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Miter She Wrote

Jessica Four-Patch presents: Case #108

© 1997 Merry May

Make a 64" square quilt top which includes an optional friendship block swap mid-way through the series. Or, keep all of your own blocks and gather your own bunches of signatures for your quilt. After all, as they say, "Friends are the Flowers in the Garden of Life!"



Please read all instructions before beginning. Try to be as accurate as possible.


Fabrics

Avoid obvious directional prints, unless you don't care which way they end up pointing. Pre-wash and iron all fabrics. Good-quality 100% cotton is recommended. Note: The fabrics shown are the ones we used for our sample. These fabrics are only a suggestion.

 Fabric A: This is your "background" fabric. We recommend a pastel blue, suggesting a sky. Keep in mind that this is the fabric which will be written on if you decide to take part in our friendship block swap. You will need 3 yards of this fabric.
 Fabric B: A multi-color, medium-to-large scale floral print is suggested here. Be sure there is some contrast between this fabric and your Fabric A. You will need 1 3/4 yards of it.
 Fabric C: A medium-value plaid (either woven or printed) which coordinates with your Fabric B, and which also has some contrast with your Fabric A. You will need 3/4 of a yard of it.
 Fabric D: (optional) This should be an accent fabric in a "leafy green." One yard will include your binding.


Other Notions:

A recommended time-saver is a roll of a product called Triangles on a Roll in the 2" (finished) size. However, this product is NOT required, and alternative instructions will be provided during Part 1 of this series.

Cutting

Fabric A:
  • One 8 1/2" strip; cut into four 8 1/2" squares
  • Nine 4 1/2" strips; cut TWO of these strips into thirty-two (32) rectangles, each 2 1/2" by 4 1/2".
  • Five 2 1/2" strips
  • One 4 7/8" strip; cut into eight 4 7/8" squares; bisect each square once to make sixteen (16) half-square triangles.
  • Five 6" strips *NOTE: These are for making your half-square triangle units using a product such as Triangles on a Roll. If you choose not to use this product, DO NOT CUT these strips; instead, follow the alternative directions given in Part 1 below.

Fabric B:
  • Seven 4 1/2" strips
  • Four 4" strips; cut into forty 4" squares
  • Two 6" strips *NOTE: These are for making your half-square triangle units using a product such as Triangles on a Roll. If you choose not to use this product, DO NOT CUT these strips; instead, follow the alternative directions given in Part 1 below.

Fabric C:
  • One 4 7/8" strip; cut into eight 4 7/8" squares; bisect each square once to make sixteen (16) half-square triangles.
  • Three 6" strips *NOTE: These are for making your half-square triangle units using a product such as Triangles on a Roll. If you choose not to use this product, DO NOT CUT these strips; instead, follow the alternative directions given in Part 1 below.

Fabric D:
  • Eight 2" strips for Binding
  • remainder will be used for (optional) applique

*** Part 1 ***

Using Triangles on a Roll:

If you have chosen to use Triangles on a Roll, you will need to use 2 1/2 of your 6" strips you just cut from your Fabrics A and C. (In other words, take one of the full-width strips and cut it in half - the other end of the strip is extra, and you won't be needing it at this point.) Layer these strips in pairs, right sides together. Open your Triangles on a Roll package and count out two long pieces of this product; each piece needs to have 13 rows of the grid on them; one additional piece will need to have 6 rows of the grid on it. Following the manufacturer's instructions, make a total of 128 half-square triangle units from your Fabrics A and C.

Again, if you have chosen to use Triangles on a Roll, you will need your remaining two 6" strips of Fabric A, plus your two 6" strips of Fabric B. Layer these strips in pairs, with right sides together. Then, count out two more long pieces of Triangles on a Roll, with 13 rows of the grid on each. Following the manufacturer's instructions, make a total of 104 half-square triangle units from your Fabrics A and B.


Alternative Instructions For Making Half-Square Triangle Units:

NOTE: Do not do this if you have already made your half-square triangle units using the Triangles on a Roll product!!

Go back to your remaining Fabric A and cut one 13" wide strip (width of fabric) plus one 16" strip (width of fabric). On the wrong side of your 16" wide strip of Fabric A, and leaving about a 1/2" margin around the edge of the fabric, draw a 2 7/8" grid with 13 rows across the width of the fabric (selvage to selvage). Please be accurate!! Add four more full rows adjacent to the first row you just drew. Draw diagonal lines through the squares on your grid in one direction only, as shown below. (Diagram only shows the first two rows of the grid which needs to be drawn.)

Next, layer this piece of Fabric A right sides together with your remaining piece of Fabric C (should be about 18" wide). Pin them together and sew 1/4" away from each side of your diagonal lines only! When all of your sewing is complete, rotary cut on all of the lines you just drew, including the diagonal lines. You should now have a total of 130 half-square triangle units. This quantity includes two extra units (you "only" need 128 units!), so set the extra two units aside for a future scrap quilt project. Press the seam allowances toward Fabric C, and trim off the "dog ears" (these are the little pieces extending past the seam allowances after pressing). Each unit should measure 2 1/2" square (unfinished size).

Following the same procedure as above, draw a grid on the wrong side of your remaining 13" strip of Fabric A. This time, though, you'll only need to draw four full rows (with thirteen 2 7/8" squares) across the width of your fabric (selvage to selvage). You won't need the partial row as you did before (for one thing, there's not enough room for it!). Layer this piece of Fabric A right sides together with your remaining piece of Fabric B. Pin them together and sew 1/4" away from each side of your diagonal lines only! When all of your sewing is complete, rotary cut on all of the lines you just drew, including the diagonal lines. You should now have a total of 104 half-square triangle units. Press the seam allowances toward Fabric B, and trim off the "dog ears" (the extra little pieces extending past the seam allowances after pressing). Each unit should measure 2 1/2" square (unfinished size).

That's all for now! Tune in next time for Part 2 of Jessica Four-Patch's Case #108.......


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