June Block of the Month – the Hollyhock

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The theme of this month’s block is “international”. I looked for a flower that had been brought to the US from another country and decided on the Hollyhock. This flower came from either Europe or Asia, depending on the variety. The Victorians believed it signified the circle of life, ambition, fertility, and abundance.

Before starting this project, I recommend that you press your fabric with spray sizing. It will make it easier to cut small pieces. Take the time to clean your machine, put in a new needle, and fill a few bobbins. When pressing, just hold the iron over a spot for a moment or two. This pattern assumes a perfect 1/4” seam.

Cutting Requirements for One Block

• Blue # 3
  (8) 3-1/2″ squares
• Dark Green
  (3) 4″ squares and (3) 2″ squares
• Background
  (3) 4″ squares; (2) 3-1/2″ squares and (10) 2″ squares
• Yellow
  (4) 2″ squares

How to Create and Square Up a Half Square Triangle (HST) Quilt Block

The Traditional Method of making Half Square Triangle Blocks (HSTs) is to place two identical squares right sides together. These squares should be 7/8″ larger than the finished size of the final HST. Draw a diagonal line on the back of one square. Sew 1/4″ on both sides of the line. Cut on the line and press to the dark.

You will have made two identical Half Square Triangle (HST) blocks. My personal preference is to cut squares 1″ larger than the finished size of the final HST and square it up to the correct size after pressing.

There are two ways you can square up your block.

You can place a square ruler so the diagonal line is directly over the seam and just cut two sides. Quilt-in-a-Day has a Square Up Ruler that uses this method.

Or you can press open the block (pressing to the dark) and square it up using a ruler the same size as the block you are making. A fussy-cut ruler with lines on both diagonals will be very helpful with this.

To make the Half Square Triangle blocks needed for this block using the traditional method, place a 4″  × 4″ background square and a 4″ ×  4″ Dark Green square right sides together.  Draw a diagonal line on the back of the one square.  Sew 1/4″ on both sides of that line.  Cut on the line and press to the dark. 

Square up the two blocks you just made to 3-1/2″ square. Make 6.

Assemble:

• (6) dark green/background HSTs
• (8) 3-1/2″ Blue # 3 Squares
• (3) 2″ Dk Green Squares
• (5) 2″ Background Squares
• (2) 3-1/2″ Background Squares
• (4) 2″ Yellow Squares

Draw a diagonal line on the back of the (5) 2″ background squares. Place one of these squares right sides together in one corner of a 3-1/2″ Blue # 3 square so that the pencil line connects the two sides as shown below.

Stitch on the drawn line.

Flip the small square over the seam and press to the corner as shown. The edges should match. Trim the excess on the underside of the white square. Square up to 3-1/2″ if necessary. These 5 blocks will be used to make the blocks shown in the picture above.

Using the 2″ yellow squares, repeat this method to add a yellow square to (2) of these blocks. Press to the dark and trim the excess on the underside. Square up to 3-1/2″ if necessary.

Now using the 2″ dark green squares and the 2″ yellow squares, create (2) blocks with yellow and green corners and (1) block with a green corner. Press to the dark and trim the excess on the underside. Square up to 3-1/2″ if necessary.

Here are the blocks you should have so far.

Using the blocks you just made, create a block like the ones below. Press as directed by arrows. Square them up to 12-1/2″ if necessary. This is a graphic, to show the pressing directions.

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