Tilted squares- patchwork tutorial

Edited: pictures of the finished quilt here !

If you have not made yet tilted blocks, maybe someday you would like to try them, it’s fun ! I will show you how to sew the quilt below.

Tilted square quilt tutorial
Here is the way I pieced this quilt top.

The top has 42 (6×7) 12″ blocks, 4″ borders and measures about 80″x 92″ (2×2.3 m).

For the center of the blocks I used this striped fabric (Michael Miller) as accent. I had 3.5 yards.

From this fabric I made Kaleidoscope blocks.

Cut 5 strips 5″ wide and as long as the length of the fabric. Take one of the strips and cut it in 4 equal strips then stack the strips.
Repeat with the other strips.

Place a ruler like this (for making quarter square triangles) over the stack and cut triangles.
If you don’t have such a ruler, here you can see how to cut quarter square triangles using a long rectangular ruler.

From a stack I cut 5 sets.

From the 5″ wide strips I pieced 21 blocks.

I cut also 4″ wide strips and I pieced other 21 smaller blocks (I think I made them from 4 strips).
Piece the 4 triangles of each set into squares.

After I pressed all the blocks, I adjusted their size. The final size of the large block is 8.5″x8.5″, I made the smaller blocks 6.5″x6.5″.

A little time and effort- but all the blocks are perfect.

Here is how to adjust the size of such a block using a square ruler.
Place the diagonal of the ruler over one of the diagonals of the block (see the yellow marking). The markings of the ruler (6.5″ or 8.5″) must be placed over the other diagonal (see the red arrows).

Cut the excess off…

Turn around and cut again…

Now I have 21 blocks (6.5″X6.5″) and 21 blocks (8.5″x8.5″) – seam allowances are included.

Add strips around these blocks.
To the large blocks I added one row of strips.

To the smaller blocks I added two rows of strips.

Here are the new blocks – they measure 14.5” x 14.5″ (seam allowances are included ).
Piece all the blocks and press them.
Don’t bother at this time if you don’t have perfect blocks, it doesn’t matter.

The final step – tilt the blocks.
Use a 12.5″ square ruler. If you don’t have this ruler, you could make a clear plastic template in this size (or use a larger ruler but mark on it 12.5 square using masking tape ).
Place the ruler over the block and rotate it until all the corners meet the edges of the blocks.

But you can trim your squares down as tilt as you want.
how to tilt squares Tilt to the right one half of the blocks and tilt to the left the other half (you need a little attention to this step). Double-check the tilt direction before beginning to cut.

Here is the clean, perfectly cut 12.5″ square block.

I made 42 blocks.

Alternate the blocks and join them.

I used this fabric for borders, too bad I did not have more of the striped fabric.

There are so many beautiful striped fabrics on the market ! I hope this tutorial inspires some of you to use a few.

Happy quilting!

18 Comments

Wow – so simple but the result looks so complex. A truely elegant solution!!

Thanks for the tutorial…this looks like a fun project. Hopefully I'll get to try it soon.

Hola , Me encanto este tutorial, las telas que ha escogido son encantadoras.
Muchas gracias
Odette desde Chile

Fabulous, simple yet so effective. thanks for sharing – I love your tutorials

Ajuta-ma sa aleg niste materiale! TREBUIE sa fac si eu quiltul asta! E splendid.

thank you for the clearly illustrated tutorial!

You always do such a great job with your tutorials and this is no exception. Thanks so much for all the great ideas!

Great, and your illustrated er clearly.

What a gorgeous quilt. Thanks for the tutorial. I would love to make one.

You are amazing, love the tutorial…

Olá, adorei seu blog!!!
Estes tecidos ficaram lindos neste projeto. parabéns pelo bom gosto.
bj
Isa

I love it! I'm definitely inspired by what you've done here, and now I've just gotta make one for myself!

Your work is wonderful! Congratulations!! You give to me some ideas to do thanks! I hope I'll feel courage to to use this kind of fabrics in my works.