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The Pine Tree Block
The Pine Tree Block is going to be a
challenge. There is nothing new to learn. However, the level of
difficulty is raised by the large
large amount of Half
Square Triangles.
This is where you are really going to test your 1/4
inch seam.
If your seams are correct, then everything
will fit, and you won't cut off the points of your triangles.
Review the
Maple Leaf Challenge
Block. You will be using the same technique to make the trunk of the
tree as you used for the Maple Leaf Stem.
Begin by cutting the squares for the 18
Half Square Triangles.
We are going to use the shortcut method because there are so many of them.
 Cut
your squares 5-inches wide. You will need three green squares and three white
squares. Proceed as in the directions on the
Half Square Triangle
page. Draw your line, sew, and cut. You will end up with 24
triangles. Cut off the "tails". They should measure 2 1/8 inches
raw.
Begin by sewing eight of the units
together. Be careful, the top and side go together differently.
Study the picture at the top of the page. The 8-piece unit above goes on the
top of the block.
You can't make the block the same for the side.
Notice how on the top of the block the dark sides of the
triangles are on the left, and on the side piece, the dark triangles
are on the right.
Next cut the large bottom
square for your tree fabric. Cut it at 7 3/8 inches.
You will now need two smaller
squares to add to the corners of the large square. Cut them at four
inches. Pin them on opposite diagonal corners of the large
square, and sew through the middle. Again, this is the same process
you used for the stem in the
Maple Leaf Challenge
Block. The only difference is that the tree trunk will be a lot wider
than the stem of the Maple Leaf.
Next cut a matching 7 3/8 inch
square of background fabric (the blue in the picture at the top of
the page).
Put these two squares right
side together, and make a
Half Square Triangle
(You will have two of them). If you've learned your math, you
know that it will finish at 7 inches raw.
Here is the
math for matching the Quarter Square Triangles to the Large Square.
The 8-unit piece has four squares, which measure 2 1/8 inches.
Four x 2 1/8 inches is equal to 8 1/2 inches. Subtract the 3
seams of 1/2 inches each, and that equals 7 inches.
Lay out your block, and make
sure all the pieces are going in the right direction. Lay out
the remaining small squares and Half Square Triangles. Make
sure the tree is pointing in the right direction.
Decide which way to press the
seams so that they go in opposite directions, and finish piecing
your block. (After you piece your remaining small units, you
will add them to one of the 8-unit pieces). You must first add
one 8-piece unit to the large block. Then you can add the last
strip of triangles with the attached remaining pieces.
If you do this block right the
first time, consider it a miracle! Working with so many small
pieces can be difficult. Add to that the directional changes,
and this is a challenging block.
Learn how to make this block,
and then scale it down and use it to accent a large quilt. You
can make a simple quilt, and then add one of these blocks in each
corner (part of the border) of a larger quilt. Little touches like
this can make a simple quilt look spectacular.
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