Quilt block · Pinwheels · Intermediate
Shaded Trail quilt block
Long dark and medium pieces turn round the center in a pinwheel, with light triangles and corners round the edge.
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.
Background · Snow in the picture
4 corner pieces and 16 triangles
- D1 square 2¾″cut twice on the diagonals
- B6 squares 1⅝″cut once on the diagonal
- A4 rectangles 2⅛″ × 1¼″then cut with template A
Dark · Navy in the picture
8 long pieces
- E4 squares 2⅞″then cut with template E
- C4 parallelograms 2¼″lay the ruler's 45° line on the strip's edge, trim the end, then cut every 2¼″ along the edge
Medium · Denim in the picture
8 long pieces
- E4 squares 2⅞″then cut with template E
- C4 parallelograms 2¼″reversed, the 45° the other way: trim the end, then cut every 2¼″ along the edge
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 Shaded Trail’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.
Background · Snow in the picture
4 corner pieces and 16 triangles
- D1 square 3½″cut twice on the diagonals
- B6 squares 2″cut once on the diagonal
- A4 rectangles 2⅞″ × 1⅝″then cut with template A
Dark · Navy in the picture
8 long pieces
- E4 squares 4″then cut with template E
- C4 parallelograms 3″lay the ruler's 45° line on the strip's edge, trim the end, then cut every 3″ along the edge
Medium · Denim in the picture
8 long pieces
- E4 squares 4″then cut with template E
- C4 parallelograms 3″reversed, the 45° the other way: trim the end, then cut every 3″ along the edge
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 Shaded Trail’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.
Background · Snow in the picture
4 corner pieces and 16 triangles
- D1 square 4¼″cut twice on the diagonals
- B6 squares 2⅜″cut once on the diagonal
- A4 rectangles 3⅝″ × 2″then cut with template A
Dark · Navy in the picture
8 long pieces
- E4 squares 5⅛″then cut with template E
- C4 parallelograms 3¾″reversed, the 45° the other way: trim the end, then cut every 3¾″ along the edge
Medium · Denim in the picture
8 long pieces
- E4 squares 5⅛″then cut with template E
- C4 parallelograms 3¾″lay the ruler's 45° line on the strip's edge, trim the end, then cut every 3¾″ along the edge
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 Shaded Trail’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.
- Make 1 section
Sew the two parts together along the diagonal seam: Medium C parallelogram to Background A piece. Press the seam to one side.
- Add 6 corner triangles
Sew the Background B triangle across each corner in turn, along its long edge, and press toward the triangle.
- Add a corner triangle
Sew the Background B triangle across the corner, along its long edge, and press toward the triangle.
- Make 1 section
Sew the two parts together along the diagonal seam: Dark C parallelogram to Background A piece. Press the seam to one side.
- Add 2 corner triangles
Sew the Background D triangle across each corner in turn, along its long edge, and press toward the triangle.
- Make 4 sections
Sew the two parts together along the diagonal seam. Press the seam to one side.
- Add 2 corner triangles
Sew the Background D triangle across each corner in turn, along its long edge, and press toward the triangle.
- Make 2 sections
Sew the two parts together along the diagonal seam. Press the seam to one side.
- Make 1 section
Sew the two parts together along the diagonal seam. Press the seam to one side.
- Add 4 corner triangles
Sew the Background B triangle across the corner, along its long edge, and press toward the triangle. Each measures 2¾″ (2¼″ finished).
- Make 1 section, 5″ × 1¼″
Sew the two parts together along the diagonal seam. Press the seam to one side. Each measures 5″ × 1¼″ (4½″ × ¾″ finished).
- Add a corner triangle
Sew the Background B triangle across the corner, along its long edge, and press toward the triangle. Each measures 5″ × 1¼″ (4½″ × ¾″ finished).
- Make 2 sections, 5″ × 2¾″
Sew 2 sections together in a row. Press the seams to one side. Each measures 5″ × 2¾″ (4½″ × 2¼″ finished).
- Sew the units and pieces into 3 columns
Lay out the units and pieces as in the picture and sew them into 3 columns. Press the seams in column 1 up, column 2 down, and so on, so they nest when the columns are joined.
- Join the columns
Join the 3 columns, 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.
- Make 1 section
Sew the two parts together along the diagonal seam: Medium C parallelogram to Background A piece. Press the seam to one side.
- Add 6 corner triangles
Sew the Background B triangle across each corner in turn, along its long edge, and press toward the triangle.
- Add a corner triangle
Sew the Background B triangle across the corner, along its long edge, and press toward the triangle.
- Make 1 section
Sew the two parts together along the diagonal seam: Dark C parallelogram to Background A piece. Press the seam to one side.
- Add 2 corner triangles
Sew the Background D triangle across each corner in turn, along its long edge, and press toward the triangle.
- Make 4 sections
Sew the two parts together along the diagonal seam. Press the seam to one side.
- Add 2 corner triangles
Sew the Background D triangle across each corner in turn, along its long edge, and press toward the triangle.
- Make 2 sections
Sew the two parts together along the diagonal seam. Press the seam to one side.
- Make 1 section
Sew the two parts together along the diagonal seam. Press the seam to one side.
- Add 4 corner triangles
Sew the Background B triangle across the corner, along its long edge, and press toward the triangle. Each measures 3⅞″ (3⅜″ finished).
- Make 1 section, 7¼″ × 1⅝″
Sew the two parts together along the diagonal seam. Press the seam to one side. Each measures 7¼″ × 1⅝″ (6¾″ × 1⅛″ finished).
- Add a corner triangle
Sew the Background B triangle across the corner, along its long edge, and press toward the triangle. Each measures 7¼″ × 1⅝″ (6¾″ × 1⅛″ finished).
- Make 2 sections, 7¼″ × 3⅞″
Sew 2 sections together in a row. Press the seams to one side. Each measures 7¼″ × 3⅞″ (6¾″ × 3⅜″ finished).
- Sew the units and pieces into 3 columns
Lay out the units and pieces as in the picture and sew them into 3 columns. Press the seams in column 1 up, column 2 down, and so on, so they nest when the columns are joined.
- Join the columns
Join the 3 columns, 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.
- Make 1 section
Sew the two parts together along the diagonal seam: Medium C parallelogram to Background A piece. Press the seam to one side.
- Add 6 corner triangles
Sew the Background B triangle across each corner in turn, along its long edge, and press toward the triangle.
- Add a corner triangle
Sew the Background B triangle across the corner, along its long edge, and press toward the triangle.
- Make 1 section
Sew the two parts together along the diagonal seam: Dark C parallelogram to Background A piece. Press the seam to one side.
- Add 2 corner triangles
Sew the Background D triangle across each corner in turn, along its long edge, and press toward the triangle.
- Make 4 sections
Sew the two parts together along the diagonal seam. Press the seam to one side.
- Add 2 corner triangles
Sew the Background D triangle across each corner in turn, along its long edge, and press toward the triangle.
- Make 2 sections
Sew the two parts together along the diagonal seam. Press the seam to one side.
- Make 1 section
Sew the two parts together along the diagonal seam. Press the seam to one side.
- Add 4 corner triangles
Sew the Background B triangle across the corner, along its long edge, and press toward the triangle. Each measures 5″ (4½″ finished).
- Make 1 section, 9½″ × 2″
Sew the two parts together along the diagonal seam. Press the seam to one side. Each measures 9½″ × 2″ (9″ × 1½″ finished).
- Add a corner triangle
Sew the Background B triangle across the corner, along its long edge, and press toward the triangle. Each measures 9½″ × 2″ (9″ × 1½″ finished).
- Make 2 sections, 9½″ × 5″
Sew 2 sections together in a row. Press the seams to one side. Each measures 9½″ × 5″ (9″ × 4½″ finished).
- Sew the units and pieces into 3 columns
Lay out the units and pieces as in the picture and sew them into 3 columns. Press the seams in column 1 up, column 2 down, and so on, so they nest when the columns are joined.
- Join the columns
Join the 3 columns, 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
Flying KiteFour-patch · Pinwheels
Nelson’s VictoryFour-patch · Pinwheels
Slashed AlbumFour-patch · Pinwheels
Wheel of TimeFour-patch · Pinwheels
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 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 8 sections (A, B, C, D, E, F, G and H), 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 an intermediate block: 36 pieces in 5 different shapes and 17 points to match. Take it slowly and pin the points. We work the level out from the block’s own geometry, never by eye.