Session 1, Part B, of Jane's January Tutorials

Jane here!  We got the labor intensive bit done last session.  Here is the fun part! 

See how there are four empty square spaces in the middle of this layout?  Measure your finished blocks and cut four blocks, of that same size, to go in between these blocks.

Then cut a strip of fabric from the same background fabric, but make it one inch bigger than the width of the four blocks you just cut.  [For example, if the blocks on your design wall are 4 1/2 inches X 4 1/2 inches, then the strip of background you cut, needs to be 5 1/2 inches wide.  Cut six 5 1/2 X 5 1/1 inch blocks from that.]

Then you need to cut that strip into six blocks, that you will then cut from corner to corner, diagonally, to make the twelve triangles you need for the rest of the quilt top. 

Look at this photo and think about the quilt being sewed in rows, just like any other quilt, except you have to tilt your head to see the rows.  Tilt your head to the left.

You can place all the background blocks on your design wall, to see how it looks.  Then you better get those rows sews into rows!

In this photo you can see I divided the quilt top into rows.  I started at the upper left row and sewed the triangles on both sides of the sixteen patch block, then I pressed the seams away from the sixteen patch.  If you press all the seams "away" from the sixteen patch, then they will line up and snuggle in when you sew the rows to one another.  You only have five rows to get sewed into rows. 

When you get to the part where you want to sew the top left, and bottom right triangles on, lay the triangle with the outer tip face down and centered on the seam in the center of the sixteen patch block, and the edge on the edge of the row.  Now it is centered and you can sew it to the outer corner bit of the quilt top.  One you have all the rows sewed to each other and the two remaining corners sewed on, you can square up the quilt top. 

This looks great! Now all I have to do is add  border.  I think it needs one!  I want one of the reds that is in this quilt top, as a border.  I think I will put the background fabric as corner stones in the border to give it a little more detail . . . . let's have a look . . .

This is the completed quilt top! Tada!

Check back in about a week, and we will begin on the second quilt top.  We will be using the left over sections of sewed-together strips (those sections of four) to make a rail fence quilt top.