Quilt block · Pinwheels · First quilt

Houndstooth quilt block

Four dark trapezoids turn round the center at a slant, each set against a background trapezoid.

FamilyFour-patch
Grid10 × 10
Shapes1
Pieces8

What to cut for one block

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.

Background · Snow in the picture

4 trapezoids

  • A4 rectangles 6½″ × 4⅛″then cut with template A
¼ yd

Dark · Navy in the picture

4 trapezoids

  • A4 rectangles 6½″ × 4⅛″then cut with template A
¼ yd

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 Houndstooth’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 12″ block. Choose another size above and these steps follow it.

  1. Make 4 sections, 6½″

    Sew the two parts together along the diagonal seam: Background A piece to Dark A piece. Press the seam to one side. Each measures 6½″ (6″ finished).

  2. 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.

  3. 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: Pinwheel quilt blocks · Four-patch quilt blocks · all quilt blocks

Questions

Short answers.

Something else? A real person replies.

hello@quarterinch.app

What size should I make it?

Its 10 × 10 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 10″ and 15″. In Quarter Inch you can make it any size, and it says when a cut falls between the lines.

Can I paper piece it?

Yes. It splits into 2 sections (A and B), each sewn on its own paper in order and then joined with straight seams. In Quarter Inch, the Foundations tab prints its papers at true size (with Quilter).

Is it a good block for a beginner?

It’s a first-quilt block: 8 pieces in 1 shape and 4 points to match. Nothing in it curves or has to be set in. We work the level out from the block’s own geometry, never by eye.

Design with Houndstooth, free

Open it in Quarter Inch at any size, in a layout of your own and in your own colors.

Start designing free