Empire Quilters Block of the Month – January 2009

A Loving Heart

5½ inch unfinished block (5" finished block)

Supplies & Fabric colors:

• Paper piecing paper on which to trace the pattern
• White patterned material for the background
• Red patterned material for the heart
• One 5" x 20" red fabric. I used a red with a star pattern.

Instructions:

• Cut one white strip 3" x 7" for the background pieces # 1, 4, 5
• Cut two red squares 3" x 3" for the heart points # 2 and # 3
• Cut one red rectangle 4" x 6" for the lower part of the heart # 6
• Cut two white rectangles 3" x 5½" for the background # 7 and # 8
• For paper piecing, sewing takes place in reverse. Take the white 3 x 7 inch strip and place it face up on the back of # 1 so that the fabric covers the triangle with a ¼ inch allowance on both sides and a bit more on top. Then place face down one 3 x 3 inch red square on top of the white strip and sew on the line on the traced “right” side. Unfold the red square to cover triangle # 2 and finger press
• Place the edge of a postcard on the sewing line between # 1 and # 3. Fold back the pattern and using an Add a Quarter ruler, trim the white fabric for the ¼ inch seam allowance.
• Place the second red 3 x 3 inch square face down on the white fabric on the other side and sew down on the “right side” of the pattern. Again, unfold square and finger press.
• Place the edge of a postcard on the sewing line between # 2 and # 4 and then between # 3 and # 5. Fold back the pattern and using an Add a Quarter ruler, trim the red fabric for the ¼ inch seam allowance on both ends.
• Now cut the remaining portion of the original 3 x 7 strip in half and sew to the ends — # 4 and # 5.
• Now, place the postcard along the horizontal line just above # 6. Fold back paper and using the Add a Quarter ruler, trim to provide the ¼ inch seam allowance. Take the 4 x 6 inch rectangle and place it face down on the upper portion of the heart and sew along the line. Fold down the red fabric and finger press
• Using your postcard, trim on both sides and sew the white 3 x 5 ½ pieces to both sides of # 6 to finish the block.
• Do not remove the paper. Trim the block to a 5 ½ inch square.

— Anna Krassy

›› Download / Print these Instructions and pattern (in PDF format) ‹‹

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