FREE QAYG-ALONG PART 14
These are the final 2 blocks of our free quilt as you go along. They are both stitch and flip, quilt as you go with a little bit of piecing. The tree block has a bit of crazy patchwork which is really fun and great for using up scraps, you may think that the bird block looks complicated with little pieces, but once you see it come together, you’ll find that it isn’t too difficult at all.
Please note that these QAYG block are suitable to be joined together with the easy cover strip method on the back of the quilt. They can also be joined with the joining strip method, if you would like to use the joining strip method then cut your batting to the same size as the backing fabric.
So, let’s start with the tree block, the cutting instructions are for 2 blocks because it’s more economical this way and you’ll see why soon. Anyway, it works out well because if you’re joining in with our FREE QAYG-ALONG then you will need to make 2.
CUTTING INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE TREE BLOCK
CUTTING INSTRUCTIONS ARE TO MAKE 2 BLOCKS, YOU WILL NEED ¼ YARD OR 25 CM X WOF FOR THE BACKGROUND FABRIC.
BACKGROUND
CUT TWO: 5 ¾” X 6 ¾” RECTANGLES (SIDE OF TREE)
CUT FOUR: 1 ¾” X 3 ¾” RECTANGLES (TRUNK SECTION)
CUT FOUR: 2” X 7 ¾” RECTANGLES (SIDE BORDERS)
CUT FOUR: 2” X 10 ½” RECTANGLES (TOP AND BOTTOM BORDERS)
TRUNK
CUT ONE: 1 ½” X 1 ¾” RECTANGLE
TREE
7 OR 8 GREEN FABRIC SCRAPS
BACKING
CUT ONE: 10” SQUARE
BATTING
CUT ONE: 9” SQUARE
So back to why this block is more economical to make two with the same background fabric and this is because of the way that the two, 5 ¾ by 6 ¾ rectangles are cut to make the side edges of the tree. Now this part is important, place them with the wrong sides facing and measure an 1 ½” across the top short end and an 1 ½” across the bottom, measuring from the opposite side. Connect the marks with your ruler and cut. This will give you a pair of side pieces for one block, and a pair for another block.
Mark up the block
Position your backing fabric with the wrong side facing up and centre the batting on top so that you have a ½” gap around all 4 side edges. If you like you can hold the layers together with a light application of quilt basting spray.
Mark up the block as shown in the diagram below:
Set up your machine
Thread your machine with a neutral-coloured thread, choose a thread that will also blend with your backing fabric and insert a size 80 quilting needle. I like to use a stitch length of 3 when sewing through batting, this is slightly longer than the regular length. Attach your ¼” foot or use your standard foot with the needle position moved over to give you a measurement of a ¼” between the needle and the edge of the foot.
Stitch and flip rules
So that the stitches don’t cross over on the back and look messy, mark the start and finish of every row of stitching with a dot that is a ¼” away from the edge of the underneath fabric.
Sew from dot to dot beginning and ending each row with an automatic tie off, if you don’t have this function on your machine, use a little reverse stitch.
Press each seam as you go using the tip of your iron, being careful not to touch the batting just in case your batting does not like the iron. (This is why I recommend using cotton batting)
Watch the video below to make the block, here are some step-by-step photos to keep you on track:
Piece together the tree trunk section before stitching and flipping it onto the bottom of the tree.
Now to make the bird block, if you're joining in with our FREE QUILT AS YOU GO ALONG, you'll need to make 2.
BIRD BLOCK
CUTTING INSTRUCTIONS ARE TO MAKE 1 BLOCK.
TO MAKE 1 BLOCK YOU WILL NEED 6” X 26” OF BACKGROUND FABRIC, TO MAKE 2 YOU WILL NEED A ¼ YARD OR 25 CM X WOF.
BACKGROUND
CUT ONE: 6” SQUARE
CUT THIS SQUARE ONCE ON THE DIAGONAL TO MAKE 2 TRIANGLES, YOU ONLY NEED 1 PER BIRD.
CUT THREE: 1 ½” SQUARES
CUT ONE: 1 ½” X 1 ¾” RECTANGLE (BEAK SECTION)
CUT ONE: 1 ½” X 4 ½” RECTANGLE (BEAK SECTION)
CUT TWO: 1” X 2 ½” RECTANGLES (1 FOR SMALL TRIANGLE ABOVE HEAD, 1 FOR BETWEEN LEGS))
CUT ONE: 2 ½” X 3” RECTANGLE (FRONT LEG AND TAIL SECTION)
CUT ONE: 2 ½” X 4” RECTANGLE (BACK LEG AND TAIL SECTION)
CUT TWO: 2” X 7 ¾” RECTANGLES (SIDE BORDERS)
CUT TWO: 2” X 10 ½” RECTANGLES (TOP AND BOTTOM BORDERS)
BIRD BODY (DARK BLUE)
CUT ONE: 2 ½” X 5” RECTANGLE (MAIN BIRD BODY)
CUT ONE: 1 ½” SQUARE (TRIANGLE NEAR WING)
CUT ONE: 2 ½” SQUARE (TAIL FEATHER)
WING (LIGHT BLUE)
4 7/8” SQUARE
CUT THIS SQUARE ONCE ON THE DIAGONAL TO MAKE 2 TRIANGLES, YOU ONLY NEED 1 PER BIRD.
LEGS AND BEAK (RED)
CUT ONE: 1” SQUARE (BEAK)
CUT TWO: ¾” X 2 ½” RECTANGLES (LEGS)
BACKING
CUT ONE: 10” SQUARE
BATTING
CUT ONE: 9” SQUARE
Mark up the block
Position your backing fabric with the wrong side facing up and centre the batting on top so that you have a ½” gap around all 4 side edges. If you like you can hold the layers together with a light application of quilt basting spray.
Mark up the block as shown in the diagram below:
Watch the video below to make the block, here are some step-by-step photos to keep you on track:
(If you're feeling adventurous, you can reverse your second bird block by reversing the marks from the left side to the right side of the block)
Trim your blocks back to the same size as the backing fabric, before we join them together they will all be measured and trimmed to 9 3/4" square.
Here are the blocks all together! I'm going to let them sit on the design wall for a few days while I think about perhaps changing some of the fabrics. I'm really happy with how all the blocks looks together. In the next video, I'll show you how to join them all together with the Easy Cover Strip Method on the back.
Alaura and I will be taking a week off from filming so the next vidoe will be out at the end of the month.
Have a creative weekend!
Monica and Alaura xo
