Do you love scrap quilts? Grab your fabric stash and stitch a scrappy batch of Churn Dash quilt blocks.
Variations
Other variations of the block are stitched with more narrow bars and larger half square triangle units.Try making Churn Dash quilt blocks with quarter square triangle units at their centers.You’ll also see Churn Dash quilt blocks with varying arrangements of color value—the amount of contrast between a patch and its neighboring fabric.Album Churn Dash has a center signature panel that can be used when a group of friends gets together to sew a friendship quilt.
Finished Block Size
12" x 12"
Cutting Chart
Red/Green/Gold Print
(1) 4-1/2” x 4-1/2” square(2) 4-7/8” x 4-7/8” squares
Mottled Green Print
(1) 2-1/2” x 19” strip
Light Neutral Print
(2) 4-7/8” x 4-7/8” squares(1) 2-1/2” x 19” strip
Sew the Quilt Block
Contrast Options
The illustrations above show how easy it is to alter the looks of a Churn Dash quilt block by changing the contrast between patches. Remember that “light” doesn’t necessarily mean that a patch will fade to the background, because color dominance is a factor, too. For instance, the warmth of a yellow patch might make it more noticeable than dark brown patches.
Sew 56 Churn Dash Quilt Blocks
Make the outer triangles in half square triangle units from at least two different fabrics, so that, if blocks are sewn side-by-side, you won’t end up with four like triangles that meet at block intersections. It’s much more interesting when you create visual movement by varying color in those adjoining areas. Always cut just enough fabric to make a sample block or two before you cut all of the fabric for any quilt.
Red fabric: 2-1/8 yardsLight fabric: 4-1/8 yardsGreen fabric: 2 yards
Half Square Triangle Units
You’ll need a total of 224 half square triangle units. Choose the method linked on in step two or another technique that results in half square triangle units that finish at 4-inches square (in other words, are 4-1/2" x 4-1/2" before sewing them into the block). For the method from step 2:
(112) 4-7/8" x 4-7/8" light squares(112) 4-7/8" x 4-7/8" red squares
Follow the previous instructions to complete the half square triangle units. You might like the Magic 8 half square triangle method.
For the Strip Pieced Segments
Make longer versions of previous strip sets. Note: You might need one or two more strips of each than indicated below (if you square up often or if your fabric shrinks a bit; the extra is included in yardage calculations) The amount of backing, batting, and binding you’ll need depends on the final layout of your quilt blocks.
