{Classic Quilt Blocks} Spool - A Tutorial

Classic Quilt Blocks have been sewn for centuries, are easy to recognise and are every quilters favorite. Let's celebrate these gorgeous blocks and add them to our quilting projects!

Welcome to my first tutorial for the gorgeous Spool block. This week we'll be sewing a basic block using the traditional nine patch arrangement. There are quicker ways to sew this block, but sharing this method will help if you want to adapt the block or make a scrappier block.

I've also included a Cutting Chart at the end of the tutorial, so you can sew the Spool block in six different sizes - this will be helpful for future projects. I'm also going to give you some ideas for adapting this block in case you're looking for some inspiration.

One quick thing to mention about this tutorial is my method for the HST's. I always cut my pieces larger than required and then trim the units after they are sewn. This helps with inconsistencies and as long as you trim carefully, you'll get perfect HST's every time.

The following tutorial will yield a 6" (finished) block and seam allowances have been added and we're sewing with a 1/4" seam.

Hopefully you had some time last week to plan some blocks using my free colouring page, so grab your fabrics and let's go sew!

From the background fabric cut:

• 2 x 3" squares cut diagonally to yield 4 triangles (A)
• 2 x 2 1/2" squares (B)
  

From the print fabric cut:

• 2 x 3" squares cut diagonally to yield 4 triangles (C)
• 3 x 2 1/2" squares (D)

• Sew a background (A) triangle to each of the four print (C) triangles, along the long sides and pressing seams towards the print fabrics.
• Carefully trim each HST unit to 2 1/2" square,  ensuring you don't cut off any points or seam allowances.

• Arrange the HST's, the remaining background (B) squares and the remaining print (D) squares into three rows of three as shown in the photo above.
• Ensure correct orientation of the HST units prior to sewing.

• Sew the squares together into the three rows, pressing seams in alternate directions for nesting.

• Carefully matching all seams, sew the three rows together and press the long seams open to yield one Spool block which should measure 6 1/2" square.

Tada! One gorgeous Spool block all ready for your next project!

I hope you had fun sewing this little cutie. It's such a cute block and you can play around with lots of different colour combinations.

I've put together a Cutting Chart for six different sizes so you can choose the right size for you. All the blocks go together in exactly the same way, just the cutting requirements are different. Simply click on the link to download the chart or right click on the photo below and save it to your computer:

Regardless of the size, the blocks are sewn together in the same way, but the cutting requirements are different for each size. I've also included the trimming size of the HST units to make it easy for you, so have fun!

Speaking of fun, how about a little visual inspiration for adapting this block? I thought I'd inspire you by including some cute pieced units in the Spool centres:

There are so many ways to add your own personal stamp on the spool block and I hope these examples giving you some motivation. You can use some of the other Classic Quilt Blocks we've already looked at, or design something of your own - it's fun to play!

Next week I have another step by step tutorial for you, and this Spool block is a little bit fancy:

I love this version and next Friday I'll show you how to sew an 8" block of your own. I've provided a free colouring sheet so you can plan some blocks to sew along with me, so simply click on the link to download and print:

Grab some colouring pencils, crayons and markers and get creative!

And that's it for this week. I hope your enjoying my Spool Classic Quilt Blocks series so far. There's lots more to come as we celebrate this gorgeous block, and it's going to be fun!

Happy sewing :)