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To sew a love and kisses quilt block, follow these steps:
Materials:
- Fabric in at least two contrasting colors
- Sewing machine
- Thread
- Rotary cutter or scissors
- Cutting mat
- Quilting ruler
- Iron and ironing board
- Pins
Instructions:
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Choose two contrasting fabrics that you want to use for your quilt block. The love and kisses quilt block traditionally uses a light fabric for the X's and a dark fabric for the O's.
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Cut out four squares of each fabric. Each square should measure the same size. For example, if you want a 6-inch quilt block, cut four 3-inch squares of each fabric.
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Take one light square and one dark square and place them right sides together. Pin the two squares together to keep them in place.
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Sew around the edges of the square with a 1/4 inch seam allowance. Repeat this step with the remaining light and dark squares.
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Use your rotary cutter or scissors to cut each sewn square diagonally from one corner to the opposite corner, creating two triangles.
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Press the seams open and trim any excess fabric.
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Take two triangles, one light and one dark, and place them right sides together to form an X. Pin the two triangles together to keep them in place.
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Sew the two triangles together along one of the diagonal edges with a 1/4 inch seam allowance. Repeat this step with the remaining triangles to form two X shapes.
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Take the remaining triangles and place them right sides together to form two O shapes. Pin the two triangles together to keep them in place.
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Sew the two triangles together along one of the diagonal edges with a 1/4 inch seam allowance.
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Take one X shape and one O shape and place them right sides together. Pin the two shapes together to keep them in place.
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Sew the two shapes together along one of the straight edges with a 1/4 inch seam allowance. Repeat this step with the remaining X and O shapes.
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Press the seams open and trim any excess fabric.
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You now have two love and kisses quilt blocks! Arrange them as desired with other quilt blocks to create a quilt top.
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Once your quilt top is complete, layer it with batting and backing fabric and quilt as desired.
That's it! By following these steps, you can sew a love and kisses quilt block to use in your quilting projects.
This is a great technique for making half square triangles that eliminates the need to directly manipulate the stretchy bias of the triangle. It utilizes two easy to cut squares producing two half square triangles.
On the back of the lighter fabric, draw a pencil line, diagonally from corner to corner.
Stack a pair of light and dark squares, right sides together. Sew a 1/4 inch seam allowance on each side of the line.
You will end up with something like this.
Now cut along the diagonal line.
Press the seam together to set the seam. Then press towards the darkest fabric.
To trim the block to the exact size line up the diagonal 45°angle with the ruler on your seam.
And then carefully trim your block with a rotary cutter.
The secret to the perfect four patch is all about ironing seams so that they butt together when the seams are joined. You may make the four patch by cutting individual squares if you want to make a scrappy quilt or only a few blocks to make with pre-joined strips. I'll take you through both methods.
Cut two A squares and two B squares in your required size. Chain piecing, join A square to a B square, right sides together, with a scant 1/4 inch seam allowance. Press towards the dark fabric.
This is your result:
This is also the result of cutting across pre-joined strips to create two units.
To make a standard four patch, the width of the unit cut from pre-joined strips is the same as the width of the original strips.
Press all the seams towards the dark fabric so that the seame butt-up.
Take the two A/B and place them right sides together, butting seams. Pin if required. Join with a scant 1/4 inch seam allowance, then press.
Wider Application:
You can apply this technique to all kinds of four patch blocks. As long as a block has a 4x4 grid, no matter how many pieces, the basic principles apply. It is repeated over and over again each four patch laying adjacent to the next. As long as you keep pressing seams in pairs of opposite directions, piecing will become easy.
All of the following blocks have 4x4 grids and can be pieaced as a four patch.
The secret to the nine patch is all about ironing seams so that they butt when they are joined.
Cut 5 A squares and 4 B squares in the required size.
Chain piecing, join a B square to only 3 of the A squares, right sides together, with a 1/4 inch seam allowance. No need to press just yet.
The result will be:
Next, take the remaining A and B squares and, chain piecing, join them to these units, right sides together, with a one 1/4 inch seam allowance:
Your result will be:
To make this faster you can cut strips.
Cut A and B strips for the appropriate width, and join them into A/B/A and B/A/B units. Note you will need twice the length of B/A/B strips, as there are two of these units. Once your strips are joined, right sides together, with a 1/4 inch seam allowance. Press every seam towards the dark fabric.
Cut across your pre-joined strips to create the units needed for the nine patch:
You will achieve the same result as above, but this method is faster.
To make a standard 9 patch, the width of the unit cut from pre-joined strips is the same as the width of the original strips.
Press all the seams to the dark fabric so that all the seems butt up.
Join the B/A/B units to your A/B/A units with butted seams, right sides together, with a 1/4 inch seam allowance.
The direction of the final, central seam is optional. But guided by the placement of the block in the larger scheme, and wherever possible, iron to facilitate budding the seam joints.
Wider Application:
Just as the 4 patch, you can apply this methodology to all kinds of 9 patch blocks. As long as the patch has an underlying 3x3 grid, no matter how many pieces, the basic principle applies. It is repeated over and over, each 9 patch laying adjacent to the next 9 patch. As long as you keep pressing seams in pairs of opposite directions, piecing will be smooth sailing.
Try these out. Each block has an underlying 3x3 grid, and can be pieaced as a 9 patch.
Sometimes it is not obvious which direction is the dark with complicated blocks like those above. Just remember the basic ironing plan is:
How to Resize Quilt Blocks: