March 2012 Block of the Month

March's block is a 12.5" string block to finish at 12" square.  Use white for the background fabric and bright, cheery fabrics for the strings.  Following is a brief rundown on how I made the sample block.  More detailed instructions can be found on Leigh's blog for making the string X block.

This is basically a four patch block.  For each section, you will need a bunch of strips and a 4" square of white fabric.  My strips varied in width between 1.5 and 2.5 inches wide and were 5 to 6 inches long.  Sew the strips together into one long strip until it is about 11 inches long.

Press and trim the long strip to 4.5" wide and 9.25" long.

For one 12.5" block, you will need four 4" squares of white fabric.

For each section, cut your 4" square in half diagonally.

Find the center of the long strip by folding it in half and either marking with a pin or by creasing.  Center a triangle on either side of the long strip and sew right sides together.  It should look like this.

Press open the white triangles to the side.  Your block should now look like this.

Trim your block to a 6.5" square.

Repeat three more times until you have four 6.5" square blocks.

Sew your blocks together carefully matching the corners where the strip meets the background fabric.

You can sew your blocks using the X block layout shown above or the O block layout shown below.

Have fun!  Be sure to bring your block(s) to the March guild meeting.