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

Welcome to Debbie Shore's Block of the Month Quilt (2023)

Quick Links: What you'll need Project steps

Join Debbie Shore's 12-part sew-along which will teach you machine-piecing skills.

Welcome to Debbie Shores 2023 Block of the Month sew-along!

After last year’s 'Christmas Capers' quilt, which had quite a lot of appliqué, this year we’re concentrating on machine piecing to create a 60in (152.5cm) square quilt with the blocks set with an ‘on point’ layout. They are, in fact, 12½in (31.75cm) square blocks that are turned by 45 degrees (diagonally) to appear as diamonds. To complete the quilt, we’ve added triangles at the ends of each row (which form the outer edges), as well as sashing and cornerstones in between the blocks. Hopefully, you’ll agree with us that this is a fresh, modern looking quilt which will sit comfortably on top of your bed or look beautiful spread across a chair in your living room.

The instructions this year also include details for the Quilt As You Go (QAYG) process. We all know how difficult it is to quilt a large project on a domestic sewing machine so, with this in mind, each block is quilted before they’re assembled and joined. QAYG does use slightly more fabric – with the front and back sashings, backing fabric and wadding/batting – but the ease of quilting makes this a process worth investigating. Once you’ve completed a few blocks, we’ll introduce the QAYG instructions to get you going! However, if you wish to quilt the whole quilt in one go, you can follow the QAYG instructions for piecing and attaching the front sashing/cornerstone strips, just cut them at the same length but 2½in wide (you won’t need to add back sashing).

As you’ve come to expect, again we’re covering off a selection of techniques, most of which are machine pieced, including half square triangles (HST); the half-square-triangle, four-in-one-go method; quarter square triangles (QST); split quarter square triangles; square within a square; flying geese; foundation paper piecing (FPP); curved piecing; English paper piecing (EPP); and machine appliqué.

You may have noticed there are 13 pieced blocks in this layout. Each of the two opposite corner blocks – which we’ll cover in January 2023 and May 2023 – are the same design, just in different colourways, so we’ll tackle the pairs of blocks in the same instructions. If you start the QAYG process when we introduce it, and with all the blocks completed by November 2023. you should have time to finish your quilt by the end of the year!

So let’s get started, and enjoy.

Finished quilt size: 60in (152.5cm) square

TIPS:

• Read through all instructions for each block before making a start.
• Stitch with an accurate ¼in (5mm) seam allowance throughout, unless otherwise stated.
• All seams will be sewn with right sides of the fabric facing, unless otherwise stated.
• When cutting out, be conservative with your fabric. Keep all scraps too, as you may be able to use these in subsequent blocks.
• Before pressing seams, set the seam first by running a hot iron along the length of your stitching. This helps the stitches to sink into the fabric, and will encourage the seams to press flat.
• Generally, seams should be pressed towards the darker fabric. However, in some cases to avoid bulk, it is necessary to press seams open or towards the lighter fabric. These instances will be indicated in the instructions. If you prefer to press all seams open, that’s fine.
• Be aware that some of the edges will be on the diagonal, so try not to stretch the fabric at these stages. A light spray of starch may help to stabilize those edges.
• Chain Piecing is used for the piecing. This is a technique involving sewing multiple segments within a block one after another with a continuous stitch, without cutting the thread. This method will save you time and – believe it or not – thread. For more information about chain piecing, take a look at my video.

Find all the quilt blocks for this project linked below:

• Blocks 1 + 13: Melon Patch
• Block 2: Five Patch Chain
• Block 3: Sarah's Choice
• Block 4: Cross Keys
• Blocks 5 + 9: Electric Fan
• Block 6: Key Lime Pie
• Block 7: Dresden Petals
• Block 8: Peach Cobbler
• Block 10: Log Cabin Posy
• Block 11: Country Farm
• Block 12: Cross and Crown

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

You will need:

Equipment

• Sewing machine
• Iron
• Rotary cutter, cutting mat and ruler
• Scissors
• Pins or quilting clips
• Quick unpick/seam ripper
• Erasable fabric marker pen or pencil
• Fabric glue pen
• Optional: square ruler; fabric spray adhesive; starch spray

Materials

Fabrics:

• Dark Royal Blue (FAB1) – two Fat Quarters (a Fat Quarter is approx. 20 x 22in, or 50 x 56cm)
• Olive Green (FAB2) – two Fat Quarters
• Bright Pink (FAB3) – two Fat Quarters
• Mustard Yellow (FAB4) – one Fat Quarter
• Turquoise (FAB5) – one Fat Quarter
• Orange (FAB6) – one Fat Quarter
• Light Blue (FAB7) – one Fat Quarter 
• White on White (WW) – 2¼yd (2m) x width of fabric. This fabric is used within the blocks, for the large and small triangles around the outer edge, and the cornerstones
• Slate Grey (SG)  – 2¼yd (2m) x width of fabric. This fabric is used for front sashing, for QAYG, and for binding for the quilt
• Iron-on Interfacing – one 20in (51cm) square piece – if you only have sew-in interfacing, you can use that instead
• Backing fabric – 4yd (3.5m) x width of fabric – this includes the backing for each block and back sashing. If you prefer to use an alternative colourway for the back sashing, you’ll need just under 1yd (1m) for that (don’t forget to reduce your backing fabric by the same amount!)  
• Wadding/batting – you will need a Twin (UK single) size pack (72 x 90in, or 183 x 228.75cm) if you’re following the QAYG instructions. Note that you will probably have some left over for smaller projects

Threads:

• Neutral (we used a Medium Grey) thread for piecing the blocks
• Block 1 ("Melon Patch") – Mustard and Olive threads for machine applique 
• Block 7 ("Dresden Petals") – Mustard and Pink threads for hand applique
• Sashing – Quilt Top: Matching Grey thread | Quilt Back: Matching backing thread in bobbin

Everything else:

• Photocopier paper (for reproducing templates, EPP papers, etc)
• Piece of card (for foundation paper piecing)

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