Mini Heart block

June is my month to oversee the block making for my Do.Good.Stitches group. So I am asking my fellow members to make these heart blocks for me. I was inspired by this mini quilt I found on Pinterest.

I intended to make more blocks for this tutorial but my rib has been holding me hostage.  It keeps moving around, popping in and out. We (the chiropractor) are hoping that it will settle down by the end of this week. Those pesky muscles need to forget about the previous bicycle trauma and start doing their job!  The massage therapist did a fantastic job this morning in aiding my muscle memory. Let’s hope it sticks!

From the heart fabric cut:

• 1 – 4 1/2″ square, cut in half diagonally twice to create 4 quarter-square triangles. You will only use 2 per block.
• 1 – 4″ square, cut in half diagonally once to create 2 half-square triangles.

From the background fabric cut:

• 1 – 4 1/2″ square, cut in half diagonally twice to create 4 quarter-square triangles. You will only use 2 per block.
• 2 – 4″ squares, cut in half diagonally once to create 4 half-square triangles.

All of the measurements are cut slightly larger and then trimmed down in the hope that this will create more uniform results for everyone.

From two of the 4 1/2″ quarter-square triangles of each the heart fabric & the background fabric, sew a left-facing and a right-facing half-square triangle unit. Press the seams open to reduce the bulk.

Place a 4″ background half-square triangle on top of each unit and sew the diagonal seam. As you can can see, the triangle unit with the heart fabric is slightly larger.  Don’t worry about this. You will trim the block down to the correct size in the next step.   Just make sure that the smaller triangle is centered on top of the larger triangle.  Press the seams open to reduce the bulk.

With a square ruler or square up ruler or any ruler that gives you the appropriate diagonal line and inch measurements, trim both blocks to 3 1/2″ square.  Be sure that the 45-degree line that marks the center of the half-square triangle is placed on top of the diagonal seam line so that the heart portion is also centered.

Here is a closer view in hopes that you can see what I am talking about.

With the remaining 4″ half-square triangles, sew a background fabric to a heart fabric and press the seams open.  Trim these blocks to 3 1/2″ as well, again, placing that 45-degree line on your ruler directly on top of the seam line so that the block is centered.

Another close-up of the half-square triangles so that you can see what I’m talking about.

Arrange the half-square triangles as shown to create a heart motif.  Sew the squares together in each row, pressing the seams in alternating directions. Then sew the rows together to complete the block, nesting the opposing seams in the center to aid in matching the triangle points.

Voila! Your finished block should measure 6 1/2″ square including the seam allowances.  If anyone has any questions, please let me know.

If you are making these for our Do.Good.Stitches group, repeat these instructions to make 6 blocks total.  There are additional details about the blocks, fabrics, etc in our discussion thread for the month of June. Thank you!

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