Crossword Puzzle Quilt Block

From our Free Quilt Block Pattern Library

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Skill Level: Beginner

The Crossword Puzzle quilt block is a quick and easy to stitch which makes it an ideal block for a spur of the moment baby quilt.

A bit of strip piecing. The twirling of a few seam allowance.

The Crossword Puzzle quilt block tutorial

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This asymmetrical block is as easy to set into a top as it is to put together.

Let's solve the riddle of assembling this Crossword Puzzle!

General Instructions

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Seam allowances (SA) are 1/4" and are pressed to the dark unless otherwise instructed.

I like to prewash and starch all of my fabrics before cutting. I think this makes my cutting and piecing more accurate with less effort.

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Step 1: Cut patches for a Crossword Puzzle

Crossword Puzzle design

Sample Size: 8" finished 8½" unfinished

Grid: 8x8

Attributed to: Farmers Journal

The cutting chart below is for a two fabric patchwork design.

Strips are cut an inch longer than needed so that you have room enough to straighten an edge before subcutting a stripset into units.

			Cutting Chart for a Crossword Puzzle Quilt Block ~ Traditional Piecing ~
Patch	Fabric	Qty	Finished Block Size
Patch	Fabric	Qty	8”	12”	16”
1	Background	1	1-1/2” x 10”	2” x 13”	2-1/2” x 16”
2	A	2	1-1/2” x 10”	2” x 13”	2-1/2” x 16”
3	Background	2	1-1/2” x 4”	2” x 5”	2-1/2” x 6”
4	A	1	1-1/2” x 4”	2” x 5”	2-1/2” x 6”
5	A	4	1-1/2” x 3-1/2”	2” x 5”	2-1/2” x 6-1/2”
6	Background	4	1-1/2” x 3-1/2”	2” x 5”	2-1/2” x 6-1/2”
7	A	1	1-1/2” x 7”	2” x 9”	2-1/2” x 11”
8	Background	1	3-1/2” x 7”	5” x 9”	6-1/2” x 11”
Unfinished Block Size			8-1/2”	12-1/2”	16-1/2”
Grid Size			1”	1-1/2”	2”

Step 2: Assemble the units for a Crossword Puzzle

Our Crossword Puzzle block is made from three different units: a nine patch, an 'O', and sashing.

Nine Patches

Make 2

With right sides together (RST), stitch a #1 to a #2.

Starched fabric and a ¼" foot with a guide are the best way I know to get perfect strip sets.

Press.

Add the second #2 in the same manner, pressing afterwards.

Repeat for the #3/#4/#3 strips.

The completed #1/#2/#1 and #3/#4/#3 stripsets

The stitched #2/#1/#2 and #3/#4/#3 stripsets.

Straighten a short side of both by aligning a line on your ruler with one of the seams (see arrow) and trim off just enough to straighten the edge.

Straighten the short edge of each strip set with your rotary cutter and ruler

Straightening the edge of the #3/#4/#3,

Repeat for the #2/#1/#2 set.

Next subcut each #2/#1/#2 into 6 units; #3/#4/#3 into 2. Use the chart below to find the cut width.

StripSet Subcutting Chart
Finished Block Size	Width of Sewn Stripsets	Subcut Width
8”	3-1/2”	1-1/2”
12”	5”	2”
16”	6-1/2”	2-1/2”

Arrange the cuts as shown below. (Two #2/#1/#2 are set aside for the O's that come next.)

The SA are pressed out from the center.

'O' units

Make 2

Arrange two #5s and one #2/#1/#2 for each O as shown below.

Did you catch it?

Yep! When I photographed the block during construction, I accidentally rotated the patches a quarter turn.

The longer #5 patches run across the top and bottom of the "O" units and not on the left and right sides. My bad!!!

Press, SA towards the #5 strips.

Sashing (SU)

Make 4

With RST, stitch #7 to #8 on the long edge.

Press.

Straighten a short edge.

Cut #7/#8 into four SUs using the chart below to determine the width.

Sashing Subcutting Chart
Finished Block Size	Width of Pieced Sashing	Subcut Width
8”	4-1/2”	1-1/2”
12”	6-1/2”	2”
16”	8-1/2”	2-1/2”

After cutting, this is what you've got.

Step 3: Add sashing

With RST, sew a #6 to the righthand side of all the 9 patches and O's. SA are pressed away from #6.

With RST, sew a SU to the bottom of each.

Typically these blocks are set edge-to-edge in a patchwork design. To make joining them as easy as possible, we're going to twirl the SA of this last seam.

You may need to loosen a few stitches to do so. This is what it looks like from the backside.

Our twirled seam allowance creates a miniature 4-patch on the back

It helps to fingerpress the SA before using the iron. As you look at the backs, the SA are pressed in a clockwise fashion.

Step 4: Assemble the Crossword Puzzle quilt block

Arrange the sashed patches into rows and stitch them the pairs in each row together. (An 'O' is in the upper lefthand corner of the block.)

SA are pressed in the direction of the arrows.

With RST, sew the rows together. The only place you need to worry about matching is at the corners of the #7's.

Our Crossword Puzzle is stitched, just one more step.

To complete the Crossword Puzzle, we'll again twirl the SA in the very center of our block.

From the back you can see the 5 SA that we twirled.

The center twirl is our last one.

The advantage of all this fiddling with SA is when you put blocks together edge-to-edge, those SA nest—making matching easier and reducing bulk all at the same time.

Now give it one last, good press and your Crossword Puzzle quilt block is finished.

A bit about constructing a Crossword Puzzle Quilt

As designed, the Crossword Puzzle quilt block is an asymmetrical block. To complete the design, you need to add additional SUs (sashing units) to the blocks on the left and top edges of your quilt.

And don't forget the one last cornerstone square in the upper left corner (cut from your A fabric.)

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