Sunday, April 10, 2016

Rainbow Scrap Challenge Sampler 16- Whacky Pinwheel



This month's block will need 1.5 inch strips of orange and black, dark and light orange, or orange and background.  Any two colors with decent contrast should work well.
 It is a four patch block, and each quarter will need 3.5 inch strips in each color as well as 2.5 inch strips in each color.
Here is the list:
4 - 3.5 by 1.5 inch strips in orange and black
4 - 2.5 by 1.5 inch strips in orange and black
 Start with the 2.5 inch strips.  Lay them right sides together with so that the orange is perpendicular to the black.  Imagine that you are sewing to binding strips together -- it is the same orientation.  I chose to sew this block with the orange angled to the left.  Draw a line from corner to corner along the waistband of the "pants" and then sew along the drawn line.  Never sew through the crotch -- ouch!
 Once you have sewn the strips together, open it up to make sure it is sewn correctly.
 If all is well you can trim away the triangles of fabric behind.  Repeat the same procedure for each of the four subunits.  Each one should be 3.5 inches.
 Now all you have left to sew is a simple rail fence block.  Line the three 3.5 inch strips up so that the short side of each color buts against the same color rail.
 Sew all three rails and iron the seams away from the center of the block.  Repeat for all four subunits.
Next, arrange the blocks so that the darker fabric (black for me), is facing the center of the block.  Each subunit is rotated 90 degrees around the center axis to give you the pinwheel effect.  



4 comments:

Deb A said...

Still laughing about not sewing through the crotch! Too funny. I think I can find enough orange for these.... but not for my BITA's... I think some stash enhancement needs to happen this week =)

gayle said...

That waistband/crotch comparison is going to save a lot of confusion. Who could forget that kind of advice? 8)
I love this kind of block, where you get a lot of bang for your buck. Simple components make a complex-looking block - perfect!

Delighted Hands said...

Yippee! This is a good block to work on! Thanks for the tutorial.

Kimberly Smith said...

That's great; thank you!