Scrappy Gradient Block Tutorial

Ready for a simple but really fun quilt block tutorial? You're going to love this one. It's perfect for using up those scraps that I KNOW we've all be saving. These are fast to make, and it's fun to dig into your scraps and play with colors and values.

This is called the Scrappy Gradient quilt block and I created it for an online quilting bee that I was a part of a couple years ago. 

This block is great for quilting bees and block swaps because it's easy enough for even beginner quilters, it's a quick block so you can have each quilter make 2-3 blocks, and in the end you get such a great variety of scrappy fabrics and different prints. 

SewPINK + Hearstrings Quilt Block Tutorial

Hello friends and new visitors!  Today I'm sharing a new quilt block tutorial - one that is close to my heart.  

Recently I was invited to participate in the #SewPINK initiative created by ByAnnie.com and I didn't hesitate for a moment.  You see, I am a breast cancer survivor myself and I will take any opportunity to bring awareness to this important issue. 

Nearly five (!) years ago I was diagnosed with breast cancer and underwent a bilateral (double) mastectomy. During the difficult months of recovery, some dear friends secretly gathered heart quilt blocks from fellow quilters and stitched them together into a sweet quilt which was presented to me.  The beautiful, scrappy quilt included a label on the back with an inspirational quote and the names of all who contributed in some way to the quilt.  It is still one of my most treasured quilts and brings tears to my eyes just talking about it.

With that beloved quilt in mind, I wanted to share a tutorial for a quilt block that could be used by a group of friends or a guild to make a personalized and meaningful gift for someone battling cancer or going through a difficult time.  

This Heartstrings quilt block is a foundation pieced and applique block but it is beginner friendly and is great for using scraps.  I wanted you to be able to pull from what you already owned to make these blocks - use those scraps, favorite treasured fabrics, and prints with some meaning behind them.

**scroll to the bottom to read more about the #SewPINK initiative and how you can play a part!  And be sure to read the details about the giveaway as well!

If you know basic foundation piecing techniques then you can breeze right through the first part of this tutorial.  And if you're not familiar with it - don't be intimidated!  Once you get the hang of it you'll love it.  Pssst.....scroll down to find info about a giveaway from ByAnnie.com! 

Shall we get started?  

First - Download and print the Heartstrings PDF pattern. That's where you'll get the outlines for each side of the heart.  You can print on regular printer paper like I did, or you can also use Foundation Paper.  If you're making a lot of these blocks I recommend using Foundation Paper because it tears away SO easily.  Carol Doak's Foundation Paper is my favorite - find it here on Amazon*

Download and Print the Heartstrings PDF foundation pattern here

Makes one 12 1/2" x 12 1/2" quilt block

**This post contains affiliate links, which means I may receive a small commission (at no additional cost to you) when purchases are made through links found in this post. Thank you!

Gather the following fabric:

• a 6 1/2" x 11 1/2" piece for one half of the heart
• a 12 1/2" x 12 1/2" background square
• a variety of scraps / strips

You'll also need:

• a washable gluestick (optional)
• scissors
• rotary cutter and mat
• sewing machine that can do both straight stitching and zigzag

 

We'll be working on the left side of the heart first, but using the BACK of the paper.  

1.  Place the first strip of fabric (right side up).  Use a bit of washable glue (Elmer's Washable School Glue is my favorite) to help that first strip stay in place.  You'll want to be sure that the strip fully covers the bottom of the heart from edge to edge.  You can hold the paper up to a window or a light to check this.  

TIP:  You need to sew the strips to the back of the paper so that when it comes time to trim the half heart shape you can see the lines.  To make the lines more visible on the backside, you can place the paper against the window and trace over the lines with a pencil.  

2.  Place the second strip right sides together on top of the first strip.  Reduce your stitch length (I set my Juki TL-2010Q to a stitch length of 1).  

TIP:  When foundation piecing, it is essential to reduce your stitch length.  Having a really short stitch length will help to perforate the paper as you sew so it will be much easier to remove at the end!

Stitch along the edge of the fabric, stitching through strip 1 and 2 and the paper.  I try to still use a 1/4" seam allowance.

3. Fold open strip 2 and press.  

4.  Have some fun with these strips - for my 3rd strip I wanted it to be at a different angle so I placed it how I wanted it, and then stitched 1/4" from the edge of the 3rd strip.

See how it's going to leave a large seam allowance on that 2nd strip?  That's ok!  I'll just fold back the paper and trim that seam allowance to be 1/4".  

TIP:  The Add-A-Quarter ruler is really helpful for trimming up seam allowances when foundation piecing.

There....all trimmed up nice and neat!

5. Fold open the 3rd strip and press.  

6. Continue adding strips, varying the width of the strips and the angles.  Just be sure that each strip you add is WIDER than the heart shape.  At the end we'll trim it down and you don't want any strip to end up too short or you'll have to start over. 

Now I have my heart shape all covered.  See the photo below for the view from the other side...

7.  Time to trim the heart!  Use scissors to trim around the outside edge of the heart.  Carefully remove all the paper on the back side of the heart.

Set it aside for now and work on the right side of the heart.

8. Use scissors to cut out the half heart template and pin it to the 6 1/2" x 11 1/2" piece of fabric.  

TIP: Because this is a larger piece of fabric, you have a great opportunity to use a print that has a special meaning or message.  I love this print from Riley Blake Designs - I had it in my stash and I love that it had some positive and encouraging messages on it.  

9. Cut out the heart shape along the solid outer line.

10. Place the two heart halves right sides together and using a 1/4" seam and a regular stitch length, sew the two halves together along the center stitch line.  

11. Press seam toward the solid (right) half and trim off the little dog ear at the bottom point of the heart (see photo above).

12. It's now ready to be appliqued to the background square.  You have some options here - you can place your heart at a fun angle (as in the photo above), or center it.  

TIP: Be sure the heart is placed at least 1/2" away from all sides of the background square so it won't get caught in the seam when you're sewing the blocks together.  

If you choose to center the heart, fold the background square in half and finger press to crease.  Use that crease to help you center the heart.  You can see the heart centered over the crease in the photo below.

13. Time to use our helpful Elmer's washable school glue again.  I sure love this stuff when I'm foundation piecing.  Use a bit of glue in a few spots around the edges of the heart to hold it in place while you applique.  You can also pin the heart in place as well if you prefer.  

14. Use a small zigzag or blanket stitch (and coordinating thread) to stitch all the way around the heart and secure it to the background square.  On my Baby Lock Sofia 2 I used stitch #8, at 2.5 wide and 1.0 length.  

So that the zigzag stitch would not be as noticeable, I used a lighter pink thread on the left half and a darker pink thread on the right half.  

You're Heartstrings block is done!  

If you want to add more personality to your block, another option is to piece the background square!  To do this you'll need two rectangles, 6 1/2" x 12 1/2"

For this block I used some low volume scrap strips and switched which side I used the strips. 

TIP:  If you use lighter fabrics in your heart, be aware that the background print may show through.  For this reason, I chose a light pink background for the right side.  

Center the heart on the background square as we did before, glue or pin in place, and zigzag stitch around the heart to secure it.

And below you can see both of my blocks together.  I think I'll keep going and make enough of these for a throw quilt.  They're so fun and scrappy!

If you make a Heartstrings block I'd love to see it! Be sure to tag me (#abrightcorner) on social media and use the hashtags: #HeartstringsQuiltBlock and #abrightcorner so we can all see what you create!  

Giveaway

Edited to add:  Giveaway is now closed - thank you everyone!  The winner is Esther G.  Congrats Esther!  

Ready for the giveaway info?  ByAnnie.com is giving one of my lucky readers a $30 gift card!  To enter, simply leave a comment on this post.  I'll randomly choose a winner on October 20, 2020 and notify them by email (so make sure you include your email address in your comment!)  And a big thank you to ByAnnie.com for the giveaway!

Thanks for visiting!  If you're new here, you might also be interested in:

• my pattern shop
• more A Bright Corner tutorials
• view my completed quilts
• read about my book Fresh Fat Quarter Quilts here

Ready for more #SewPINK projects? Check out the talented creators that are a part of this blog tour:

✂ Oct. 1 (Thur): Mister Domestic

✂ Oct. 5 (Mon): Sewfinity

✂ Oct. 7 (Wed): Great Heron Thread

✂ Oct. 9 (Friday): Knot and Thread

✂ Oct. 12 (Mon): Snuggles Quilts

✂ Oct. 14 (Wed): A Bright Corner

✂ Oct. 16 (Fri): Suzn Quilts

✂ Oct. 19 (Mon): HUGS'N KISSES

✂ Oct. 20 (Tues): Sallie Tomato

✂ Oct. 22 (Thur): Masterpiece Quilting, Nancy Scott 

✂ Oct. 23 (Fri): Meadow Mist Designs

✂ Oct. 26 (Mon): LoveYouSew

✂ Oct. 27 (Tue): Teresa Coates

✂ Oct. 31 (Sat): Sookie Sews of Sue O'Very Designs

The #SewPink Initiative was created by ByAnnie.com LLC to raise awareness for breast cancer throughout the year. Our efforts culminate in an annual blog hop during October’s Breast Cancer Awareness Month to promote self-care, awareness, early detection and support for those affected by breast cancer. 

To learn more and see the calendar of events visit: https://www.ByAnnie.com/SewPINK

To find screenings available near you: 

• Breast Screen (Australia)

• CDC.gov (US)

• WebMD (free screenings)

To donate directly to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation visit: https://give.bcrf.org/give/31404/#!/donation/checkout

Did you know?

If you haven't yet, please make an appointment for a breast cancer screening!

Splendid Sampler Blocks

First of all, Happy Thanksgiving to my friends here in the USA.  I hope you have a wonderful, relaxing weekend filled with family, friends, fun, and of course food!

I just wanted to share my latest few Splendid Sampler blocks with you. The book is now available and we're sewing blocks from the book - four blocks each week - but you can choose to do all of them or just one or two each week!  

This week's block is actually a bonus block so it's a free block pattern not found in the book.

It's designed by Pat Sloan and it's called Magic Squares.

Last week's block was also a bonus block- this one was designed by Jane Davidson and it's called The Last Leaf

You can find the free pattern for this block here.

These next three blocks are ones that are from previous weeks but can also be found in the book.

This one is called Around Four Corners designed by Rachael Daisy.  It's a pretty clever design, and I love the optical illusion created by the circles!

This block below is called Ticker Tape and it was designed by Debby Brown.

It's a foundation pieced block which really helps with the accuracy of all of those interlocking seams!

This next block was a fun one.  It's called Hashtag Love designed by Jane Davidson.

It's a quick little applique block and I just used some Heat n Bond Lite and a straight stitch to finish off the pieces.  

I do love the mix of techniques used in the book - we've tried foundation piecing, applique, embroidery and traditional piecing. If you haven't joined in the fun yet, you can still order the book here on Amazon.

There's a Facebook group to join here where everyone is sharing their blocks and tips.

And you can read more about the Splendid Sampler Sew Along here on the official website.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!
--Andy