How to Make a Twisted Rail Fence Quilt Block

How to Make a Twisted Rail Fence Quilt Block

To make this block, you will need:

• 1/8 yard Dark Red
• 1/8 yard Light Red

Cut this fabric into strips depending on what size block you are making. I like using my Stripology ruler when cutting strips. It keeps my hand steady and my cuts accurate. The strip-cutting ruler in the picture below is a June Taylor ruler. It’s a little smaller, so I used it because I was cutting a small amount.

The trick to using any strip-cutting ruler is to place the horizontal line on either the selvage or the fold and cut your zero line first. Here I have just laid my two fabrics on top of each other, so I cut both strips at the same time.

Here you can see the strips I needed to cut, plus the four small squares. You can easily cut squares from strips with a strip-cutting ruler. Just turn it sideways.

I drew a diagonal line on the back of the small squares.

I sewed two groups of six strips each, then cut them into squares to make them into Rail Fence blocks. I placed the small squares on these blocks, right sides together, arranged so the diagonal touched two edges and the fabric did NOT match.

Then I sewed on the line and flipped the square over the seam. It matched exactly (whew!) so I was able to trim away the fabric underneath. I sewed the rail fence blocks so the squares were in the corner and…tada!

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