Sunday, February 9, 2014

Fab 4 Quilt Along Instructions

And when the brokenhearted people

Living in the world agree

There will be an answer, let it be 
Paul McCartney




Are you ready?  Got your fabrics pressed and rotary cutter handy?  It's time for the fun to begin!

This design is based on 5 inch finished size blocks.  This makes it very easy to figure out the size.  There are just two blocks both simple.  The MOST IMPORTANT THING in making these blocks is to have an accurate SEAM ALLOWANCE!  Since one block has just one seam in both directions and the other one has thee in just one direction, any discrepancy in the seam allowance will make the blocks not finish at the same size.

There is also a personal decision of whether you want the finished design to be visually balanced or not.  If you use an even number of blocks you will get a design that looks like this.


Here you can see that two corners have 4 patches and the other two have rails.  

If you go with an odd number of blocks you can have all four corners alike.


Then you need to decide if you prefer 4 patches or rails in the corners.



The decision you make on these preferences affects the total number of blocks of each type you will have to make.  These are not the only layouts that you can do.  Look at my previous post HERE for some others.  I have a few more to share later.  It has been interesting to see how playing with two simple blocks can give so many design options.

OK, are you ready to start cutting?

For your 4 patch blocks cut 3" wide strips.  You will need them from 2 contrasting fabrics.

For your rail blocks cut 1 3/4" wide strips from 4 different fabrics.

Now you have to decide if you want to do strip piecing or cut individual sized pieces to sew together.  If you choose the latter cut the 3" strips into 3" squares.  The rail fabrics will need to be cut into 5 1/2" lengths.

Which way you choose for assembly is up to you.  I have done it both ways.  For the smaller projects I don't think it makes much difference in the time.  For a larger project I am using the strip construction method.  I am making three different sizes and will be sharing them with you later.

Here is the number of pieces you need for the following sizes.  Like I said you can make it any size you would like but the yardage and number of pieces to cut will change.

CUT FROM:      

                                3" STRIPS                     1 3/4" STRIPS
                                    from                                      from
                               2 FABRICS                       4 FABRICS

                              4 PATCHES                            RAILS
                               3" Squares                      5 1/2" Lengths

WALL                          16                                             8

TABLE
RUNNER                     32                                           16

LAP                              120                                          60

QUEEN                        324                                        161
Black, White & Red
85" x 95"

QUEEN                        320                                        160
Brights
80" x 100"

Now one more option is to change the size of the blocks.  Maybe you would like to use Charm squares or a Jelly Roll.  That's fine.  It's your quilt so make it how you would like it to be.  I will be back with some more hints for design layouts.  I will also have a link for my Flicker Group so you can share what you are doing.  I can't wait to see what you do with the design!




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