Half and Half Quilt Instructions

This is a great stashbuster quilt.  It finishes about 60” x 76” and the blocks and outer border are constructed entirely of 2-1/2” x 4-1/2” bricks.  It is so easy to cut and piece--you’ll have it finished in no time.  Okay, let’s get started.

You may cut your bricks from 2-1/2” strips of fabric (jelly rolls) or from yardage.  Basically for each block you need eight 2-1/2” x 4-1/2” rectangles; half in one fabric and half in the other.  So you can use strips as small as 2-1/2” x 18”.  You will also need 1/2 yard for the inner border and 5/8 yard for the binding.

The inspiration for this quilt came from a stack of fat quarters I had in the cupboard.  This line is called A Day in the Country and it’s by Fig Tree Quilts.  I used these 16 fat quarters.

Start out by cutting 96 sets of four 2-1/2” x 4-1/2” rectangles (a total of 384 rectangles).  You will need an additional 128 2-1/2” x 4-1/2” rectangles for the piano key border, but these do not need to be in sets.

I got 32 rectangles from each fat quarter.  These were factory cut and were almost exactly 18” x 21”.   I cut four 4-1/2” strips from each fat quarter.  You can see there were just slivers left on the sides from the fat quarter. 

Open up the strips and layer them one on top of the other. 

Then sub-cut into 2-1/2” rectangles.

Keep cutting until you have 96 sets of four bricks plus an additional 128 bricks for the border. 

Now for the fun part!  Once all the cutting is finished select two sets of four bricks that look good together.

Sew two sets together along the 4-1/2” side and two sets together along the 2-1/2” side.

Now sew the two units together again along the 4-1/2” side to make a unit of four bricks.  Make sure the fabrics alternate.

Now align the other units on the top and bottom.  For each half, the fabric should be the same along the three sides (top, left, bottom and top, right, bottom).

Sew them together and voila! a block.

Now make 47 more of these.

After all your blocks are made it’s time to set them together.  Make eight rows of six blocks each.  You may set all your blocks the same way, like this:

Or rotate every other block 90 degrees like this:

The advantage to the second setting is that you don’t have to match the seams.  I used this setting for my quilt.  After you are pleased with the arrangement of your blocks, sew the top together.

For the inner border, cut six 2-1/2” strips.  Sew them together and cut two strips 64-1/2” long for the sides and two strips 52-1/2” long for the top and bottom.  Sew the side border strips to the top, press toward the border.  Sew the remaining strips to the top and bottom and press toward the border.

For the pieced borders sew two sets of 34 bricks for the sides and two sets of 30 bricks for the top and bottom.  Sew the side borders on.  Press toward the inner border.  Sew the remaining borders to the top and bottom and press toward the inner border.

Now jump for joy!  Your top is complete.

After vacation it will be time for another quilt-a-thon.  I’ve accumulated another stack of tops and am really trying to finish them right away.

Hope you enjoy making this quilt!

Technorati Tags: A Day in the Country. stash quilt,scrap quilt,piecing,Half and Half