6: Create the beak by placing a white square on the ~1 ½ x 4 ½ sky piece. (Make sure it’s as tall as the block you’ve created so far!) Stitch on the diagonal (the angle will be widest near the bird’s body, and come to a point). Trim excess.
7: Stitch sky/beak rectangle to bird body block.
8: Stich rectangle of sky (~3 ½ x 6) to top of bird block.
9: Making legs block: decide how long your bird legs are, and decide if they will be straight legs, angled, or one straight one angled??
9/a: Cut the sky block (~3x8 or more) and legs. If you are sewing angled legs, cut them an inch+ longer than you think you need.
9/b: Place the sky block under the bird to make sure the legs will be placed where you want, and then cut the sky block in thirds where each leg will go.
9/c: Stitch in the legs to the sky! If you are making angled legs, then try to pay attention to the angle you lay the pieces for stitching so the sky block ends up mostly parallel. You’ll be adding more to this block to size it up, so it’s ok to lose a little here and there to keep things straight!
9/d: Line up the legs where you want them on the bird, and stitch together!
10: Add additional strips to bring the block up to 13” square. Feel free to be creative in the way you add size- a few small strips, squares, a HST in one spot, etc. Bird doesn’t need to be centered!
11: Place the 4 white squares on the corners of the block, mark corner to corner on the square, stitch, and trim excess to create four white triangle corners! You're done!
I also made a smaller bird pattern if you want to make one tiny bird, or two birds in one block! (one upside down? Two in a row?) The small bird block was ~5” wide before adding sky strips. I think smaller birds look better with a more low-volume navy background to help their features stand out!
Sample small bird pattern size:
Wing: 3 ½ square, cut diagonally
Body: two 2 ½ squares
Body: one rectangle, height of wing square, 1 1/2 “ wide ( or more based on beak length!
Sky:
3 ½ “ square, cut in half diagonally, 1 ½” square
One Piece wide enough for the top of the bird block, any height.
One piece wide enough for the bird block, and the height of the legs you want!
Beak: 1 ½”
Legs: any height, about 3/4” wide or a little less.
Four 3” square white corners
Sky: enough to bring the bird block up to 13” square!
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