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BLOCK 6 - RICHMOND
I used the wrong fabric in the HST's of the 4 patch block
should have been the dk blue but I like how this
one turned out anyway. |
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close up of the 4 patch - yes, it is "floating"
a little but I like that. |
Firstly, I must thank
Mary and
Lillian for their help in making this block! The Math in this one certainly was
challenging but thanks to these ladies, my block has come out at 8 1/2" square with 1/4" seam allowances all around! It has a lot to do with the old 1/16" measurement, again!
LESSONS LEARNT.....
The four patch needed to be cut a smidge smaller so I cut my strips at 1 7/16" instead of 1 1/2" ... then I attached the triangles which had been cut just a little larger so I could trim the whole unit down to my generous measurement of 3 1/8" which I actually marked on an old ruler -it is more around the 3 3/16" mark. Mary gave me this piece of advice.... thank you so much!
Using the marked 3 3/16" square to square up all units really made a difference. The centre square is also cut at 3 3/16".
I made the outer HST's using the method of cutting a two larger squares (in this case 4") and drawing the 1/4" seam from the centre diagonal. Place the two squares RST and sew down each 1/4" line and then cut in half on the centre diagonal. This gives you two HST's to cut down to the 3 3/16" square. Made another set for the remaining HST's. Lillian shows you how to do this on her blog.
By careful measuring and cutting and using my usual 1/4" seam, my block has come out exactly 8 1/2" square with the 1/4" seam allowances all around. If only I had used the correct fabric in those triangles, I would be super happy. So, of course, I am now making another one!!
I did have an earlier version of this block that I tried to just use different seam allowances on my machine, but in the end the block did not come out the right size and did not have the correct seam allowance on the outside.
The success of this block all hinged on that little extra bit of 1/16" either adding it or taking it away.
So after all of that, I really enjoyed making this block and can see that I might even make other versions of it to put in my quilt. I like how it can look so different just by how you position the values.
Happy Sewing!!
