Happy Trails Quilt Block

I love making Lori Holt‘s patterns – all of them are creative and fun to sew! They are playful and let you be more experimental when designing your quilt. One of my favorites is this happy trails quilt block. It’s easy to make – perfect for beginners who are still learning the different methods of quilting. Watch the video below for full instructions. Happy quilting!

Materials:

For the checkerboard segments:

• 8 pieces of 14-inch long background strips
• 8 pieces of 14-inch long colored strips (must be in prominent color)

For each background square (4 colors):

• 2 pieces of 4 1/2″ squares
• 4 pieces of 2 1/2″ squares

Instructions:

Step 1:

Sew a 14-inch background strip to a colored one with a quarter-inch seam allowance, then press the seam open. Next, cut it into 8 segments – 1 1/2″ wide.

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Step 2:

Take 2 of the segments. Flip the other around and sew them together to make a square. Open the seams and press with an iron. Repeat for the remaining segments.

Step 3:

Lay the segment blocks into a diagonal with corners connected. Be careful not to turn one as you want the prominent color to be in the middle.

Step 4:

Fill the sides with 4 pieces of 2 1/2″ squares and 2 pieces of 4 1/2″ squares to make a block. Sew the 2 1/2″ squares together first with a quarter of an inch seam allowance. Press the seam open, flip, then press toward the solid square. Next, sew them to make 2 blocks of 4 1/2″ squares. After that, sew the big squares and patchworks together. Make sure the seams are aligned. The block should now be 8 1/2″ square.

Step 5:

Repeat steps 1 to 4 for the remaining pieces.

Step 6:

Arrange the 4 blocks together. It should form a square in the middle. Sew the blocks together with a quarter of an inch seam allowance. Press the seams open, flip, then press toward the darker side. The finished block is a 16″ square.

Happy Trails Quilt Block