Thursday, September 12, 2013

tic tac toe block: a tutorial by crazy mom quilts

This is a tic tac toe block that my youngest son and I made together last summer. I love it in all it's wonky improv glory, so I'm following his lead (and his terrific color scheme) to make an entire quilt.

Here's a little tutorial on how to make one (or 20!) tic tac toe blocks of your own!
Gather your supplies. Pick a background fabric, a contrasting fabric for the grid pieces, and a 6 1/2" ruler. (The ruler is optional, but very helpful.)
From the background piece, cut an approximate square slightly larger than 6.5". On the sample shown, there is about 1/2" extra on all sides. That is great plenty.
Cut 4 strips approximately 1" wide by 7 1/2" long. I used a layer cake square to cut these strips, so they are extra long. I simply trimmed them as needed after sewing. The width of the strips should vary slightly for added interest.
Use a rotary cutter and a ruler to cut the background square into 3 pieces.
Add in two strips.
Sew all the strips together and press.
Go back to the cutting board. Cut the block into 3 pieces, horizontally this time.
 Add in the remaining two strips.
 Sew together and press well.
 Press the seams open and use a lot of spray starch to get the block to lay flat.
Trim the block down to 6.5" square.
Make a few.
Repeat as many times as you see fit!
 
 And BAM. It turns from an orphan block to a WIP.
Just. like. that.

28 comments:

Maja said...

I love it!
Your son knows what colors that goes together well.

Jocelyn said...

How fun is that!!

JG said...

Wow, that looks great! I like the zigzag fabric.
~Judy

✾Jamie Lee Cooley✾ said...

Cute! Kind of looks like plaid.

Julierose said...

Really cute blocks and super tutorial...thanks so much, Julierose

Hilary said...

love these :)

Diane said...

WIPS are always better than poor orphans! and"BAM" would be a good name for a quilt! thanks for the tutorial. Sounds like you're having fun!!

SarahZ said...

just.like.that. Love it! :)

tink's mom said...

great choices by your son. can't wait to see the final quilt.

Jessica Christensen said...

I. Love. These. BUT, I have too many ideas and UFOs already, so I must not -- MUST NOT -- start one. Must not. But what a great way for me to get rid of scraps (especially string scraps)! What a great way for YOU to get rid of scraps!

Francesca Celeste said...

Wonderful! Such fun blocks with great colors. Teal/bright blue and orange are awesome together. Nice work!

Linda at Roscoe's Ma said...

This is very cool! And I love the color scheme!

The Cozy Quilter said...

Orange and blue is one of my favourite colour schemes!

Lucy Daniel said...

How cool is this --- LOVE IT & can't wait to make this for the grand children!!!! Thank you for sharing.

Nicky said...

A quilt and a game - if you provide the counters! What fun!

Unknown said...

Really like the orange and blue. Quick, fun block!

Lorna McMahon said...

Very sweet tutorial, Amanda Jean! I love the colour scheme you have going on with this cute blocks.

Hope you don't mind if I share this, with a link back, on my facebook page at http://facebook.com/sewfreshquilts

Jeneta said...

Oh this is similar to a quilt top I am putting together with a layer cake. Except mine is one very BIG block. I really do think I am lazy!!

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the great tutorial. I was interested that your press your seams open--seems like a good option for such close seams. I love that your son likes quilting!

Jennifer said...

Cute. You could also call this a #hashtag block and be all hip and stuff.

Brenda said...

Will you use some sort of sashing to put this together? Just wondering.........

Sandy said...

Like Brenda before me, I am curious as to how you would put these blocks together.

Vicki Lou said...

I love it! It would be a great quilt for a grandson! I'm also thinking that the blocks won't match up because of the wonky hash marks............so how will you put it together.

Suzanne said...

How cool are you and your son?! I can see these as place mats with edible game pieces on the table. Thanks for the fun blocks and the tutorial to make them myself.

Knit With A Passion said...

Oh! I love the wonkiness of it all!! You could put a wonky strip on the top and side of the blocks to have it be be like improv sashing

Knit With A Passion said...

Oh! I love the wonkiness of it all!! You could put a wonky strip on the top and side of the blocks to have it be be like improv sashing

Heleen Groot said...

That is so cool! Thank you. I'll have to try that one. It will make a great quilt!

sarah elizabeth :: {no} hats said...

I love this!!