Craft Blog

So far you will have completed Step One – Cutting. Step Two covers the construction of the off centre/wonky logcabin blocks.

This is probably the most sewing intensive step of the week, from start to finish it took me about five hours to make 30 blocks, so you’ll want to set aside a good portion of the day, or split it over two sessions.

Log Cabin Block Tutorial

The Log Cabin block is one of the easiest blocks to make, the basic construction is outlined below:

The block is constructed from the centre piece out, spiraling round clockwise until you reach your desired size. There isn’t a massive variation in the strip sizes in this block (in hindsight I should have chosen one to highlight them a bit better!) but to create the off centre wonk you will trim your block after the first round (the purple numbers) and then trim your block to size after the second round (green numbers).

1. Begin with your centre piece, you will be adding the second piece to the top of your center. If you’ve fussy cut any centres remember that you’re adding the new fabric to the top, so the centre piece should be turned so that the top of your image is on the right.
2. Place one of your strips right side down on top of the centre piece. Line up the top right hand corners to ensure a straight seam. Don’t worry about the length of the strip, we’ll trim the excess later.
3. Sew with a quarter inch seam down the pieces, stopping once you reach the end of the centre piece. I don’t worry about backstitching as all of the ends will be sewn over again eventually anyway.

Flip your fabric open and fingerpress down the seam. If you feel happier ironing feel free to, I don’t have any problems just smoothing the seam with my fingers, but it’s entirely up to you. Place the piece open on your cutting mat, line up your ruler (straighter than I did for the photo!) and trim the excess fabric from your strip.

Repeat the process for the next strip. Always place your new strip on the top and the sewn block on the bottom, this will ensure you work your way around in a clockwise direction, trim the excess fabric off after each new strip is added. After you’ve completed the first round your block so far will consist of the centre piece and four strips around that, it should look something like this:

Using the centre piece as your guide straight edge guide, trim the edges with the rotary cutter. This is step two of “wonkying” your blocks, take an inch of one side, just a fraction off the other, maybe half an inch from another. Try not to think about the process too much, just cut away what feels right. Remember to leave at least half an inch of fabric on each side so that piece isn’t lost in a seam.

Repeat the previous steps, starting at the top of your block and once again working your way around clockwise. Once you’ve completed the second round, iron your blocks well and then trim it down to size – in this case 6inches or 15cm, once again leaving differing widths of fabrics on each side.

Depending on the size of your centre piece and how vicious you were when it came to trimming off the second round, you may end up with a square smaller than your desired final size. This is easily fixed by trimming the third round and then adding a fourth round of fabric, or sometimes just a top or bottom piece. Don’t worry too much about it looking perfect, the wonkyness of this pattern is what gives it its charm.

Eventually you will end up with thirty 6 inch blocks that are ready for sashing!

_______________________

To simplify the process a lot more I like to do each section at the same time. I will sew on 30 first pieces to the centre, 30 second pieces etc. Everything gets sewn at the same time, pressed at the same time and trimmed at the same time. If I know I don’t have a day to dedicate to this I’ll break it up into ten or fifteen blocks at a time, but streamlining your process like this cuts down on the work massively.

___________________

Day three of your log cabin quilt should be up within the next week and will focus on adding the sashing and piecing the border.

Take a look back at Day One: Cutting.

Related posts:

1. LogCabin Quilt In A Week – Day One: Cutting
2. String Quilt Block Tutorial
3. Knitting Needle Holder Tutorial
4. Selvedge NeedleBook Tutorial
5. String Quilt Love