This week I started working on 2" finished bowtie blocks. I bought the new 4" Qube Mix and Match plus the companion sets. If you don't have an AccuQuilt cutter yet, I have included instructions below to make a 4" finished bowtie block the traditional way.
These pieces were cut using the 4" Companion Set - Corners. The background is cut with die #11.1 and the small triangle is cut with die #12.1.
Sew the triangle to the bowtie background.
The bowtie accent fabric is cut from die #1. This die cuts 4 squares. When you put 6 layers of fabric, you can cut 24 squares all at once.
NOTE: If you have other size Qubes, use the same number dies to make your blocks larger.
Click on the image below for information about the AccuQuilt Qubes:
AccuQuilt also has a Block on Board die for Bowties. It makes a 4" finished block.
Check it out here --> Bowtie BOB.
This image from Pinterest shows the layout I am considering. Click on the image to see it in Pinterest.
I like this setting but when I think about keeping track of the direction of all those bowties, my head explodes! So I'm also thinking about a simple setting like this:
This setting is a much easier, mindless pattern to stitch together and I like the overall look of the white spaces and four patches. This is the one I will do.
Here is my progress so far making the blocks:
Each of the stacks on the left contain 20 to 24 blocks. The stacks on the right are waiting to be pieced. I have more pieces cut out but not pictured.
How I Piece The Blocks
I chain piece all the pieces of each set at once. I am showing only four sets below.
First I sew the small triangles to the background. I lay out all the small triangles right side down and the background pieces right side up. This makes the chain piecing faster.
Next I finger press towards the triangles. Then I lay out all the bowtie squares right side down. This helps speed things up. Then I stitch the squares to the triangle/background units and finger press towards the square.
Finally I sew two of these units to make a block.
Finishing The Quilt
I sewed all the bowtie blocks together and threw them into a plastic tote. I mixed them all together in the tote so I could take two pieces at a time.
I sewed all the bowtie blocks into pairs then I sewed the pairs together. This part went surprisingly fast!
Here are the four bowtie blocks sewn together into a larger block measuring 4-1/2" square.
After that I sewed the squares together into rows of 17 blocks. This made the quilt 68" wide.
I made 21 rows to make the quilt 84" long.
Traditional Method of Cutting and Piecing the Bowtie Block
This method uses the Stitch and Flip technique to make the triangles in the corner. For a tutorial --> CLICK HERE.
For one 4" finished bowtie block you will need:
- Two background squares @ 2-1/2" x 2-1/2"
- Two accent fabric squares @ 2-1/2" x 2-1/2"
- Two accent fabric squares @ 1-1/2" x 1-1/2"
Download piecing instructions here --> Piecing the Bowtie Block
Happy quilting
Carol