Downtown Quilt

Instructions provided courtesy of Sara Nephew.

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Filed under: Quilting, Crafts, How To

This quilt measures 58-3/4" x 64" when finished with borders.

Materials and Tools:
6" x 12" ruler with 60-degree guide lines or Super 60 Triangle Tool
Fabrics: (42" wide pre-washed)
- 1-1/3 yard each light and dark fabric (or 1/3 yard each of four lights and four darks)
- 1-1/2 yard medium fabric (or 1/4 yard each of five different mediums)
- 1/3 yard inner border fabric
- 1 yard outer border fabric

Steps:
Strip Section One (make one)
1. Cut one dark and one medium 2-3/4-inch strip. To work with a strongly directional dark fabric, you may have to cut a lengthwise strip. Sew the strips together lengthwise. You may be able to cut more sections if you offset these strips about two inches.

2. Press to the dark. Place the strip set on the cutting board right side up, with the medium fabric on the top.

3. Trim the left end to a 60-degree angle up and to the left. Then cut 2-3/4-inch sections from this set of strips, checking the angle occasionally.

Strip Section Two (make two)
1. Cut one medium and one light three-inch strip. Sew the strips together lengthwise. Press to the dark. Make two of these.

2. Position the two strip sets face to face, butting seams, and cut 5-1/2-inch triangles from the two sets of strips.

You will get triangles from both sides. Leaving the pair of triangles together, trim 1/4 inch from the bottom of the pair.

3. Keep the pairs together, and sew the triangles together at the base to make a diamond unit. Sew Strip Section One onto the medium-tip end of this diamond, matching medium to medium fabrics.

Strip Section Three (make one)
1. Cut one light 2-3/4-inch strip and one dark five-inch strip. (To work with a strongly directional dark fabric, you may have to cut a 60-degree bias strip). Sew together lengthwise. You will be able to cut more sections if you offset these strips about three inches. Press to the light.

2. Place the strip set on the cutting board right side up, with the dark fabric at the top. Trim the right end to a 60-degree angle up and to the right. Then cut 2-3/4-inch sections from this set of strips. Check the angle occasionally.

3. Sew this strip section to the left of the assembled unit from Two, matching light to light, to complete the Downtown Block. Make 42 blocks altogether.

Four strip sets should make 42 blocks, with enough strips and triangles left over to make fill-in pieces.

Top and Bottom Fill-In Piece
1. Top fill-in piece - Sew one 2-3/4-inch Strip Section Three to the left of a medium-based triangle from Strip Section Two, letting the excess hang off the top. Then trim. Make three of these triangles.

2. Bottom fill-in piece - Cut five dark three-inch triangles. Sew Strip Section One on the top of a light-based triangle from Strip Section Two, matching medium to medium fabric. Then sew a three-inch dark triangle onto the left side of the dark diamond. Make three of these triangles.

3. Make seven vertical rows of six blocks each. Add a top fill-in piece or a bottom fill in piece alternately to the rows as shown in the quilt. Square off each row top and bottom with a left or right eight-inch triangle half cut from a 4" x 8" rectangle. Sew the rows together to make the quilt top. Add a 1-1/2-inch inner border and a 4-3/4-inch final border to complete the quilt.