July 6" Sampler Squares
This year, I am grateful to ask your help in making a sampler quilt for my nephew, Danny.
I thought I would start with a little bit of information about the recipient. Danny is a 10-year-old boy who loves his family and his pets. He has two dogs, one cat, and three siblings, and loves being a big brother. His favorite subject is math, and his favorite colors are green and blue. He likes baseball and playing video games, but he is the kind of kid who does not answer his ringing iPad when friends call if he is spending time with his family. For Danny, nothing tastes better than his grandma's home cooking--he especially loves his grandma's turkey burgers or cheese tacos.
I hope this provides you with some inspiration!
The Quilt
I struggled to come up with an idea for what to make Danny, and I finally decided on a sampler quilt. I already have a good number of 12" squares, and I would like your help to make 6" squares to mix in. The plan is to mix up blocks of different sizes. You can make ANY 6" (finished size) block you'd like. They should be 6.5" unfinished. Generations Quilt Patterns has a lot of options for inspiration.
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These are some of the 12" blocks that I have received from another swap for this project. |
Fabric Parameters:
I am using Danny's favorite colors in this quilt: Blue and Green. If you need an additional background color, please use light to medium grey.
Please avoid:
- Florals
- Girly themes (shoes, lipstick, etc)
- Overly childish themes (I want the quilt to grow with him)
- Greens that lean toward olive or mint. I am looking for brightly saturated green
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Here is my fabric pull for the project. You can see batiks, light denim, solids, patterns, and blenders. |
Tutorial
As I mentioned above, any 6" block is perfect! You can use traditional piecing, FPP, appliqué, improve, you name it. Just make sure the unfinished size is 6.5". For the sake of this tutorial, I am going to lead you through making a Double Pin Wheel from Generations Quilt Patterns.
Step 1: Cut Fabric
- Background - Cut (1) 4.5" square, then subcut it twice diagonally, corner to corner. You now have 4 triangles.
- Accent Color - Cut (1) 4.5" square, then subcut it twice diagonally, corner to corner. You now have 4 triangles.
- Main Color - Cut (2) 4" squares, then cut each once diagonally. You now have four larger triangles
Here are my cuts. The grey is the background; the green is the accent, and the blue is the main color.
Step 2: QST
With right sides together, align the edges of one background triangle with one accent fabric triangle. Stitch them together along a straight edge (not the bias) to form a quarter square triangle. Press to the darker fabric. Repeat with three other sets.
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Here is what my QSTs look like. |
Step 2: Quarter Units
Sew each QST to a larger, main fabric triangle. Be careful and make sure all of your smaller units look the same. Trim to 3.5" inches.
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If you've sewn everything correctly, you can easily make a pinwheel by rotating each block 90 degrees |
Step 3: Assemble Block
Sew units together so that they create the double pinwheel block. Press the rows in alternating directions so the seams nest. Press however is most comfortable for you, and trim to 6.5".
Here is my finished double pinwheel! Thanks for sewing, and I am looking forward to seeing what you come up with.
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Note that I my centers do not line up perfectly. I don't mind if yours are a little off either :) |
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