Hive 4 January Tutorial: Look at all those chickens!

Hello and welcome to Stashbee 2023! I thought we’d start the year out with something bright and whimsical to help with the winter blues. My usual style is calm, muted colors, but I was inspired by some of last year’s queens to break out of that rut. I will be walking you through the Chubby

Chicken Block by Oh, Kaye Quilting.

Unfinished block size: 12.5”

Fabric style:The chicken body and wing accent is a bright, cheerful combination of any 2 fabrics your quilty

heart desires: use one color for the main body and one for the wing accent. The chicken can

be scrappy so long as every fabric is in the same color and hue families; i.e. a blue chicken that

is all mid and lighter blues, no pops of navy that stand out. The beak and comb are orange; feel

free to use two different oranges, any hue you'd like. The background is solid or tone-on-tone

white, one fabric. The only prints not welcome are branded or cartoon character prints. 

Cutting Instructions: There are lots of moving parts, so each piece has a letter label. Keep a close eye on your half-square triangle (HST) orientations! I’m terrible about getting those backwards and having to frog everything. I’ve included a labeled diagram from Oh, Kaye Quilting as well as pictures from my own assembly.

Background (one fabric, solid or tone on tone white)

• A: 5” Square 

• F: 5.5” x 3” 

• G: 3” square

• H: 2.5” x 1” 

• I: 3” x 2” 

• J: 2.5” Square 

• K: 8.5” x 2” 

• L: 10” x 1.5”

• M: 12.5” x 1.5”

Main Body (scrappy or single fabric, one color and hue, quilter’s choice)

• A: 5” Square

• B: 6.5” x 3”

• C: 5.5” Square 

• D: (2) 5” x 3” 

• E: 7.5” x 2”

Wing Accent (contrasting color to Main Body, quilter’s choice)

• C: 5.5“ Square

Beak & Comb (scrappy or single fabric, orange)

• G: 3” x 3”

• J: 2.5” x 2.5”

Block Construction:

1. Place 5” squares A from Background and Main Body right sides together. Sew ¼” seam around the edges, then cut diagonally to make 4 HSTs. Trim to 3”. You will have one extra.

2. Place 2.5” squares J from Background and Beak & Comb right sides together. Mark a line down the diagonal and sew ¼” seam on either side, the cut down the middle to make 2 HSTs. Trim to 2”. You will have one extra.

3. Place 3” squares G from Background and Beak & Comb right sides together. Mark a line down the diagonal and sew ¼” seam on either side, then cut down the middle to make 2 HSTs. Trim to 2.5”. You will have one extra.

4. Place 5.5” squares C from Main Body and Wing Accent together. Mark a line down the diagonal and sew ¼” seam on either side, then cut down the middle to make 2 HSTs. Trim to 5”. You will have one extra.

5. Sew together in a row: A HST from Step 1, then D, then another A HST together. This is the bottom of the chicken. Double check your HST orientation.

6. Sew C HST from Step 4 to D. Then sew E on top to make the chicken body. Double check your HST orientation.

7. Sew the chicken body CDE from Step 6 to B.

8. Sew the chicken bottom ADA from Step 5 to the chicken body BCDE from Step 7.

9. Sew Beak & Comb G from Step 2 to Background H. Double check your HST orientation.

10. Sew together in a row: A HST from Step 1, then Background F, then Beak & Comb GH unit from Step 9. Double check your HST orientation.

11. Connect the row AFGH from Step 10 to the chicken bottom/body unit made in Step 8.

12. Sew Background strip L to the chicken bottom.

13. Sew Background strip M to the left/tail side.

14. Sew together in one column: Background I, then Beak & Comb J from Step 2, then Background K. Double check your HST orientation.

15. Connect the column IJK from Step 14 to the right/front of the chicken. 

16. Trim to 12.5”