It is very exciting to be a designer for Moda Blockheads this year. I am sewing along with you and I hope we all learn a lot along the way.
You can read about my fabric choices for Blockheads 4 here.
Block 1 is Square Wheel by Lynne Hagmeier of Kansas Troubles Quilters. You can see my two versions of this block above.
You can download the pattern for this block from Lynne's Blog at
As you can see I have used toweling stripes in both blocks. If you are cutting large scale stripes like these then it is worth thinking about the direction and symmetry in the block.
Choose a section of stripe to cut the matching pieces. All the B sections in the 9" block are cut from the same section of stripe.
The A corner blocks are also cut from the same section. To cut the corner squares in the 9" block place the diagonal of a small square ruler on your chosen stripe.
Then cut along two sides of your square.
Turn the ruler around and line up the cut edges with the desired size of your squares. Trim the remaining two edges.
When you are sewing with toweling, it is a little heavier weight than regular patchwork cottons, so I use my walking foot and press my seams away from the toweling.
In the 4 ½" square I have cut four B pieces from the same stripe section of the towelings to give the effect of a border around the centre 9-patch.
You can have a lot of fun experimenting with the placement of the stripes in blocks. It makes all the blocks look different and is a fun geometrical puzzle.
Happy sewing everyone,
Jenelle