Moda Blockheads: Block 24-Corn No Beans

10/20/2017

Block 24 is brought to us by Carrie Nelson, you can read more and get the pattern by clicking HERE.

We are having a gorgeous fall here, made even more so with the first snow that fell last night. The golden colors of the aspens amidst the evergreens are the inspiration for my color scheme.

My first thought when I looked at Block 24 was, "Look at all of those Half-square triangles!" (HST's) Clearly this calls for a little short-cut method I often use when I do not want to cut a bunch of squares. The method I will share with you yields 8 HST's and as usual I am making them oversize and trimming. Since we need nine HST's for each section I still need to cut a few smaller squares as well. Here is what I did:
Fabric A: (cut 2) 2" x 2"; (cut 4) 4 1/4" x 4 1/4"
Fabric B: (cut 2) 2" x 2"; (cut 4) 4 1/4" x 4 1/4" (I am using two different fabrics so cut 2 large squares from each, and 1 small)
Tip: If you do not prewash fabric I recommend you starch your fabric before cutting it out.)

First thing I need to do is draw two diagonal lines on the large A fabric squares.

Since I have everything out, I also went ahead and drew one diagonal line on each of the smaller squares as well.

With right sides together I place one A square on a B square and stitch 1/4 inch from each side of both drawn lines.

This method does benefit from a rotating cutting mat, but a small mat that you can turn works well also as we are going to make several cuts now. The first cut is done by lining up the ruler with that middle intersecting seam (the X) and making sure the 2 1/8" line on the ruler runs along the edge of the squares. Then simply cut, but do not move the pieces apart just yet.

Rotate the mat without disturbing the pieces.

Carefully lift the ruler and place in down again as before to make another vertical cut across the square.

Rotate the mat again and cut along the diagonal line you drew.

Rotate the mat again and make the final cut along the other diagonal line you drew.

We now have 8 HST's that need to be pressed towards the dark side. I gave them a spray of starch at this time. (My fabric is prewashed so will not shrink in this process, but it you do not prewash fabrics then I highly recommend you starch your fabric before cutting it out.)

Now I am going to take a moment and stitch the smaller squares. These are also sewn 1/4 inch from each side of the drawn line.

Cut apart on the drawn line and press towards the dark side. I gave them all a good spray of starch when I pressed. (Do not do this if fabric has NOT been prewashed.)

These Half-square triangles need to be trimmed to 1 1/2" I am using my Bloc Loc ruler, with a regular ruler be sure and line up the diagonal line on the ruler with the seam line. I get rather tired of trimming, so I trimmed nine and then pieced them together in a unit, trimmed the next nine and so on.

I lay out all of the HST's in the order they need to be sewn.
Looks like a simple nine-patch block.

Press the rows in opposite directions.

After adding the third HST to the row I like to check the accuracy of my seam allowance-making sure that the middle measures 1" means I am good to proceed. If I am off, even by a little bit, now is the time to resew to correct it.

As I sew the rows together I am pressing the seams open. There is just so much bulk in these itty bitty pieces that it seems the best option. I also treated my units to another spray of starch.

With my nine-patch unit put together I check to see that it measures 3 1/2" square.

Once all four nine-patch units are complete it is time to put it all together.

There are a lot of seams to match up here. One tip is to make sure that the pin goes through the seams on both the front and the back-this helps make sure they are lined up as I cannot lock the seams to well when they are pressed open.