Royal Baby Quilt SAL- Block B

Welcome back to the Royal Baby Sew-along.  Last week, we gave you some tips for working with Kafe Fassett's Shot Cottons and showed you how to make the 4 Block A blocks that you'll need for the quilt.  This week, it's on to Block B!

This is what it should look like when complete.

The first thing you'll need to do is cut the pieces for Block B.  If you purchased a kit from us (which includes all the fabric you need for the quilt top, binding, and backing!), you'll find a piece of blue Shot Cotton that measures 24” by 22” and a 13.5” by 22” piece of magenta Shot Cotton.  These are the pieces that you'll need to make Block B.  If you didn't purchase a kit from us, you'll need a 2/3 yd piece of fabric for the background of the block and a fat quarter for the stripes.  

For each Block B (there are 4 total in the quilt), you will need:

 - 4 squares BA 2-1/2” by 5-1/4”

 - 2 squares BB 5-1/4” by 5”

 - 1 strip BC 1.5” by 11”

- 4 strips BD 1.5” by 5-1/4”

Each cut gives you a 1/4” seam allowance on the pieced edges and a 1/2” allowance on the outside edges to assist with squaring up the finished block.

Make your cuts according to these diagrams so that you get the most of your piece of fabric!

To cut your blocks:

To cut the stripes: 

Now that we have all the pieces cut, it's time to assemble them!  We recommend that after you cut all your fabrics, you lay them in stacks and label one of each cut in separate piles so that you can keep them all organized.  

Take your first BA square and sew it to a BD fabric strip, using a ¼ inch seam.  All seams should be ¼ inch throughout the this project. Then press the seam towards the BA block.  

Step 1

This will be the top left side of the complete B block.  Sew 3 more BA/BD combos to make the other corners of this block.  Press the seams towards the BA square.

At this point, you can either keep sewing your BA squares to BD strips (12 more, for a total of 16) to make all the blocks at the same time or you can continue on to complete one block at a time.  It's up to you!

Now, take a BB block and sew it to a BA/BD combo.

Step 2

Sew another BB block to a BA/BD combo to start the bottom half of the square. 

We're almost there!  Sew another BA/BD combo to the other side to complete the top half of the block.  Once more, press the seams toward the BB square.

Step 3

Sew another BB block to the other side of a BA/BD combo to complete the bottom half of the square.

Now you have the top and the bottom of the block ready to go; we're just missing the middle strip!  So, take the BC strip and sew it to one side of your BA/BD/BB/BD/BA combo.  Press the seams open so that your block doesn't get too bulky in the middle.

Step 4

Then sew another combo on the other side of the BC strip.  

Finished Block B!

 Voila!

If you sew a little wonky (like I do!), you might have a block that isn't entirely square.  With the sizes of the squares and strips that we cut, we left an extra 1/4” around the outside of the block to help you square it up to the needed size.  You need a block that is 10 -1/2” by 10-1/2”.  The finished block will be 10” by 10”.  The extra 1/2” is the seam allowance (1/4" on each side) for sewing the blocks together!

Repeat these steps so that you have 4 blocks for this design.  Tune in next week when we'll share how to make the next block in the quilt: the totally tartan Block C !

Happy Sewing!

Jenn (& Gus)

PS. If you'd like a printable version of these instructions, be sure to check out our Royal Baby Quilt SAL page on the Jimmy Beans Wool website.