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.

Four Square Variation

Sample Quilt Layouts

The Four Square Variation quilt block offers up all sorts of interesting possibilies for your quilt designs simply by taking note of the directional nature of the quilt block.

The quilt layout featured below on the left illustrates this. Note the subtle secondary patterns emerging of stars appearing when four of the blocks meet up adjacent to each other.

The quilt layout illustrated on the right sets the blocks on point with large corner triangles applied to each block. Depending on the selection of colours for these larger triangles, an additional, subtle vertical design emerges when the blocks are set side by side in your quilt.

Download the FOUR SQUARE VARIATION free quilt block pattern

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