Easy Pinwheel Quilt Block Pattern

Can't Stop Spinnin'
12" Finished Quilt Block

This easy pinwheel quilt block is assembled with one simple little unit that's sewn in three different color combinations. It makes the block appear to be complicated, but trust me, it goes together in a flash.

Don't feel limited to using the colors shown in the drawing. The illustrations are there to help make piecing instructions clear, and give you guidelines for color value placement, but choose fabrics and colors that appeal to your tastes.

Do try to keep the values consistent as shown, so that the spin of the inner components becomes visible when the quilt blocks are assembled.

The instructions make one quilt block. Repeat to make as many blocks as needed for your quilt.

Fabric	Qty	Size
"Yellow" Centers	4	3 1/2" x 3 1/2" squares
"Medium Green" leg	2	3 1/2" x 6 1/2" rectangles
"Medium Blue" leg	2	3 1/2" x 6 1/2" rectangles
"Light Blue" leg	4	3 1/2" x 6 1/2" rectangles
"Black" triangles	4	3-1/2" x 3 1/2" squares

Use an exact 1/4" seam allowance for all seams. Cut all pieces with the fabric's straight grain parallel to outer edges.

Make the Pieced Units

1. Draw a diagonal line from corner to corner on the reverse side of each 3-1/2 inch square (you may need to use a light pencil on the black squares).

2. Place a yellow square at one end of a medium green rectangle, right sides together and edges matching exactly.

3. Sew a seam from corner to corner, following the marked line on the square. Press to set the seam, then cut excess triangle edge, leaving an approximate 1/4" seam allowance.Carefully press the seam allowance towards the green rectangle. Some people prefer to press the seam allowance before trimming-back. Try both methods to see which works best for you.If your squares are not terribly light, it's fine to press towards the squares on these and all other units.

IMPORTANT
Be sure to sew the square to the rectangle end exactly as shown here, not in its mirror image position.

Did You Know
Setting the iron down on the aligned units helps keep them stuck together for sewing. A big help for chain piecing.

4. Sew a yellow square to the end of each medium blue rectangle. Trim just as you did for previous units.

5. Now sew a black square to the end of each light blue rectangle. Trim and press as before.

6. Sew a yellow/green unit to a light blue/black unit, arranging them as shown here. Press seam allowance either direction. Repeat to make a second identical unit.

7. Sew a yellow/medium blue unit to a light blue/black unit, arranging them as shown here. Press seam allowance either direction. Repeat to make a second identical unit.

Assemble the Quilt Block

1. Arrange the components of a block as shown below, turning units so that the yellow triangles form a pinwheel at the block's center.

2. Sew the top two units together. Press seam allowance toward the green rectangle. Repeat, sewing the bottom components together, again pressing toward the green rectangle.

Join the two halves to complete the block. Press.

Side-by-Side Layout

The layout below illustrates how 16 identical blocks would look placed side by side. A scrap quilt will look somewhat different, since a variety of components are used.

Double Pinwheel Quilt

Quilt Guilds: You may use this pattern in your Guild classes provided the instructions are marked with the copyright information above.

e-mail Janet Wickell