Baker's Dozen Doubled

Materials:

selection of fabric - try using whimsical fabrics (figure A)
rotary blade and cutting mat
ruler
sewing machine
design board

Tip: Stay with the same ruler and sewing machine through the whole process.

Cutting fabric
Throw out traditional thoughts about cutting fabric. Here's what to do for this design.

1. To create the four-patch unit, cut two strips of fabric at whatever measurement is desired. These strips were cut at 1-1/4 inch width (figure B).

2. Stitch the two strips together. The traditional seam allowance of a quarter inch is not necessary. The distance between the needle and the edge of the pressure foot on the sewing machine is the seam allowance.

3. Press the seam on one strip in one direction and on the other strip the opposite direction to create opposing seams. Make a cut. Again, this measurement is not predetermine, just whatever size is desired. Stitch these two units together to create a four-patch unit (figure C).

4. Measure the width, raw edge to raw edge, of the four-patch unit to determine the size for block "A" (figure D). Assemble block "A" the same as the four-patch unit. Stitch together blocks using a combination of four-patch units and block "A " (figure E).

5. For the background block and block "B," again, measure the width, raw edge to raw edge, of block "A" to determine the size for background blocks and block "B." Remember to always use the same ruler for measuring.

The size of quilt desired will determine the number of blocks needed. An experienced quilter knows, and a beginner will soon discover, that any of the unused blocks will find a home in another quilt project. Place the extra blocks in plastic, zipper-seal bags to keep blocks clean and organized.

Design board layout
1. Go to the design board and start laying out the finished blocks (figure F). Begin with block "B" placing the block in a diagonal pattern with the background pieces being the alternate diagonal row.

2. Next, lay down block "A," and so on. Blocks may be placed in a vertical or horizontal position, too. Add more pizzazz by crisscrossing the diagonals (figure G). Make the quilt bigger by adding more rows.

Quilt assembly and finishing tips

• Again, throw out the traditional process of assembling a quilt row by row. Instead, start in the corner and stitch four blocks together. Do this process to the whole quilt. Then go back and stitch together two four-blocks together and so on. Assembling the quilt in small sections will render only one long seam across the quilt.
• It is recommended to machine quilt this particular quilt--these are quilts to be used!
• Due to the simplicity, this quilt could be assembled in no time. Next time, try a variation of the block creating the stylized Raining Hearts pattern (figure H).