DISAPPEARING FOUR PATCH

In June I will be demonstrating a "Nicely Nesting Disappearing Four Patch" quilt block at our LQS.  I made up a series of notes on how to do this for people to take home so they can duplicate the block.  Here are those instructions:

DISAPPEARING FOUR PATCH

Preparations:  For each block, cut 2 dark 5 1/4" squares and 2 light 5 1/4" squares.

These blocks will finish at about 7 1/2" so decide how many blocks you need for your quilt.  Then do yourself a favour and clean all the accumulated lint out of your machine and put in a new needle.  Now wind about 3 bobbins.  Now you're ready.

Chain piece the dark squares and light squares right sides together.  Snip them apart and press the seam into the fabric.  Open the squares, spritz and press the seam toward the dark fabric.

Place two of these on your cutting board, dark squares to the left and light to the right.

Cut 1 1/2" from the center seam, 

Rotate a quarter turn, cut 1 3/4" from the cut edge.  

Rotate a quarter turn, cut 1 1/2" from the center seam same as the first cut, rotate a quarter turn and cut 1 3/4" from the cut edge, same as before.

Rotate back to the beginning position.  You have three columns of squares.  Take the outside squares on the bottom row and switch them.  Then take the middle square in the next row from the bottom and reverse it.  Now your block looks like this:

Take two outside pieces in the next row up and switch them.  Then reverse the square in the middle of the top row.  Now your block looks like this:

Take each square in the middle vertical row and lay it on top of the square to the left of that row:

Do that with all four middle pieces.  Take your block to the sewing machine and stitch these pieces from the middle vertical row to the pieces underneath them, down their right-hand sides.  DO NOT CUT THESE PIECES APART.  Open up these pieces so they are right side up.

Now lay the pieces in the right hand vertical row on top of the middle row.  Sew these together on their right hand sides.  DO NOT CUT THESE PIECES APART.  We are forming a "web" of the block that will keep all pieces in their proper place.

Now press these seams toward the dark fabrics.

Turn over the block and carefully repress the seams, making sure they are very flat.  Then turn the right hand row, face down on the next row.  Sew this seam on the right hand side.

Repeat this with the other rows.

Now take your seam ripper and take out the stitches of the middle vertical seam where you crossed it with this last seam.  Do that for each row.

When you press the whole block you will be able to open these three intersections and press them flat.

Turn the block right side up and repress these seams nice and flat.  Take it to your cutting board and "square it up."  Place the 4" line of your bias square on the middle seam os the block, both vertical and horizontal.  Congratulations!  You've made a beautiful, perfectly nesting four patch block.