Many quiltmakers like to make six inch quilt blocks in order to use a greater variety of blocks in a sampler style quilt. Another reason might be to test out the look of a block in a smaller size in order to save on the fabrics (just in case the block looks very different than in your imagination).

Whatever your reason for creating six inch blocks, the pieces are all just smaller versions of larger sized quilt blocks -- such as the most popular size, the 12" quilt block. This is what makes quiltmaking so exciting -- you are the designer and get to choose all the components.

Catch As You Can

Free Quilt Block Pattern

The Catch As You Can quilt block is a four patch, and would be a welcome design to use as a teaching tool for quilting instructors. It is not a commonly used block but it includes three different pieced patches.

The half square triangle units are the first that you will learn in quiltmaking. Branching out on that, you will make quarter square triangles as a next step. When you master these two patches, it will be a breeze to make what quilters often refer to as three quarter square triangles -- using three triangles to fill the square -- which use both of these cut pieces. All in all, this pinwheel design is a fun block to produce.

NEXT - Sample quilt layouts for CATCH AS YOU CAN quilt block