May Block- Tulips
It’s finally spring! Welcome the bright, happy colours of the season with these lovely patchwork tulips.
(***scroll to the bottom of the page for a printable PDF version of this pattern)
Cutting Instructions (for one 12” finished block- it will be 12 ½” before sewing on 1 ½” strips):
From a variety of pink scraps:
cut ten 2” squares
cut three 2 ½” squares
From a variety of yellow scraps:
cut ten 2” squares
cut three 2 ½” squares
From a variety of blue scraps:
cut sixteen 2” squares
cut fourteen 2 ½” squares
cut 2 strips 1 ½” x 12 ½”
cut 1 strip 1 ½” x 14 ½”
From a variety of green scraps:
cut eight 2 ½” squares
cut one 1” x 14” strip (for stems)
cut one strip 1 ½” x 14 ½”
Outer border fabric (.25 m / ¼ yd): *** you might not want to cut the outer border lengths until your block is completed with narrow background borders in case seam allowances are not consistent
cut two 3 ½” WOF (width of fabric) strips (cut one 14 ½” and one 20 ½” length from each strip)
Binding: three 2 ½” strips (.25 m / ¼ yd)
Backing: one piece 23” square
Batting: one piece 23” square
Hanging sleeve: one piece 5” x 20 ½”
Sewing instructions:
*** ¼” seam allowances are used throughout. Refer to my Scant Quarter Inch tutorial for your own perfect ¼” seam.
figure 1
Half Square Triangles (HST's): all 2 ½” squares from cutting directions
draw a diagonal line on the back of all the 2 ½” blue squares (photo shows lines drawn on the green, but do it on the blue!)
with right sides together place each blue square with all other coloured 2 ½” squares (green, pink, yellow) and stitch ¼” from both sides of the drawn line (repeat for all 14 sets)
cut them apart along the drawn line and press seam towards the blue (figure 1)
Trimming HST's:
line up the diagonal line from the ruler on top of the seam line making sure that the entire 2” area of the ruler is on top of the HST and trim the excess from the right and top of the square (figures 2 & 3)
turn the HST around and place the 2” markings from the ruler on the already trimmed corner and trim the final 2 sides (figures 4 & 5)...repeat with all HST's
figure 2
figure 3
figure 4
figure 5
Block layout:
for one tulip lay out the 2” squares and HST's into 3 sections by following the photograph below for placement (figure 6)
stitch squares in each row together and press seams in each row in the opposite direction to the one before it
stitch all rows of each section together (keeping each section separate) by lining up seam lines (figure 7)
press seams in one direction
Stems:
press each long edge of the green strip to the back by ¼” and cut in half
centre one green strip on top of the centre seam of the middle section, edgestitch along each fold, and trim even with the edge of that section (figure 7)
stitch all 3 sections together and due to the thickness of the seam those seams will be pressed away from the stem section (figure 8)
repeat the above steps for the second tulip, stitch both together, and press seam either open or in one direction (figure 9)
figure 6
figure 7
figure 8
Narrow inner borders (figure 10):
stitch 1 ½” x 12 ½” blue strips to the sides of the block and press seams toward the strips
stitch 1 ½” x 14 ½” blue strip to the top of the block and press seam toward the strip
stitch 1 ½” x 14 ½” green strip to the bottom of the block and press seam toward the strip
figure 9
figure 10
*** If you plan on making a calendar quilt, just stop with this completed block. If you want to make a wallhanging follow the instructions below.
Outer border:
stitch 3 ½” x 14 ½” outer borders to the sides of the block and press seams toward the borders (figure 11)
stitch 3 ½” x 20 ½” outer borders to the top and bottom of the block and press seams toward the borders (figure 12)
figure 11
figure 12
Finishing:
layer the backing, batting and top together and either spray-baste or pin-baste the layers together
quilt as desired, also run a straight stitch within the seam allowance all around the outer edge...this stabilizes the edge for applying the binding
trim backing and batting even with the quilt top
follow my Hanging Sleeve tutorial
apply the binding using your preferred method (the hanging sleeve will be stitched in place as the binding is sewn on) or follow my Best Ever Binding tutorial