Pinwheel Quilt Blocks

Sewing quilting blocks on the bias (diagonally across a piece of fabric) can be REALLY frustrating. Let me fill you in on why...

The nature of a bias seam on woven material, such as quilter's cotton, is way more elastic than when you are sewing with the direction of the weave. That bias can be a great thing when you are easing a curve in a wearable garment, but when you want exact quilt blocks with straight seams...well, that takes some finesse.

For the quilt I am making, I wanted to add some blocks with angles. After experimenting with a few slightly complex designs, and getting mixed results, this newbie opted for to go simple. Discovering that I needed to master my skill level with the bias and go on from there.

After doing some digging around in books and online, I decided that my solution was a pinwheel block. It's cute, colorful, and great for beginners.

Some of my finished 8"x8" pinwheels.

This is how I did it:

For an 8" block, cut two 4-7/8" squares of 2 different fabrics.

Take one of each of those squares and place them right sides together with the light fabric on top:

Using a water-soluble marker and a ruler, mark the diagonal from point to point. Place pins on either side to hold in place:

At your sewing machine, using a straight stitch and a presser foot with a 1/4" seam allowance, stitch on each side of your drawn line. (Note the placement of pins.):

At you cutting mat, slice through both layers on your drawn line:

With a hot iron, press open with the seam allowance toward the darker fabric side:

Back at your cutting table, make sure that your block is square and nip off the two little "dog ears" of seam allowance sticking out:

Do this same process until you have four 2-color blocks. Lay them out in the pinwheel pattern that you prefer:

Take the block in the upper right hand corner and turn it over top of the block on its right. At the sewing machine, using 1/4" seam allowance, stitch the seam indicated in photo below:

At the ironing board, press the seam allowance toward the darker fabric. Bring the block back and put in it's spot in your design:

 Repeat the same process for the bottom two blocks. Then you will have 2 strips:

Flip the top strip down over the bottom strip and sew a 1/4" seam indicated on the photo below:

Press open with a hot iron....viola...a pinwheel block!

The success of a block such as this means the center points of the pinwheel all come together. If you are of a little bit off on the points, it could be your cutting, seam allowance, or maybe your fabric is slipping around a little bit when you sew. Don't be afraid to rip a few seams out, press and resew. No one is looking! :)

Good luck!

–Cassandra

P.S. -For more quilty fun, check out my log cabin block tutorial and staggered strips block tutorial.