8" Economy Quilt Block Tutorial

A few months ago, a woman at our quilt retreat was making economy blocks with this fabric, Dorothy’s Journey. I absolutely loved them and decided that it would be the perfect quilt for my new niece. The quilt has been a lot of fun to make and the blocks turned out great. I thought I would share a little tutorial for how to make these 8” economy, or square-in-a-square, blocks.

For each 8” block, cut:

(1) 4 1/2” square (center)
(1) 5 1/4” square, cut in quarters on the diagonal (center triangles)
(2) 4 7/8” squares, cut in half on the diagonal (outer triangles)

Assembly:

• Center and sew two of the triangles made from the 5 1/4” square to opposite sides of the 4 1/2” square. Press away from the square.

Note: the triangles are cut on the bias, so I was worried that distortion might be a problem, however, I didn’t have any issues. Just be careful not to distort the triangles by tugging on them or using too much steam when pressing.

• Sew the remaining two triangles to the remaining sides of the square. Press away from the square.

• Trim off the dog ears (the little triangles that hang over the sides of the block).

• Sew the triangles made with the 4 7/8” squares to the sides of the block. Press seams outward.

• Sew the remaining triangles onto the sides of the block and press outward.

• Trim off the dog ears.

• Enjoy your beautiful block!

To make a good sized toddler quilt (40” x 48”), repeat to make a total of 30 blocks. Then lay out blocks in a 5 x 6 grid. Sew blocks together into rows of 5. Press seams open. Sew rows together. Press seams open.

I hope you will give these a try. They were lots of fun to make and the color combinations are endless!