Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Houndstooth in a Nutshell


There wasn't a block on my calender today, just another quilt picture so I decided to add another 8.5" to my growing collect of green blocks (I now have 12!). I used one of the darker greens Jenn sent me for my birthday and a putrid, lime green light that always shows up as yellow when I take pictures of it. I chose the Houndstooth pattern because it's very easy and I love it. It's a little time consuming because I have to cut each square individually, but I think the result is worth it.

First I took my 4.5" square ruler and I divided it, on an angle, as evenly as I could with a piece of masking tape. This is because the houndstooth is strips, cut crooked. It'll make sense in a minute.

You'll need at least a light and a dark fabric. I always forget how wide to cut the strips and ALWAYS cut 3.5" stirps of each. This is a little bit extra so if you're short on fabric you can cut 3" strips and you'll be alright. If you're a little nervous about trying a new block, go with my 3.5". I decided to do this pictorial after I had cut 3 of my 4 squares so bear with me, LoL! Sew your dark and light strips (right sides together) down one long side. Iron the seam toward the dark fabric.Line your masking tape ling up along the ege of the seam on your strip set. Your ruler will look crooked on the fabric. Make sure to hold it steady so you can trim around it.Be careful holding down the ruler to cut around it! Rotary cutter accidents are painful! Ask me how I know, LOL!
You need 4 of these squares for every block. Once you have enough squares cut for the number of blocks you'll need there are 2 different layouts you can choose:
I like the second one and it's the one I chose for my blocks today. I think the first one kind of looks like windmills, which is fun too! I hope you'll give these blocks a try because they are so easy and look very nice when set into a quilt top. I have one hanging on the wall in my living room done in 5 different colors. It's really easy with some careful seam allowances to have perfect points too, so give yourself some bragging rights! LoL!

2 comments:

  1. Oh, Cool! I saw this patten in one of my quilt books and thought, no way could I do that, lol. Well, thanks to you, it sounds a whole lot easier than the patten looked. I loved it when I saw it, so now I'll just have to try one of these! Thanks a lot and it's beautiful.

    I can't wait to see what you have planned for all your green blocks. That's something else that I never considered. Just making a certain color block to stock pile until you have enough to make a top.

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  2. Hey we have st patty day fabric 50% off and it is 4.99 yard- I almost bought some and sent it to you!
    LOL
    I like this block- It looks easy like this. Cant wait to see it finished.

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