Four-Patch Fun

Earlier in the year I looked at how you can use the 13-Square foundation to make nine patch units (see here for the blog entry or visit the Projects 2010 page on my website for a pdf file including the Quilt Layout Diagram).  You can also use it to make four-patch units.

 

I began with creating a Quilt Layout Diagram.  I could have crowded more four-patch units onto the foundation which, granted, would be more economical, but this spacing is easier to work with.  In this case, ease trumped pennies. 

 

Using this layout gave me 18 units per foundation.

As always, I begin by folding the foundation and then drawing the seam allowance lines.

Because I confuse easy, I drew blue arrows to mark which vertical  lines on the foundation I would actually sew.   (I didn’t bother to mark the Quilt Layout Diagram onto the foundation for this one.  I just laid my patches out in a row and pulled them as I needed them.)

Here it is with the first patch set glued on to the foundation.

Here it is after the first column of four patch units have been sewn and pressed open and the first patches for the next set of four-patches have been added to the foundation. 

Here it is with all the patches added.

Next, sew the rows together (being careful to only sew every other row):

Trimming them down to individual units.

Paper removed and ironed.

 

And there you go – accurate and fast, fast, fast!

Now, what to do with them?  So many possibilities.