Watch me One Block Wonder

I’m always looking for new techniques and patterns to try. One quilting method in particular called One Block Wonder has been on my to-do list for a while. It’s not a new quilting technique; maybe you’ve heard of it before?

Recently while conveniently shopping in a local quilt store with a friend of mine, I mentioned to her my fascination with the One Block Wonder quilt. The idea piqued her interest so much so that we picked out fabric and are currently having a One Block Wonder quilt-off!

You can see lots of examples of beautiful One Block Wonder quilts if you search through Pinterest (which is my favourite way to search for quiltspiration – that’s quilty inspiration!). By the way – you can find me on Pinterest here and be sure to follow Janome Canada, too!

One Block Wonder means one block is used repeatedly throughout the entire quilt. In this case, you work with a triangle block and the same fabric is used throughout. There are several different ways to sew your One Block Wonder together, but at the very basic level, the construction can be the same as other triangle quilts (such as this one which I did earlier this year).

If you look at it closely, you can see how the hexagons come together. Some people prefer to sew their hexagons together first, or sew half hexagons first. If you choose to do half hexagons or sew your triangles together in rows, you will have to take greater care to make sure the hexagons line up as perfectly as possible.

What intrigues me about this concept is how it transforms a piece of fabric into a quilty wonder. You can line up colours and shapes, and get really technical and look for repeats in your pattern which will create flow and dimension to your finished quilt. You also create darker and lighter pieces depending on how you match up your hexagons.

I’ve just started to pull some of the pieces together. I know I’ll be spending A LOT of time fussing about with my hexagons before I settle on my finished design. I’m going to set up a quilt wall and try to be patient (this will be hard for me), letting the layout and design stew and simmer until I’m happy with how it all comes together.

If you are thinking about trying a One Block Wonder quilt, here are some tips to get started:

• Choose a fabric with a big, bold design. Smaller designs will not work for this technique.
• Ideally you want to have 3-5 main colours for your fabric.
• You will need at least 4-5 yards to make a lap quilt (and more if you want to make a bigger quilt). I grabbed a different beautiful fabric before I settled not this one but the roll had less than 4 yards and wouldn’t have been enough.
• Find your repeats in your fabric. You want to have multiple triangles with the same print design. Depending on the size of your fabric pattern, this may dictate the size of your triangles.

You’re invited to come along with me on this journey over the next month as I lay this quilt together and sew it on my Janome Skyline S7! Come follow me on Instagram where I will post updates on my account and in the stories – I definitely want some feedback. And will likely need some objective help!

Have you dabbled in this One Block Wonder technique? What is your favourite quilting technique or tip?