Two And Four Quiltalong: Four Patches

After all that cutting you are probably itching to get stitching. I know I am!

First we’ll make 4-patches.

To create each 4-patch you need two colored pieces and two background pieces.

Stitch each colored square to a background square. Pause a moment and press the seam allowances towards the colored piece. It really does make a difference.

Next stitch the pairs together, putting the colored pieces on opposite ends and nesting the seams.

The next step of pressing has many options. I prefer to press this seam open. It gives the benefit of reduced bulk without the fussiness of pinwheeling the seams. If you haven’t tried this technique, you might want to on this quilt and see how it works for you.

Repeat over and over, watching your finished pile rise higher and higher until you have 140 4-patch blocks. YAY YOU!

We will be back next week to stitch together those rectangles.

Be sure to visit KatyQuilts and see her version using larger pieces. Enjoy!

Two And Four Quiltalong: Cutting Directions

Have you got your scraps gathered? YAY! Let’s get going!

These directions are for a quilt finishing at approximately 60″ x 80″. Useful on a twin size bed, as a throw or couch quilt, or as a donation quilt. Or, you can make it exclusively because it is beautiful and makes you happy. That might be the best reason of all.

1. Divide your scraps into two piles: Colored and Background. My Colored is all red/blue. My Background is cream or coordinating low volume prints.

TIP: Generally, when cutting scraps, cut the largest piece you can/need first, then work down to smaller ones.

2. From the Colored fabrics, cut 160 2-1/2″x4-1/2″ rectangles. Also from the Colored fabrics, cut 280 2-1/2″x2-1/2″ squares. NOTE: It is nice to have some kind of color balance, but several possibilities will work. On Katy’s original quilt she cut all the rectangles from blue and all the squares from red. I am mixing my colors to match the fabric I had available. You can use more colors if you like.

3. From the Background fabrics, cut 160 2-1/2″x4-/2″ rectangles. Also from the Background fabrics, cut 280 2-1/2″x2-1/2″ squares.

4. Look at what you have accomplished and feel really great about it.

Thank you for quilting along with us. Visit Katy to see her progress on the quilt she is building. It is a similar size but uses larger pieces. Goodness, you might have enough scraps to do both! Now, that would be fun!

We’ll be back on September 7 with the first stitching step. Feel free to ask questions between now and then. See you soon!

Exciting Announcement: QUILTALONG!

Earlier this year, Katy shared a picture of this wonderful quilt.

I thought it was a great idea! A few weeks ago I cut out pieces to make a similar quilt. Katy and I got to talking and decided it was just too much fun to keep to ourselves, so we are inviting you to join us and build a Two And Four quilt of your very own.

I am building a version similar to the one above (based on 2-1/2″ squares and strips) and Katy will share directions for making a very similar quilt, but using larger (and therefore, fewer) pieces. 

You will have 1-2 weeks to complete each step before we move onto the next. This will run at a fairly leisurely pace. We plan to have tops finished and ready to share via a linky party by mid October. 

Your first assignment is to gather your scraps! You will need half light and half dark. Any color you would like! I’m using red, cream, and blue. Cutting directions will be posted August 24.

I hope you will join us for this Two And Four QAL. It’s a great way to clear out those scrap buckets!