Quilt block · Four-patch · Advanced
Attic Windows quilt block
Four window units, each a light square with a dark strip and a medium one mitred round two sides, like a window seen in a sloping wall. Also called Attic Window.
What to cut for one block
A 6″ finished block measures 6½″ before it’s sewn into a quilt. Each fabric’s yardage is the least that cuts its strips across the width of fabric, with a strip to spare for straightening.
Dark · Navy in the picture
4 side strips
- B4 rectangles 3⅝″ × 1½″then cut with template B
Medium · Denim in the picture
4 sill strips
- B4 rectangles 3⅝″ × 1½″then cut with template B
Light · Powder Blue in the picture
4 windows
- A4 squares 2½″
Templates. Pieces marked “cut with template” aren’t a shape a straight ruler cuts: cut the size given, then trim it to the template’s shape. Quarter Inch prints Attic Windows’s templates at true size with Quilter.
Worked out by @quarterinch/cutting · ¼″ seams included · strips cut across 42″ of usable width · the letters are the pieces the sewing steps name
A 9″ finished block measures 9½″ before it’s sewn into a quilt. Each fabric’s yardage is the least that cuts its strips across the width of fabric, with a strip to spare for straightening.
Dark · Navy in the picture
4 side strips
- B4 rectangles 5⅛″ × 2″then cut with template B
Medium · Denim in the picture
4 sill strips
- B4 rectangles 5⅛″ × 2″then cut with template B
Light · Powder Blue in the picture
4 windows
- A4 squares 3½″
Templates. Pieces marked “cut with template” aren’t a shape a straight ruler cuts: cut the size given, then trim it to the template’s shape. Quarter Inch prints Attic Windows’s templates at true size with Quilter.
Worked out by @quarterinch/cutting · ¼″ seams included · strips cut across 42″ of usable width · the letters are the pieces the sewing steps name
A 12″ finished block measures 12½″ before it’s sewn into a quilt. Each fabric’s yardage is the least that cuts its strips across the width of fabric, with a strip to spare for straightening.
Dark · Navy in the picture
4 side strips
- B4 rectangles 6⅝″ × 2½″then cut with template B
Medium · Denim in the picture
4 sill strips
- B4 rectangles 6⅝″ × 2½″then cut with template B
Light · Powder Blue in the picture
4 windows
- A4 squares 4½″
Templates. Pieces marked “cut with template” aren’t a shape a straight ruler cuts: cut the size given, then trim it to the template’s shape. Quarter Inch prints Attic Windows’s templates at true size with Quilter.
Worked out by @quarterinch/cutting · ¼″ seams included · strips cut across 42″ of usable width · the letters are the pieces the sewing steps name
How it’s sewn
For the 6″ block. Choose another size above and these steps follow it.
- Sew the set-in seams, 4 times
These pieces meet where a straight seam can’t run right across, so they’re joined with set-in (Y) seams. Mark the ¼″ seam points at each piece’s corners. Sew each seam only from mark to mark, backstitching at both ends, so the seam allowances stay free; sew the two seams into the corner, then pivot and sew the last one. Press the allowances so they swirl round the point. The part measures 3½″ (3″ finished).
- Sew the units into 2 rows
Lay out the units as in the picture and sew them into 2 rows. Press the seams in row 1 to the left, row 2 to the right, and so on, so they nest when the rows are joined.
- Join the rows
Join the 2 rows, matching and nesting the seams where they meet. Press the long seams open or to one side. The block measures 6½″ (6″ finished).
For the 9″ block. Choose another size above and these steps follow it.
- Sew the set-in seams, 4 times
These pieces meet where a straight seam can’t run right across, so they’re joined with set-in (Y) seams. Mark the ¼″ seam points at each piece’s corners. Sew each seam only from mark to mark, backstitching at both ends, so the seam allowances stay free; sew the two seams into the corner, then pivot and sew the last one. Press the allowances so they swirl round the point. The part measures 5″ (4½″ finished).
- Sew the units into 2 rows
Lay out the units as in the picture and sew them into 2 rows. Press the seams in row 1 to the left, row 2 to the right, and so on, so they nest when the rows are joined.
- Join the rows
Join the 2 rows, matching and nesting the seams where they meet. Press the long seams open or to one side. The block measures 9½″ (9″ finished).
For the 12″ block. Choose another size above and these steps follow it.
- Sew the set-in seams, 4 times
These pieces meet where a straight seam can’t run right across, so they’re joined with set-in (Y) seams. Mark the ¼″ seam points at each piece’s corners. Sew each seam only from mark to mark, backstitching at both ends, so the seam allowances stay free; sew the two seams into the corner, then pivot and sew the last one. Press the allowances so they swirl round the point. The part measures 6½″ (6″ finished).
- Sew the units into 2 rows
Lay out the units as in the picture and sew them into 2 rows. Press the seams in row 1 to the left, row 2 to the right, and so on, so they nest when the rows are joined.
- Join the rows
Join the 2 rows, matching and nesting the seams where they meet. Press the long seams open or to one side. The block measures 12½″ (12″ finished).
Blocks like it
More like this: Four-patch quilt blocks · all quilt blocks
Questions
Short answers.
Something else? A real person replies.
hello@quarterinch.app
Is Attic Windows the same block as Attic Window?
Usually, yes. Block names vary by region and by book, and the same block is often sold under several. Our library lists Attic Window as other name for this one, so a search for any of them finds it.
What size should I make it?
Its 6 × 6 grid lands on the ⅛″ marks at 6″, 9″ and 12″, so every piece measures with a ruler at all three. It also cuts cleanly at 15″ and 18″. In Quarter Inch you can make it any size, and it says when a cut falls between the lines.
Can I paper piece it?
Not as drawn: it has set-in (Y) seams, where three seams meet and none runs straight through. Piece it with a rotary cutter and templates instead, as the cutting list above does.
Is it a good block for a beginner?
It’s an advanced block: 12 pieces in 2 different shapes, set-in (Y) seams and 5 points to match. Practise the hard seams on scraps first. We work the level out from the block’s own geometry, never by eye.