Stepping Stones Sampler Lesson 8 - Triangle in a square unit and Garden Patch Block

 I hope your August was enjoyable, I know mine was!  It was fun to celebrate my birthday in a small way, and I've just been enjoying each day as it comes.  I've been doing lots of sewing and enjoying it, and I am ready to share this next lesson with you! 

For this block you get the option of making the triangle in a square unit using foundation paper piecing, templates for traditional piecing or even specialty rulers such as the Tri-Recs ruler set.  You can see these blocks flanking the Dresden Plate blocks in this picture.

 These units can be a little tricky to make, but they sure add a great look to your projects!  You will be making sixteen of these units, then combining them with the four-patches we made earlier on and 8 background squares.

Cut out your templates on the outer line, then you can glue these to template plastic or a cereal box to make a more durable template.  You can trace around these with a sharp pencil, or cut 4 1/2 inch strips of your fabric and use a rotary cutter to carefully cut around them. 

I like to add an arrow so I can remember which point goes to the top - it does make a difference!

Make the points out of your dark fabric in the same way - but fold your fabric either right sides out or right sides together to make sure you get matched pairs!  Make sure you cut off those little notches, too, they really help when you are sewing the units.

I just use my rotary cutter to carefully trim them.

It's basically the same technique using the Tri-Recs rulers.  With either technique you can turn your ruler the opposite direction to take advantage of the angled cuts and not waste fabric.  As you can see, there is a little angled notch on this ruler as well.  There are other specialty ruler you can use, and each one comes with directions for use - so if you have one simply follow those directions to make 4 1/2 inch square units.  Remember, your dark fabric is the points and the background is the large triangle!  I've cut them opposite and been sad to waste my fabric!

When sewing, take care to sew the small triangles with the skinny point pointing to the bottom of the background triangle!  It's so easy to accidently turn these the wrong way and you won't end up with a square!   Remember to use the notches to help line up your edges so you get those nice sharp points.

Sew the second dark triangle to the other side.

Don't fret if the seam at the bottom does not touch the corner of the block - it's not supposed to!  Because of the angle of the seam, it will be a little offset.  You do want it to touch the line where the 1/4 seams will meet, though!

Look at those nice points - take your time to cut and sew accurately and you'll get great results, too!

Make sixteen of these units, then combine them with the four-patch blocks we made way back at the beginning!  Add two background squares for each block and you have all you need to make this Garden Patch variation blocks.  Make sure those squares form a diagonal line through the block.  Take care to match the point of the triangles with the seam in the center four patch to make your block look picture perfect!

(If you prefer, use the foundation patterns to paper piece your triangle units)

Next month we'll work on getting the cornerstones and sashing ready - I have some great options for you in this step, so you can look forward to that while you are stitching these four blocks.

Have fun!  I'd love to see your color choices and progress, so feel free to share - use the hashtag #steppingstonesquiltalong and #pamelaquilts on instagram so we can find them easily.  I'm resisting the temptation to start a new version, but will be sharing pictures of the four I've made so far as we go!

 Thanks for quilting along with me!

Buy my pattern here:  Stepping Stones Sampler

Find the list of blog posts here:  Stepping Stones Quilt Along