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Welcome to Debbie Shore's Block of the Month Quilt (2019)

Quick Links: What you'll need Project steps

Join Debbie Shore’s sew-along and you'll create 12 traditional blocks that transform into an easy quilt.

Every month, I will release a new block design that you can construct in your own time. At the end of the year, once all of your twelve blocks are individually quilted and ready to go, you can then stitch them together to create a beautiful, practical quilt for your home. For those new to machine quilting, sewing each block separately means you can not only fit each block in around your busy schedule, but you’re also not having to manoeuvre a large volume of fabric under your needle all at once, making it far more manageable.

The twelve blocks in this Block of the Month quilt are all traditional designs, some of which you may be familiar with. You may think one or two of the blocks look complicated, but I’m sure you’ll be surprised at how easy they go together! A confident beginner will be able to make this quilt but be aware that accuracy in cutting and piecing the pieces with ¼in (5mm) seams is important. I’ll also be showing you other projects that you can make with the blocks, so if you’re a quilting beginner you could start with one or two of those before moving on to the full-size quilt.

Inspired by the stunning countryside around my home, I have designed this quilt-as-you-go quilt using a combination of white-on-white and floral fabrics, with the addition of sashing and borders. However, if your intended room (or person!) needs a slightly different look, you could easily switch these floral fabrics with other patterned fabrics for a quilt that’s unique to you. If you’re a more experienced quilter, then why not add more blocks or borders, perhaps a ribbon border (using the quarter square triangle technique), or even something of your own design?

Apart from the twelfth block, almost all the blocks in this quilt consist of sixteen half square triangle units. These ‘units’ made by joining a patterned print triangle to a plain triangle to form a square. These squares are then sewn together to create a 12in (30.5cm) finished block (12½in/31.75cm in size when unfinished, or untrimmed). I’ll be showing you a speedy method of cutting out the units and joining them together, pressing your squares and then trimming them to size to ensure accurate piecing.

The overall size of the quilt will be 40 x 60in (101.75 x 152.5cm) in size, ideal for a twin/single bed.

Before we start, just a note about whether or not to pre-wash your fabric. This is a choice that is entirely up to you. If you like the look of a more crinkled, ‘antique’ style of quilt, then wash it after its construction, otherwise wash and dry all your fabric before you start (machine washing is fine). If there’s any chance of your fabric running, then I strongly recommend pre-washing. (If you’re not sure, check on a sample piece of your chosen fabric first.) If you do decide to pre-wash, starching your fabrics will help with accurate cutting and piecing. All fabrics should be ironed before you cut.

In preparation for making the whole quilt, you will need:

• Four 19⁵/₈in (50cm) lengths of contrasting fabrics
• 2⁵/₈yd (2.5m) length of white-on-white, for the main background (includes sashing and border details)
• 2⁵/₈yd (2.5m) of backing fabric: mine is Contrast 3
• 2¹/₂yd x 43³/₈in (2.25m x 110cm) length of wadding/batting

This sew-along has now finished, and you can find all of the individual blocks to create this quilt linked below:

• January: Flags
• February: Pinwheel
• March: Balkan Puzzle
• April: Diamond
• May: Flying Geese
• June: Whirling Triangles
• Extra block for June: Ohio Star
• July: Square within a Square
• August: Chevron
• September: Windmill Variation
• October: Evening Star
• November: Crosses
• December: Woven Triangles

Access Debbie's quilting and sashing lesson, which you'll need after creating block 3.

Learn how to add quilt borders using this step-by-step tutorial.

It's easy to add binding around your quilt with our instructions.

MEMBERS ONLY: To gain full access to the Half Yard Club projects please login or sign up

You will need:

Equipment

• Sewing machine
• Iron
• Scissors or rotary cutter

Materials

• In preparation for making the whole quilt, you will need:
• Four 19⁵/₈in (50cm) lengths of contrasting fabrics
• 2⁵/₈yd (2.5m) length of white-on-white, for the main background (includes sashing and border details)
• 2⁵/₈yd (2.5m) of backing fabric; mine is Contrast 3
• 2¹/₂yd x 43³/₈in (2.25m x 110cm) length of wadding/batting

MEMBERS ONLY: To gain full access to the Half Yard Club projects please login or sign up