Charmed Whirlgigs Tutorial

Here is the tutorial of my favorite quilt pattern. I have named it "Charmed Whirlygigs" because using charm squares make it oh so easy. I am not a photographer by a long shot and trying to take pictures while using both hands to iron etc. make me even worse than i usually am. LOL

Materials:

Charm Packs- at least 2 packs, you will use 2 charm squares for each block. If you have a charm pack that has 42 squares then you can do a 6 by 7 square layout for your quilt.

Background fabric- I don't have an exact measurement for this because I always have a fair amount of white muslin here. You will get 18 "pieces" from each 5" strip that you cut. This will make more sense as you read further. You will need 168 "pieces" total for the 6 by 7 layout.

Directions:

Cut ten 5" strips from your background fabric using your WOF (width of fabric)
Then subcut these strips into 4 1/2" rectangles. You will need 84- 41/2"by 5" rectangles
Line a small stack of rectangles with the 4 1/2" sides on the top and bottom and the 5" on the sides. I use a 5" marked square on my cutting mat to line them up and to make the next step much easier.
Measure in 2" on the top of the rectangle (from left to right) and mark with a little line. Come in 2" on the bottom of the rectangle (right to left) and again make a little mark. Mine didn't show up well but if you enlarge the picture you should see it.
Now take a ruler and line it up with your little marks. Cut from the bottom mark up diagonally to the top mark. You don't have to make the marks if you want to just use the ruler to find the 2 inches in on the top and bottom. The marks just make it easier and more accurate. I do stack about 6 rectangles at once using a large rotary cutter.
Take your charm packs making sure that they are all lined up right side up and cut off 1/2" on one side only.
Place the cut charms squares in the 5" block on your cutting mat with the 4 1/2 "sides on the top and bottom just like you did with your background fabric. Mark and cut.
Place your cut pieces beside your sewing machine exactly the way they are going to be sewn. It is easy to get these backwards and this helps that not to happen.
Pick up the charm piece and lay it on top of the background piece with the tip just a smudge peeking over and a little background showing at the bottom. Look at the picture below to see.
I chain piece all my pieces, but I would recommend making a test square first to make sure everything is lined up correctly.
Press the seam on the charm side and then open and press toward the charm side.
I forgot an important picture here and don't know blogger well enough to slip it in but I take all 4 pressed pieces and line them up by my sewing machine the way they will look when completed. Again, this just helps in not sewing pieces in the wrong way. Sew the 2 top pieces together and then the bottom 2 pieces.
Press your top and bottom pieces toward the charm side and then place together pinning at the middle seam, nestling the 2 seams together. This is very important because will insure accurate piecing.
Sew together and then press to one side and stand back and admire your beautiful block. And no trimming!!! When I first started making this quilt, the directions made the block with sides sticking out and you had to trim the whole block. Because I really don't care to trim ;-) I fiddled around till I came up with this method. I am sure many others have come up with the same idea. I just wanted to share with others.
If my directions aren't clear please let me know......this is my first tutorial so I am kind of green.

I was thinking that we should maybe start on February 1st for our quiltalong. That will give everyone time to buy fabrics if they need to. I will also have time to set up a flickr account for us. I will also post directions for a 5 1/2 " by 6" rectangle if anyone want to make larger squares.

I will post the giveaway next.

Thank you everyone,

Cathy