Welcome to week 2 of the Interlaced Stars Quilt Along!
This week we are sewing our Square in a Square quilt blocks. If you are just joining us, I am so happy you are here :) Need the pattern? You can grab it now - just CLICK HERE.
Don't you worry if you haven't started cutting the fabrics yet. To make your center blocks this week you will only need to cut the following pieces:
- cut B1 and A1 squares; to make Starlight's square-in-a-square center blocks.
- cut A2 and C3 squares; to make Astros' square-in-a-square center blocks.
Find sewing instructions and total number of center blocks needed per size at page 4 of the Interlaced Stars PDF quilt pattern.
Here you'll find an easy square-in-a-square block tutorial for beginners and a cutting chart - I did all the maths and I included lots of different block sizes just for you!
Interlaced Stars Quilt Along Schedule
- Week 1 (Jan 15th to Jan 21st): Fabric & Cutting
- Week 2 (Jan 22nd to Jan 28th): Square-in-a-Square center blocks
- Week 3 (Jan 29th to Feb 4th): 8-at-a-time Half Square Triangles blocks
- Week 4 (Feb 5th to Feb 11th): How to trim Flying Geese units
- Week 5 (Feb 12th to Feb 18th): Sewing Starlight and Astros Blocks
- Week 6 (Feb 19th to Feb 25th): Quilt Top Assembly & Quilting Ideas
QUILT BLOCK FORMULA
To make one square-in-a-square block you'll need:
- (1) center square - same size as your unfinished block.
- (4) corner squares - half the size of the finished block + 1/2" seam allowance.
HOW DO YOU MAKE A SQUARE IN A SQUARE BLOCK?
There are a lot of different ways to put this block together. The Interlaced Stars Quilt Pattern shows the stitch-and-flip quilting technique. Many common quilt patterns use this technique and it's one of my favorites!
- Draw a diagonal line on the wrong side of each small corner squares (Fig 1).
- Place (2) corner squares right side together on opposite sides of the large square (Fig 2). They will overlap a bit in the center. Pin them in place so they don't move.
- Sew along each drawn line (Fig 3).
TIP 1: Press seams as they are sewn. This helps to set the stitches
TIP 2: Press the corner squares out before trimming, to see if everything is squared up. A little bit of extra work, but will make things more accurate at the end!
TIP 3: A scant 1/4" seam will give you a little extra room and it should help you get the correct size of your final units. Try sewing approximately two threads away from the marked line into the seam allowance.
- With the rotary cutter and quilting ruler, trim off excess fabric at 1/4" from the line. Place the 1/4" measurement line of the quilting ruler along the seam line of one small triangle (Fig 4).
- Press both corners to the outside (Fig 5).
- Place the remaining (2) small squares RST on the top of the large square (Fig 6). These are going to overlap with the other one you've already done.
- Sew along each drawn line. Press to set seams. Press both corners to the outside. Then trim off both layers at 1/4" from the line (Fig 7).
- Press corners to the outside and you are done!
I'm so excited to see your beautiful blocks coming together. The Interlaced Stars quilt is a really fun and beautiful quilt. It's a great skill builder quilting project perfect for confident beginners.
Share your work in progress this week on our hashtag #InterlacedStarsQuilt and tag me @alexandrabordallo for a chance to win our final grand prize: a free edge to edge longarm quilting by @QuiltPlease
Ask questions at the comments below or CLICK HERE to join our private facebook group. Let's stay in touch, share your journey with us, get insipired and connect with fellow Interlaced Stars quilters!
Have a nice week!
Talk soon,
Alexandra Bordallo
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