Most patchwork quilts are made using a basic unit called a Block. Generally blocks are square, although they can be any shape the quiltmaker wants them to be – rectangles, triangles, hexagons, diamonds; all are fairly common.
Quilts are usually made with the same shape block throughout, however, it is possible (and more interesting, although more challenging) to include more than one shape block in a quilt.
Quilt blocks are made up of smaller units – or patches. Since there is no set number of patches in a block, the design (or pattern) of the block is created with the placement of the shapes in the patches and the colors of fabric used in each shape.
A very common quilt block is a nine patch – a simple square block made up of 9 smaller squares.
Because this block is so easy to make, it is one of the more popular quilt blocks for beginning quilters. All of the stitching is along straight edges, and all of the patches are the same size.
What makes the nine patch interesting
is the placement of color within each block as well as what the
whole quilt looks like when you place the blocks next to each other.
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Two different 9 patch designs. |
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Nine patch blocks are also great for scrap quilts in a totally random design. This 9 patch scrap quilt was made for my cousin, Steve. Each square was cut out and sewn together in a random design. |
Using four basic shapes, you can make hundreds of different quilt blocks.
As quilting has developed, many more shapes have been added, but as a beginning quilter, it is a good idea to start with these four basic shapes.
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SQUARE It’s been a long time since we all took math, so to refresh – a square is a shape that has four sides, all of equal length, and with 90° angles in the corners. |
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RECTANGLE Rectangles are similar to squares, because they have four sides and their corners are 90° angles. The difference is that in a rectangle, the two sides opposite each other are the same length, and the shape has two long sides and two shorter sides. |
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HALF SQUARE TRIANGLE This is a triangle that is made by cutting a square in half diagonally
(from corner to corner). The long side of the triangle is generally
cut on the bias. |
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QUARTER SQUARE TRIANGLE These triangles are made by cutting a square into quarters, dividing it across the diagonals. While half square triangles and quarter square triangles look the same, they are a slightly different size, and not interchangeable with each other. |
Once you understand and can sew these basic patch shapes, it is easy to sew blocks that look very complicated.
For example, the block below is called Bachelor's Puzzle, and is made using simple squares, half square triangles, and quarter square triangles.
The magic is in placing the colors in each of the patches in the block.
For example, in the center block, the center square (on point) has been cut into quarter square triangles while in the other two blocks, it is a single square patch.
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All of these blocks are the same design. They look different due to the placement of the fabrics within the patches. |
The finished quilt top includes some pinwheel blocks and sashing (the yellow and blue stripes between the blocks). All of the non-pinwheel blocks use the same basic block pattern.
The pinwheel blocks are simply four patch blocks using half square triangles. That is, there are 4 squares cut into half on the diagonal. The alternating pink and navy, yellow and navy, lavender and navy and baby blue and navy are what make the design called pinwheel.
Penny Halgren
Master Quilter
