This week we are going to look at assembling our appliquéd blocks into two panels and we will also be taking a look at how to make quick patchwork squares.

Note: Finished size of quilt 74” by 96”.

6 appliquéd blocks

Background fabric 31” (assuming fabric is 44” wide)

Thread

General sewing supplies

Rotary cutter/ruler/mat

1 From the panel fabric cut eight pieces, 15½” high by 5¾” wide.

2 From remainder of fabric cut 12 strips, 1½” high by 13½” wide (see cutting guide).

3 Attach a strip to the top and bottom of each block, pressing seams away from the centre. Each block now measures 15½” high by 13½” wide (figure 1).

4 Following diagram, attach four panel pieces to three of the blocks. Press seam allowances away from each block (figure 2).

5 Repeat for second panel. Lay panels aside for quilt assembly later.

Checkerboard Patchwork Squares

There are two strips of patchwork squares across the quilt, each containing 60 squares finishing at 2” by 2” in the quilt. You will need assorted fabrics to make the patchwork squares, but rather than cutting out each square one by one, there are a number of quick methods. Here is one I came across recently, which I thought was very clever. This uses 5” squares from a charm pack. A charm pack is a bundle of 42 coordinating fabrics, each measuring 5” by 5” square, which is ideal for this part of our quilt as you get lots of variety in each pack.

1 Take two coordinating pieces from the charm pack and place right sides together. Sew a ¼” seam down each side (see diagram 1). Press. The rest of the charm pack can be chain pieced in this way. Chain piecing is a quick way to join lots of similar sized pieces together saving time and thread. As the first pieces are sewn, feed the second set into the sewing machine without lifting the presser foot. Repeat until all matched pairs are sewn. Cut apart.

2 Cut in half through the centre to reveal two rectangle units see (see diagram 1).

3 Following diagram 2, sew the units together in one long strip. Try and make sure that no two fabrics of the same colour are beside each other. Press seams to one side.

4 Following diagram 3, cut away 2¼” from one end of the strip. Now cut the rest of the strip into 4½” squares to make four patch units. When all units are cut, reassemble them to make one long strip, two squares high by 30 squares wide (diagram 4). Repeat to make second strip. Leave checkerboard strips to one side for quilt assembly later on.

Recap: We are now halfway through our quilt and have all the blocks, panels and strip sets ready to assemble.

Next week: Assembling the quilt top, measuring for borders and cutting and attaching borders.