Disappearing Four-Patch...

Do you know about the Disappearing Four-Patch Block?

I learned about it while on Susan's retreat. One of the Donnas was

 working on a number of kidlet quilts...quick and colorful...the whole

time we were together. This one caught my eye so I asked for details.

The Disappearing Four-Patch block begins with a regular Four-Patch, using 

5" squares of fabric. You can also begin with 5" wide strips of fabric - one 

light and one dark. After you sew the strips together, cut into  5" segments.

Then alternate the segments as shown in the first picture and sew them into the

 traditional Four-Patch block. The next step forms the "disappearing" variation.

After pressing the seams on the block, cut one inch from the center seamline on

each side as well as top and bottom. You can see the cut lines in the top picture.

If you use blocks larger than 5", you can adjust the cutting lines to suit your taste.
(The red arrows show cutting lines on both sides, top and bottom of the block.)

Now, leave the center of the block (and the corner blocks) alone and 

rotate each of the bar sections 90º. (You can see the difference between the original block (A)  and the new block (B) in this picture. Your next step is to sew all the new components back together as laid out into one block.   Once you've made the desired number of blocks, you can join them, with or without sashing. An extra border will make a larger kid's quilt.   It doesn't get much easier than that, and the overall effect is bound to make a youngster very, very happy. I'm going to be making one of these very soon. (I want to finish two Headstart quilts in April.) I'll be heading over to Crazy Quilter's today to teach another class.

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