Hive 4 Tutorial for February - Log Cabins for Sarah

Hi everyone! This month I’m asking for a Log Cabin block. My mom had a blue log cabin quilt that I always loved as a kid and I thought it would be nice to make one of my own, with your help! 

 

Preferred Color Palette:

I’m hoping for darker fabrics that are blue(ish) - all medium/dark shades of blue, teal, violet and lighter fabrics (white, off white, tan, light blue, light gray, beige, etc.). You’ll need a square and 6 rectangles of the darker fabric and 6 rectangles of the lighter fabric - they can all be different, or you can repeat fabrics. Solids, prints, batiks are all fine. I’d like to avoid anything with words if possible, as well as anything juvenile/licensed and holiday related. Here are fabrics I pulled and considered for my sample blocks.

Dark:

Light:

Something along these general lines, but feel free to add violet, some more medium toned blue/teal/violet, some pale grays/pale blues…

Cutting Instructions

Light Fabrics

1 rectangle - 2 inches by 3.5 inches (B)  

1 rectangle - 2 inches by 5 inches (C)

1 rectangle - 2 inches by 6.5 inches (F)

1 rectangle - 2 inches by 8 inches (G)

1 rectangle - 2 inches by 9.5 inches (J)

1 rectangle - 2 inches by 11 inches (K)

Dark Fabrics

1 square - 3.5 inches by 3.5 inches (A)

1 rectangle - 2 inches by 5 inches (D)

1 rectangle - 2 inches by 6.5 inches (E)

1 rectangle - 2 inches by 8 inches (H)

1 rectangle - 2 inches by 9.5 inches (I)

1 rectangle - 2 inches by 11 inches (L)

1 rectangle - 2 inches by 12.5 inches (M)

 

I did this late at night, so some of the colors in my photos below are off, but the construction should be easy enough to see.

Take the blue square (A) and sew the 2x3.5” white rectangle (B) to the top of it. Then sew the 2x5” rectangle (C) to the left side of the AB unit. 

Add the blue 2x5” rectangle (D) to the bottom of the ABC unit, then the blue 2x6.5 rectangle (E) to the right side. Continue sewing the strips on to the center unit in alphabetical order/by their increasing size. It helped me to lay the block out and sew around in a counter clockwise direction. I pressed all seams away from the center unit, but please feel free to press in whichever direction you prefer! I found some handy instructions and diagrams on the Threadbare Creations blog and on the Polka Dot Chair blog. They are both making a 12” finished (12.5” unfinished) block as well, so their cutting instructions should match mine if you prefer to follow either of their tutorials.

 

 

The blocks should be 12.5 inches square when you’re done. I’ll give a final trim when I get them, so no need to worry about that.

 

 

Let me know if you have any questions! I’m excited to see how they all come together. 

Thank you!

Sarah