Granny-Squared Quilt Block Tutorial

Today we get to take our turn on the Wistful Winds Blog Tour in showcasing Doohikey Designs new fabric collection. And I had such fun making this Granny-Squared Quilt Block out of her fun and playful fabrics.

 

If you were alive in the 70’s or 80’s you probably had at least one afghan in your house that was a granny square. I remember several….one was an olive green background with shades of pumpkin, rust and mustard granny squares woven into it.  It was warm and soft and I remember many Sunday afternoon naps under that granny square. Another was black yarn with almost neon shades of yarn woven into it.

And I love that quilt blocks came out of those ever-famous granny squares. The history of the granny squared is so fascinating to me as well.  The “grandma” is represented in the middle and then the square is made around her. Four “daughters” surround the grandma and 8 “grandbabies” surround the four daughters and grandma. And after knowing that—it makes this block even more special–it’s all about family 😉

Here is one block up close. It is basically a set of 2″ squares that are sewn together and then turned on the bias to create the beautiful square shape.

Tutorial for Granny-Squared Quilt Block

1- 2″ Granny Square (middle square)

4-2″ Daughter Squares (surrounding the middle)

8-2″ Grand-daughter Squares (surrounding the daughters)

12-2″ Background Fabric Square

Step 1: Layout all of your blocks to make your squares.

Step 2: Now it’s time to sew the individual 2″ squares together. The squares will be sewn on the bias in rows like the illustration below. It’s actually looks more complicated than it is….just start with row #2 (row #1 will be sewn later), then row #3, all the way down to row #6.  Lay the first square on top of square with RST and stitch using a 1/4″ seam allowance. Repeat until all squares are stitched in the row in your Granny-Squared Quilt Block.

Step 3: Press each row toward the darker squares in each of the rows you just sewed. Then it’s time to sew the rows together to create the block. Place row #1 on top of row #2 and stitch together using a 1/4″ seam allowance. Then repeat until all the rows are sewn together into the block. Press seam allowances toward the darker fabrics.

Step 4: Now it’s time to trim up your block. Lay your block onto your cutting mat and use your ruler to trim 1/4″ larger that your “grand-daughter block.” To do this, line up your ruler with 1/4″ layover and trim each side. Repeat for all your blocks.

This is what it will look like after you have trimmed.  Do not stress those areas like I have here where the square didn’t cover the whole trimmed section…..those are very common with granny-squared blocks and eventually will be in your seam allowances.

For this mini-quilt I did a 9 patch of blocks with sashing in between. The finished granny-squared blocks are just around 7″ and I did 3.5″ sashings all the way around each block.  My mini-quilt finished at 30″ by 30.”

And one more photo of the whole mini quilt hanging up.  (Sorry for the different lighting—boo.)

Thanks Shari for letting us join in today!

~Elizabeth