Zig Zag Block

Designed by Julie A Bolduc

Using the Quilt as You Piece Method

This is the 15th quilt block tutorial in a series on how to make quilt blocks using the Quilt as You Piece Method. This quilt block can be completely made in the Quilt as you Piece method. The block in the photo has a border added to it because, when I finished it, it was not big enough. How I added the border is in these instructions.

Materials Needed Makes one Block:
• Fabric: Follow the diagram for the sizes. Cut double the number of pieces indicated for the front and back making sure the back pieces mirror the front pieces.
• Batting Follow the diagram for the sizes making them exact. Cut one piece of batting for each patch in the block.
• Cotton Sewing thread in neutral color, 50wt preferred.
• Washable Liquid Glue
• Washable Glue Stick

Tools Needed These are the tools I used. Use what you have.
• Rotary Cutter & Cutting Mat
• Pair of Fabric Scissors
• Temporary Marking Device
• 18"x3" quilt ruler
• 10.5"x10.5" Square Ruler
• Dry Iron & Pressing Board

Instructions

1. First thing to do after you cut your fabric into the triangles as instructed in the chart, is to cut them to 10-1/2" long from the wide end to the narrow end. This is very important to make sure they get sewn together correctly.
2. You can keep the batting pieces long if you like. They can be trimmed later.
3. Trim your batting as you go, after adding each piece and after quilting each piece.
4. Use the Quilt as You Piece method for all pieces. Quilt as you add each piece or wait until the block is complete.
5. Trim to 10-1/2" x 10-1/2". Do stay stitching, an 1/8" in from the edges, all the way around.
6. Size Tip: If your block ends up not quite big enough, you can always add a border around it. I had to with the one in the photo. I first trimmed my block to 9-1/2"x9-1/2". I cut some of my 2-1/2" wide strips in half, so they ended up at 1-1/4", to make the border. I cut them longer than they needed to be and added them in the quilt as you go method. Courthouse Steps style. You can do this with any block that is not big enough.

Block Name & Design Disclaimer: I do not know if this block exists anywhere else. If it does, I do not know the actual name for it. This one came out of my head. If you know the actual name of this block, I would not mind changing it and giving credit where credit is due.

This pattern sheet just provides what materials you need and what size pieces you need to make a 10" block and in what order to sew the pieces of the block together. It does not go into complete detail how I put them together in the Quilt as You Piece manner, please refer to our tutorial of the Five Strip Rail Fence Block for the basic concept and instructions on how to do Quilt as You Piece for this block and all other blocks in this series.