Block of the Month #9

Sometimes called "Economy Block," Block #9 in the Block of the Month series is another easy and satisfying block to make.

Here's a table runner you can make with this block.

 And a quilt

  Access the PDF file here with cutting and piecing directions for this block.

I also offer this block as a pre-cut kit in my shop. The colorway shown is available, or you can custom order the block in any fabrics you like. 

Coming Up: Watch for a tutorial of a project you can make with nine of these blocks. 

Happy quilting ♥

Block of the Month #8 - Pillowcase Dress

The Block of the Month #8 project is a little girl's pillowcase dress made with eight Broken Dishes blocks.

Dress will fit size 6-8 girls.  If you would like a larger size, add more quilt blocks.

 

This is a good serger project,  (you will see that I use a serger throughout).  You can also make this dress with a regular sewing machine, but you may want to finish the raw edges of the blocks with a zigzag stitch to keep them from unraveling after washing.

Here is what you will need to make the dress.


MATERIAL:
Choose three coordinating fabrics.  I used organic cottons from Laurie Wisbrun's Modern Whimsy.

CUTTING

For the triangles, start with a 6 7/8" square.  Cut the square in half diagonally to get two triangles.  So, for example, to get the number of red triangles pictured above, you would cut eight 6 7/8" squares, and then cut them diagonally into 16 half square triangles.

Do the same with the blue triangles. 

For the red and blue triangles at top, you will need sixteen 6 7/8" squares to end up with 32 half square triangles.

From the red and blue fabric:  cut two 4 1/2" x 25" lengths, and two 2 1/2" x 25" strips

From the red fabric:  cut one 3 1/2" x 42" (WOF) strips

SEWING

To make the  tie, fold the red strip right sides together and sew or serge the long edge.

Press flat

Fold the unfinished edges of the tie to the inside, and run a straight stitch across the ends

To make the Broken Dishes Blocks, lay out a block so that you can see how it needs to be sewn together. 

Place one blue and one red half square triangle right sides together and stitch along straight edge.

Repeat with second set.

Sew triangle units, right sides together, along long edge.

Lock opposing seams to get a perfect center alignment.

Here is what the finished center of the block should look like.

Add blue and red half square triangles to opposite sides of the center block.

Add third and fourth sides to the center block. 

Back and front of finished block.

Stitch four of these Broken Dishes blocks together for the front of the dress, and four for the back.

For bottom hem strip: serge long edges of 3 ½” x 25” strips as you did in previous step. You do not need to finish the short edges as they will be encased in a seam.


For ribbon casing: before serging the long edges of the 2 ½” x 25” strips, turn short edges to inside and hem. These edges will not be stitched closed because the ribbon will be threaded through the casing.  Serge long edges right sides together as you did in step above.

 Stitch wide hems to bottom of dress front and back, right sides together. Press hem down.

Serge raw edges on sides of front and back of dress to finish. Stitch sides of dress together , stopping three inches from top edge of dress.

Turn in serged edges to form a “V” for the armholes. Add casing to top of dress, and thread fabric ribbon through both sides.

Gather front and back to fit, and tie ribbon over one shoulder. Voila! Your finished quilt block pillowcase dress.

If you make one of these, I hope that you will share the pictures.  

Block of the Month #8

This is the eighth block in the Block of Month series.  This block, sometimes called "Broken Dishes," is simple to make, and versatile enough to use in many projects.

Below are two quilts and a table runner you can make using this block.

 I have a PDF file of cutting and sewing directions for you. Access the PDF file here. 

I also offer this block as a pre-cut kit in my shop. The colorway shown is available, or you can custom order the block in any fabrics you like. 

Coming Up: Watch for a tutorial of a project you can make with eight of these blocks. 

Happy quilting ♥ 

Block of the Month #7 - Double Diamond Table Runner

Coming up with a design to use seven blocks for block of the month #7 was fun.  This double diamond table runner was the result of playing around with the arrangement of the blocks.

I like the design very much.  This execution of it, not as much.  The main problem was that I used  too many fabrics, and the design was lost.  If I were to do it again, I would limit my fabric selection and arrange the colors like in the EQ 7 drawings below.

Or like in this blue and green version:

 


Anyway, you can see the possibilities. To make this table runner, sew seven BOM #7 blocks in colors of your choice. As shown above, I would suggest sticking to three or four colors.  It would look gorgeous in batiks, or kona cottons.  Below is how the seven blocks fit together.




                                       
                                           

 The binding can be a bit tricky if you haven't done an inside miter before.  Check out the Trends and Traditions blog for some good instructions on this technique.

I decided not to use any batting in my runner, just to try something different. 

I hope that you enjoy making this table runner.  I would love to see your version when it is done.

Happy Sewing ♥