Bean There Week Three

This week you will be making the 16 RED blocks.

How to Make a Cat’s Cradle Quilt Block

This is the block we are making this month.

Just as a reminder:

Method One uses HSTs

Just 2-1/2″ (unfinished) squares. You will have an awful lot of seams, though. The block finishes to 4-1/2″ square. I recommend pressing seams open or twirling them to keep bulk down.

Method One Will Require:

• (48) 2-1/2″ white squares. That would require (3) 2-1/2″ strips of white, cut into 2-1/2″ squares.
• (16) 2-1/2″ red HSTs. Use your favorite method to make these.

method two also uses HSTs

This method starts the same way as the Shaded Four-Patch block but instead of the square at one end, you use an HST. This gets a bit tricky. You need to make sure the point is going in the correct direction. (Ask me how I know…)

Make a test block first!

To make the unit in the graphic above, you would sew a 2-1/2″ unfinished Red HST to a 2-1/2″ x 3-1/2″ White rectangle. Make (2) and sew them together as shown. Keep pressing those seams open. It really will make things easier later on.

Place this unit right sides together with a 4-1/2″ x 5-1/2″ White rectangle. The dark line is the sewing line. The dotted line is the cutting line. Cut on the dotted line. One unit like this will make two Cat’s Cradle blocks like the one at the top of the page. Make 16 Cat’s Cradle blocks.

Method Two Will Require:

• (16) 2-1/2″ x 3-1/2″ white rectangles. That would require (2) 3-1/2″ strips of white
• (16) 4-1/2″ x 5-1/2″ white rectangles. That would require (4) 4-1/2″ strips of white
• (16) 2-1/2″ red HSTs. Use your favorite method to make these.

methods three uses a clipped corner

This time you start with a unit like the one below. That’s a 2-1/2″ square matched to a 2-1/2″ x 3-1/2″ White rectangle. You will also need a 2-1/2″ white square to snub the corner after the unit is completed.

Remember that after you make these blocks, you have to add a white 2-1/2″ square over the colored corner square so you can sew on the diagonal to make the clipped corner. The tutorial is at Follow Me Fish.

Method Three Will Require:

• (16) 2-1/2″ x 3-1/2″ white rectangles. That would require (2) 3-1/2″ strips of white
• (16) 4-1/2″ x 5-1/2″ white rectangles. That would require (4) 4-1/2″ strips of white
• (16) 2-1/2″ red squares.
• (16) 2-1/2″ white squares.