Quilt block · Four-patch · Beginner

Red Cross quilt block

A cross of strips with a square at the center and a plain square in each corner, the strips paired dark and medium.

FamilyFour-patch
Grid8 × 8
Shapes4
Pieces17

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

5 squares

  • A5 squares 3½″
¼ yd

Dark · Navy in the picture

4 rectangles

  • C4 rectangles 5″ × 3½″
¼ yd

Medium · Denim in the picture

8 rectangles

  • D4 rectangles 5″ × 2″
  • B4 rectangles 3½″ × 2″
¼ yd

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, 5″ × 3½″

    Sew a Background A square and a Medium B rectangle together in a row. Press the seams to one side. Each measures 5″ × 3½″ (4½″ × 3″ finished).

  2. Make 4 sections, 5″

    Sew a section and a Medium D rectangle together in a column. Press toward the plain pieces. Each measures 5″ (4½″ finished).

  3. Sew the units and pieces into 3 rows

    Lay out the units and pieces as in the picture and sew them into 3 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.

  4. Join the rows

    Join the 3 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

What size should I make it?

Its 8 × 8 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 4″, 7″, 8″, 10″, 14″, 15″, 16″ 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?

Yes. It splits into 5 sections (A, B, C, D and E), 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 good block for a beginner: 17 pieces in 4 different shapes. 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 Red Cross, free

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

Start designing free