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.