Thursday, December 2, 2010

Regatta Block Tutorial

Adventures in quilting, a peak inside...

For my Regatta quilt I had my mind made up that I wanted a rectangle shaped block, divided equally by two triangles and measuring 5"x7" finished.  This is not a standard quilting angle or block for that matter.  I knew that if I didn't get the points nice and crisp the effect of the sails would be lost.   The angles of these triangles are tight and I was worried about piecing them.

What is a girl to do?  I scribbled, I sketched, I calculated and I came up with a plan.  I'm not going to sew triangles, I'm going to sew rectangles that *look* like triangles.  Excellent!  : )

Warning, this is not the most efficient use of fabric.   There will be scraps.  I pieced two rectangles together and then cut them into the shape I wanted.   **Click any picture to see it larger**

 1) Piece together two rectangles measuring 5" x 10" each.

2) Cut a piece of paper measuring 5.5" x 7.5" 
and draw a diagonal line across the rectangle.

 3) Tape the paper underneath a quilting ruler with clear tape.  It doesn't matter which ruler you use as long as it's larger than your block.  I used my 15" square ruler.  Make sure that two edges of your paper line up with two edges of your ruler.

 4) Match the diagonal line of your paper to your seam line.  The corner of your ruler should be below the edge of the fabric.  You are leaving room to cut a crisp new edge.

 5) Now cut off two sides without moving your ruler.  Make sure you lay your hand down flat to stabilize your ruler.  These cuts needs to be as accurate and precise as possible.

 6) Flip your block upside down.  See how the colors have switched sides?  Match the diagonal line on your paper to your seam line.  Also align the bottom of the paper to your block underneath.  The bottom point of your paper should be right over the bottom point of your block.  Now cut the remaining two sides.

7) Ta Da!  You did it.  Take a minute and admire those points.  

This is such a versatile block.  Scrappy and white? Value Study? Two colors? Saturated prints with Gray?

There are lots of layout options too.  Here are some examples of how the shapes fit together.

 Gliders

Pennants

Argyle

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