Flying Kite Quilt Block Tutorial

Skill Level: Confident Beginner

Making a Flying Kite quilt block is Easy Peasey when you paper piece it!

No templates to fiddle around with and perfect little blocks...every time! And the seam allowances are ALWAYS pressed in the right direction.

On this page, you'll find:

• Free 4" and 6" patterns to download

• Complete illustrated instructions

• Two ideas for quilts - one would make a terrific baby quilt

• Links to resources for other pinwheel type blocks like the Flying Kite
  

Let's begin!

Step 3: Assemble the Flying Kite units

Cut the units apart between the dashed lines. This is a rough cut—everything will get prettied up at the end—even all those scraggly thread tails!

Dab a dot of Elmer's glue stick (the one that goes on purple and dries clear) on the unprinted side of the pattern behind #1. Adhere the wrong side of your fabric Patch #1 to the paper, using the dashed lines for foolproof placement.

You can see how the fabric extends past the dashed outline. We'll trim the excess off at the end for a perfect block.

With right sides together (RST) match the long edge of #2 with #1. (see arrows)

Stitch on the solid line between #1 and #2, starting and stopping past the dotted lines.

Press.

Position #3, RST, with the sewn patches—the long edge with#2 and the short edge with #1.

Stitch the seam between #3 and #1.

Press.

At this point, we need to trim #3 to establish the placement line for the final patch.

Match the edge of your ruler to the black seamline between #3 and #4. To crease the paper along the ruler's edge, you'll need to pull the it away from the stitching (see the red circle below).

If you accidentally rip the paper too far, you can use a piece of Scotch Brand Magic Tape to repair it. Just be careful not to iron directly on the tape—it will melt! This shouldn't be a problem though, as all the pressing is done from the fabric side of the unit.

Line up the 1/4" mark with the folded edge (red arrow) and trim with your rotary cutter.

Align the short bias sides of #4, RST, with the sewn unit.

Stitch the seam between #3 and #4, starting and stopping outside the dashed lines.

Press.

To trim the units to size, align the 1/4" mark of your ruler with the solid black outside line of each triangular units.

Trim with your rotary cutter and repeat for all sides of all four units.

One of the benefits of paperpiecing is that the seam allowances will automatically nest if you follow the order of piecing provided.

Select two adjacent units and with RST pin them, nesting the SA at the center. I like to feed the center or squared end into my sewing machine first.

You can see in the photo above that I've switched back to my regular 1/4" foot. I am stitching just at the right edge of the black line, at a scant 1/4"

I've found that it's not necessary (most of the time) to push the pin through both layers of paper—through the top layer and then both fabric layers is usually enough.

Repeat for the second pair.

Press with the seam allowance following in the same direction or towards #1. (You can see the SA peeking out below in the corners below.)

With RST, pin the two halves together, again taking care to match the center. Stitch starting and stopping past the dashed outline.

Press. Twirl the SA if you'd like to reduce bulk in the center of the block.

Trim the dog ears with a scissor (the only one left to trim is circled in red) and your finished Flying Kite quilt block looks like this...

Quilt Ideas using the Flying Kite block

Put all the blocks together in a straight set with simple sashing and cornerstones and this is what it looks like...

Now swap in all sorts of bright kid prints and you'll have a terrific baby quilt!