How to square up a block - part 2

November 20, 7:11 AMQuilting ExaminerKelly Smith

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Continued from last time - here are instructions on how to square up your quilt blocks.

1.    Take a block (not your smallest one since you want all your other blocks to be as close to the smallest one as possible) and place the left and bottom sides of your square ruler on the left and bottom sides of the block. If your ruler is much larger than your block, choose the lines on your ruler that coorrespond to the size if your block.

For example:

If you want your block to finish 10" put the 10" measurement on the corner and line it up with the cut edges and the diagonal as described below.

2.    Align the 45-degree line on the ruler with the 45-degree line of your block. Usually you can do this by looking for corners of the smaller, interior patches and making sure that the line crosses through them.
3.    Make sure that no points are being cut off. If they are, you may need to slide your ruler up or to the right so that you get the center of the block and cut off even pieces all the way around. Sometimes a block is more "off" in one direction than another.

For example:

If your smallest block is 10" and your current block is 10-1/2"  make sure that you set your ruler so that the resulting block will be slightly larger than 10 inches. You will be cutting off a little bit from all four sides, so you don’t want to take too much off on the first cut.

4.    Adjust your ruler as necessary and then use your rotary cutter to slice off the right side of the block, then carefully turn your cutting board (or move yourself around the table) and cut the top off the block. (You don't want to pick up your block because you may lose track of where you were cutting.)
5.    Reposition the ruler so that it lines up with the newly cut corner. Align your 45-degree angle again and trim the right and top again, (if there is anything there to trim - sometimes there isn't, if the block is crooked).
6.    Your block should now be square and the same size as your smallest block. Measure to make sure!
7.    That’s it! Move on to the next block.

For step-by-step photos you can visit Quilt University.