Monochromatic Sampler: Block Five Tutorial

This block took the longest for me. It was by far the most fiddly but also the most rewarding when it was finished.

Cut

• One 2 1/2 inch width strip of fabric the entire fabric length (42") and then cut in half into two 1 1/4 inch strips in White.
• Cut the same strips, two 1 1/4 inch strips of the entire fabric length (42") in Black
  

Row One

Due to the nature of this block, it is important that you iron, measure and trim in between each row to make sure that everything is even. Once you have sewn a row, make sure that you measure the strip at 1 inch after you sew them together. You will be able to tell easily if your measurements are out.

Start off with two small pieces of fabric:

• 1 1/4 inches by 1 inch in White.
• 1 1/4 inches by 1 inch in Black.
  

Row Two

The general method for spiral construction is a "top and tail" construction. You can either choose to cut each piece by hand and sew the spiral together or work off a length of fabic and trim in between each row.

Row Three

When constructing I would roughly measure the length of my strips, sew both sides at once and then iron, measure and trim to length.

Continue adding strips to the top and tail of the spiral until you have 11 rows of the spiral.

Final Row

By the time you get to the final row, you should be feeling quite happy at your spiral. Fiddly but rewarding .. right?

Sashing

Once you have your spiral finished add some sashing to make it really pop!

Voila, another block finished, four more to go!

I could imagine this technique being used with jelly roll strips to create quite an effective quilt. I noticed on the Moda web site a few days ago, someone had made a similar quilt! They have called it a Serpentine Quilt.

A big thank-you goes out to Leanne who actually spotted the pattern in my Japanese Quilts book (although these instructions are all mine because the book didn't provide any clear instructions) and the lovely Beky who actually got me the book in the first place for my Birthday last year!