Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Happy Quilting Quilt-A-Long Disappearing 16 Patch Instructions

Okay, so you have all heard of the Disappearing 9 patch right??  Well this is my version of a Disappearing 16 Patch.  This is going to be fun!!!  So, first off, See below to see how many Disappearing 16 Patch Blocks you will be making.  (Note . . .If your block number is an odd number you will have 2 triangle pieces left over when finished :)


So, let's get started.  Grab your first 16 patch block that you made in the last step.  Lay it out on your mat.  Don't worry to much about lining it up, it doesn't matter.  Now, if you have a yard stick it will probally be easier to use.  Unfortunately, I don't own one.  Crazy, I know.  If you don't have a yard stick use your long ruler and another ruler lined up together.  Lay your ruler diagonally across your entire block.  You want to try and make sure that your ruler is intersecting each of the corners.  Make sure to really smooth your corners out, they will want to creep in on you :)  Once you are all lined up, go ahead and cut along the diagonal.  


Now don't move your fabric.  Go ahead and pick up your rulers or yardstick and align them along the opposite diagonal.  Once again, make sure to intersect all of your points and to smooth out your corners.  Honestly, a lot of times your points will be all lined up and then you will find the edge doesn't line up.  Most often it just needs to be smoothed out.  Once you are all lined up go ahead and slice along the diagonal.


Now you can go ahead and pull your 4 parts apart.  You will end up with 1 - 2 of these little scrap pieces hanging out either under your square or poking out.  Go ahead and cut them off.  This will help to reduce bulk making them easier to piece in future steps.


So out of each 16 Patch Block you will end up with 4 wonderful, adorable, easy to make, triangles :)


Continue this process until all of your 16 patch blocks have been cut.  You will have a fun little pile of triangles.


Now, back to more random piecing fun!!!  Go ahead and grab 2 triangles and line them up as follows.  Once again, you are trying to keep it random so don't stress to much about what lines up where.  Just try to avoid having the exact same blocks across from each other :)


Lay your top triangle onto your bottom triangle with right sides together.  Once again we are going to pin just like you did your 16 patch blocks.  Pin your seams first, making sure they match up.  Then pin your edges.  If you have any bubbles smooth them out with your finger and then put in a vertical pin :)  Continue to pin your blocks until you have done the required amount of sets.  (Once again, remember, if you are required to have an odd number of blocks you will have 2 leftover triangles)


Now it is on to sewing.  Once again, sew a 1/4" seam along your pinned edge.  Make sure to remove pins as you go and to double check your seams that they are laying flat by running your finger underneath the seam right before you sew across it.  Continue to chain stitch all of your Disappearing 16 Patch Blocks.


Go ahead and clip your threads between your sets.  Now, just like before, we are going to press the new center seam open.  Yes, you will have some little overhangs at the edges, we will deal with them shortly :)


Now, this step is not necessary but only takes a second and I like to do it to reduce bulk. Along the corners of the inner squares there will be a small triangle that is "hanging out".  (The little red plaid one)  I like to clip these out in all four of the corners.  Once again, not necessary, it just reduces bulk.


Lastly, turn over your block over.  You will have 4 little triangles sticking out from the center seam.  Go ahead and clip them even with the block.  Repeat for all 4 edges.


And there you have it.  A stack of adorable Disappearing 16 Patch Block.  We will be adding the sashing next.  Yippee Skipee, we are getting closer :)


Don't forget to post your pictures of your progress on the Happy Quilting Quilt-A-Long Flickr page.  It is so fun to see everyone's progress :)
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29 comments:

  1. Oh, this is going to be fun! Slice and dice those blocks! When will we do the next step? Just trying to plan my time, I don't want to get behind. (Getting behind turns into UFO's too often, and I don't need another one!)

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  2. Visually, these look made from 5.5 inch squares, is that correct?

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  3. Hoping I can can get everything on my to do list accomplished, so I can have fun with this later ...

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  4. I LOVE this! Such a cute, and simple idea! I'm off to sew now!!

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  5. Looks great! Hope I can cut mine ok. I don't have a large cutting mat or ruler right now. They are still in Cali. *crosses fingers*

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  6. Going to cut my blocks now, I'm not the best cutter. yikes!

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  7. Oh, I like that...thanks for posting the idea and photos!

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  8. Guess I'll join in the fun! I'll choose my fabrics and cut squares tonight and sew them tomorrow!

    Karen

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  9. Ahh coolness! I am looking forward to the challenge of more randomness!

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  10. just sanity check - we should have left over triangles once we make the required number of new squares, right? I mean we cut each 16 patch square into 4 triangles and then use two of those to make one new square. Or did i miss something?

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  11. Oh, I'm loving this! I just haven't started yet! LOL Still trying to finish up a baby quilt (that I keep messing up) and keep up with my pastor's-wife duties during a busy month. Hopefully I can jump in on Thursday . . .but I'm making no promises! Ugh!

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  12. Hi Tina,

    You will only have 2 leftover triangles if you are doing an odd number of blocks. There is a new chart at the top of this post to let you know how many disappearing 16 patch blocks you need. it is different than the 16 patch blocks.

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  13. Wow, can't wait to get to this!

    I am wondering if at the beginning of each post in the quilt along you would put a link to the previous post in the quilt along and a link at the end of the post to the next post in the quilt along (adding it after it is written, of course). This would make the quilt along instructions handier as time goes by and the posts are older.

    Thank you,
    Mrs. Hearts

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  14. Hi Melissa - i just figured it out, apparently i should never try math... i cut 10 16patches into 40 triangles BUT sew them back together into 20 new squares....apparently i missed the last step...i was sitting there thinking and it suddenly hit me... :) sigh...tomorrow hopefully! :) Thank you for your patient answer!

    Oh and Mrs. Heart - fyi the link at the top of the page called "quilt a long" has all the instructions linked off of it! i use it to make sure i'm still on top of things... :)

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  15. Oh Tina, I am sorry you missed a post. I bet you were confused :) I am glad you are back with us now :)

    Willing Hearts, there is a tab at the top of the blog called Quilt-A-Long. It has all of the posts in order. You can find it right below the p in Happy in my banner :)

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  16. I was busy sewing my 16 block squares together when I had a wee hiccup; or rather the earth did. Although we have power now, my quilt is on hold for a wee bit as the earthquake has made other things more important.

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  17. Holay Smokes Rachelle!!! I am so sorry, I hope everyone is okay. Hopefully the recovery won't be long for you.

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  18. We've been lucky, minimal damage to our home and all family is safe and well. Unfortunately many others are not so lucky. We have power and water, though we're on boil notice as the sewerage system is broken. Might be months before that's fixed. We thought the September earthquake was bad; ignorance was definitely bliss. This is not a good experience.

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  19. question??
    I have always sewn by nesting seams and had them line up nicely. Open seams are challenging me. Any pointers? Yours look so good. I know there has to be a better way.
    Thanks
    Cindy

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  20. Hi Cindy,

    I like to nest seams a lot as well. We are doing open seams in this quilt to help reduce bulk build up. The best way to get your points right on is to pin, pin pin :) I pin even when I am nesting my seams. It ensures nice lined up points.

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  21. Thanks Melissa!!!

    You've got it. Pin pin pin. I love the pattern and I love following your fab instructions. Cindy

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  22. It has been a good day! Before dinner I had all the blocks sewn back together!! I love it so far. Can't wait to finish it!

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  23. Finally finished this section today; will hopefully get started on the next tomorrow; going to have to press some creases out before I start though; will be careful not to disturb the grainline though

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  24. Some one just told me about this block. So So Cool. I think I am going to make one. Just wanted to pop in and say thanks.

    http://richardquilts.blogspot.com
    http:// my1pictureaday.blogspot.com/

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  25. Hi Melissa, So pleased this tutorial is still available - I was looking for a special quilt to make for a friend who's having a challenging time right now and hopefully this will bring her comfort for now and for what will hopefully be the most beautiful chapter of her life to come. Thanks again for your clear, easy to follow instructions. I've never, ever pinned.....looking at all the joins in this quilt I decided to completely follow your instructions and press my seams open...my usual method of lining up joins - pushing, pulling and praying - wasn't going to work with open seams as it pulled open the fabric....I've been pinning and have been so pleased with the results! [Well, there's salvage and there's just plain bad cutting that can't be salvaged, but what can you do - it's made with love! ;) ] So, again, thanks so much for continuing to make your great tutorial available! I'm using a limited number of Fandango fabrics and a Michael Miller(I think) 'Baby Talk in aqua spots for my sashing pieces..... Loving the look so far!

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  26. I am making a mini using your technique...thanks for the inspiration : )

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  29. Have you ever used a quiltersslidelock for cutting your pieces? Go to www.quiltersslidelock.com to check it out. It is better than a yard stick.

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Thank you so much for your sweet comments. I just love hearing from you!!
Have a Happy Quilting Day :)

Melissa