Fat Quarter Friendly Churn Dash Tutorial

Hello again my sewing friends! Today I'd like to share my first full tutorial with you. I hope that some of you will try out my Churn Dash pattern! If you do, please send me pictures on Facebook or at honeybeequiltco@live.com

Also, I've shared my almost finished Churn Dash at Freshly Pieced. Go check out her blog!

This churn dash quilt was made by Amy Smart at Diary of a Quilter.

I made this pattern myself because none of the churn dash patterns out there really accomplished what I was going for. The picture about gives a general idea of my idea but it wasn't the size I wanted. Also, I collected quite a few coordinating fat quarters at the Expo in September and wanted to come up with a pattern that would be fat quarter specific.

Here goes!

Final measurements: 58" x 70" before quilting and binding

Materials:

10 dark fat quarters
10 light fat quarters

To make a different size, simply determine the number of 12" blocks you will need and divide that number by 1.5 - this is the total number of fat quarters that you will need. 

Before you start:

I like to prewash my fabric on a very short cycle, dry it, and then iron with lots of starch. This stabilizes fabric while cutting.

Instructions:

1. Cutting the fabric - Stack 3-4 fat quarters on your cutting mat as evenly as you can so that the long side (21") is parallel to the long side of the mat. It will make things easier for you if you try to keep the light and dark fabrics separated.

Working parallel to the long side of your fabric/mat, cut the following strips:

3 - 2.5" strips

2 - 4 7/8" strips

Set the 3 - 2.5" strips to the side

 

From the two 4 7/8" strips, cut 6 squares, measuring 4 7/8" x 4 7/8" each. Set these aside.

     
From the remaining 4 7/8" wide rectangle, cut two 4.5" x 4.5" squares. The easiest and quickest way to do this is to trim the rectangle to 4.5" wide, and then cut the two squares. See the picture below.

Repeat until you finish all the fat quarters.

Now your fabric is cut! You did it!

2. Sorting and marking

This is the fun design part. Make two piles of each shape, one light and one dark. To make this easier, I will now refer to 4 7/8" squares as "corner squares" and 4.5" squares as "center squares". For each block you will need the following:

1 - light strip

1 - dark strip

2 - light corner squares

2 - dark corner squares
1 - center square

(Pictured here are 7 total pieces. The center squares are stacks of 2.)

VERY IMPORTANT:

When selecting the center square for each block, alternate between light and dark. When it's time to sew all the blocks together, you want an even number.

This is one of my blocks-to-be. The theme for my churn dash is "pop of color", or the idea of randomly throwing in a little bit of one color: red. This piece was in a "pay per ounce" scrap bin at one of my favorite quilt shops in Asheville and I bought the red polka dot to match. The piece was too small so I appliquéd it onto the center square.

Moving on!

This step is CRUCIAL and I think it's easiest to do it as you pick out the pieces for each block.

Take the four corner squares and make two pairs of 1 light and 1 dark. Place each pair right sides together. Mark the light fabric in order to make HSTs. I like to use a light blue colored pencil and my 1/2" ruler.

HST - half square triangles, made when two triangles are sewn together to form a square

Method # 1

Using a ruler or other straight edge, draw a line diagonally from one point to another. Then sew a 1/4" seam on each side of the line. Cut on the line, and press both pieces open.

Method # 2

Line the center of a 1/2" ruler up with two opposite points and mark along either side. Stitch along these lines in order to make two seams, each 1/4" from the center line. Cut down the center and press both pieces open

Mark both pairs of corner squares for each block. Now you're ready to sew! Here is my stack of blocks-to-be.

3. Piecing

Since your pieces are already sorted by block, it is easiest to sew them in this order as well.

For each set, you will sew together both HSTs by one of the two methods mentioned above. As you can see, I marked the lines with my 1/2" ruler, and sewed along those lines. Then cut down the center with fabric scissors.

Next place the two strips, one light and one dark, right sides together and make a 1/4" seam down one side.

Keep pieces sorted by block so that you don't get confused!

4. Press!!!

Press each of the pieces open, remembering not to stretch the fabric or seam as you do so. And yep, you guessed it! Keep your pieces sorted!

5. Cut...again

From each two-color strip, cut 4 segments measuring 4.5" long. Be VERY careful on this step, I accidentally cut some at 4" wide...it was very sad. Once you've cut these segments, add them back to your stacks of pieces (keeping them sorted by block...you know).

6. Lay it out and SEW!

The last step is to lay out the pieces for the block next to your sewing machine, and carefully sew the pieces together using a 1/4" seam. The easiest way to do this is to sew the pieces into 3 rows, press, and then sew each row together to make the block.

Press the finished block, spray with starch, and press again. This is the end result!

When you finish, you should have 30 blocks. If you don't have a design wall, you can hang up a piece of batting, or just lay out your blocks on a floor, table, bed, etc. Play around with your blocks until you get the look that you want. 

Half your blocks should have a dark background, and the other half will have a light background. I alternated the lights and darks in my block pattern, but you can do whatever you pleas! 

One you have your layout, carefully sew the blocks into rows, and then sew the rows together. Make sure to line up corners as best as you can.

7. Finishing...some day

As you can see below, my quilt top isn't even complete, much less quilted and bound. I plan to use two big pieces of a tiny dot print, and a big strip made out of scraps from the front to make a creative back. For great tutorials on making a quilt sandwich, quilting, and binding, check out Amy Smart's tutorials for beginner quilting. I still refer to her site for the basics!

This is my quilt in progress. I've finished about half of the blocks and am still working on design. I can't wait to share the finished project!

Last but not least, I just thought I'd share the stunning view from my sewing room window. A big snow storm last night made for the perfect sewing day today!