Churn Link Block: A 2017 Q2 Finish A Long Tutorial

Welcome! For my Finish A Long 2017 tutorial, I'm sharing the process for making my Churn Link block.

It's really versatile and looks great in all kinds of settings, which we'll explore at the end of the tutorial. But for now, let's make a block!

Cutting:

For one 12.5" unfinished block, you will need three fabrics: Background, Colour A and Colour B.

From the background fabric (yellow in my image above), cut:

(4) rectangles, 1½" x 4½"
(2) squares, 3" x 3"
(2) rectangles, 2½" x 6½"
(2) rectangles, 2½" x 4½"
(2) squares, 4½" x 4½"
(2) squares, 3½" x 3½"

From EACH of Colour A (red in image) and Colour B (blue in image), cut:

(3) rectangles, 1½" x 4½"
(1) rectangle, 1½" x 3½"
(1) square, 3" x 3"
(3) squares, 2½" x 2½"

Piecing:

1 Take a 3½" x 3½" background square and sew a 1½" x 3½" A rectangle to one side. Press toward the A rectangle. Repeat with the other 3½" x 3½" square and a 1½" x 3½" B rectangle. Press toward the B rectangle.

2. Position the units from step 1 so the A and B rectangles are along the top edge. Stitch a 1½" x 4½" rectangle of the other colour to the left side of both units.

3. Take all 2½" x 2½" A and B squares (6 in total) and draw a diagonal line from one corner to the other on the wrong side of each square.

4. Take a 4½" x 4½" background square and place a 2½" x 2½" colour A square from step 3 face down on one corner as shown. Stitch along the line you drew, then cut off the corner leaving a ¼" seam allowance. Flip the triangle back and press. Repeat with the other 4½" x 4½" background square and a 2½" x 2½"colour B square.

5. Pair a 1½" x 4½" background rectangle and a 1½" x 4½" colour rectangle and stitch together along the 4½" side. Press toward the colour. Make 2 of these sets for colour A and colour B for a total of 4.

6. Take a 2½" x 6½" background rectangle and a 2½" x 4½" background rectangle and place a 2½" x 2½" colour A square from step 3 face down on one end of each background piece, making sure the drawn diagonal lines are oriented as shown. Stitch along the drawn diagonal line on both squares, then cut off the corner leaving a ¼" seam allowance. Flip the triangles back and press. Repeat using the 2½" x 2½" colour B squares with a 2½" x 6½" background rectangle and a 2½" x 4½" background rectangle, again making sure the diagonals are positioned as shown.

7. Take both 3" x 3" background squares and draw a diagonal line from corner to corner on each one. Place a 3" x 3" background square right sides together with a 3" x 3" colour A square. Stitch on the drawn line, cut off one corner leaving a ¼" seam allowance, flip the top corner back and press the HST. Trim to 2½" x 2½". Repeat with the other 3" x 3" background square and  3" x 3"colour B square.

You have now made all of the components of the block!

Block Assembly

1. Assemble the block centre first by using the two units you created in Step 2 and the two you created in Step 4 like so:

2. Create two side strips using one units of each colour from Step 5 and the 4½" long Step 6 units as follows:

3. Attach to each side of the block centre:

4. Create the top and bottom border strips using the two remaining strip units from step 5, the 6½" long units from Step 6 and the HSTs:

5. Attach to the top and bottom and your block is done! Ta daaaaah!

And here is the block laid out in a quilt with some sashing:

You can put it on point:

Or change up the block background:

to create a really interesting quilt:

So many possibilities! Enjoy!

If you're interested in joining the Finish A Long for Q3, the information is in the 2017 Finish A Long tab up top.