FabriQuilt asked me to work with their precuts (yes, please!) and work up a tutorial - and I was not only honored, but thrilled to get to work with some yummy fabrics. Who wouldn't be, right?!
I got to work with the charming "Walk in the Park" line. Using one 5" stack, plus yardage in two different prints, I not came up with a nice little Shoo Fly tutorial for you, but also a charming table top set I call "Sunday Brunch".
Ready to make your shoo fly block? Here we go!
Materials:
(1) 5" fabric stack (FabriQuilt Walk in the Park used)
(4) 4 1/2" squares background fabric (lime)
Before you even start marking or cutting, I recommend going through your stack to see what duplicates you have (sorry, but this particular tutorial is assuming there are (3) 5" squares of a single print in your stack). If you don't have duplicates - well, you can of course still make the block, but it will be scrappy. Which is fine - more than fine actually, as scrappy can be very charming. I am also supplementing my 5" squares with additional yardage - in this case, a lime green print from the same "Walk in the Park" line.
With an eye toward making a table runner from my semi-scrappy blocks, I looked for not only those duplicate squares, but some sort of commanility - color, print, scale, etc. For this project, I decided to use prints that were primarily gray as my corners, prints that were red or had red in them for the Shoo Fly portions, and the lime green print as my background. Make sense? Got your squares picked out? Ok, great!
Pair (2) Shoo Fly squares (my red prints) with (2) gray prints (my block corners). Draw a line corner to corner with a pencil or chaco liner on the WRONG side of the lighter print.
Note: If using a directional print, and you want the print in all four corners to go in the same direction, you will need to turn your directional prints as shown in the picture!
Step 2:
Pairing your squares, sew a 1/4" seam on each side of the drawn line.
Once you've sewn on each side of your drawn line, cut along the drawn line. This will yield (2) HSTs
(half square triangles).
If you haven't done so already, repeat with the second set of 5" squares.
Press to the darker fabric.
Trim your HSTs to 4 1/2" square (they will be close, but will need a bit of straigtening).
Step 4:
Cut your third duplicate 5" square (same print as your Shoo Fly points) to 4 1/2". If you don't have a duplicate print, then choose a print that coordinates nicely with your points.
Lay out your block (sorry - forgot completely to take a picture of the assembly!). Use the finished block as a guide. You will lay out your (4) HSTs, along with your (4) lime background squares, and your (1) 4 1/2" print center square.
Sew the squares together in rows, being certain to alternate seam direction.
Tada! You have a fabulous Shoo Fly Block!
If you like this block, I've created a charming table set - table runner and place mats (done with a fun, simple technique that minimizes the stitching and cutting. It's available through this blog hop as an epattern! Click here to get more information and to purchase.
Here's a pic of the projects that will be in the e-pattern:
As always, thanks for letting me share my love of quilting with you! I hope you enjoyed the little tutorial, and will share your own shoo fly blocks with me!
Oh? Want to win some free fabric? Please sign up to follow the Inspired by Fabric blog (via email or blog reader), and then leave a comment to this post telling me you've done so. A winner will be chosen at the end of the day on April 20th. Good luck!
And feel free to follow this blog as well!
Happy stitching!