Snowflake Things Quilt Tutorial

Today is brought to you by my friend Ruth of Pippin Sequim and Vanessa Christenson's Color Me Happy which is arriving in the shop this week. Take it away Ruth...

Hi folks!  I'm chiming in today to share a tutorial for this fun quilt that was inspired by snowflakes and radio antenna.  It's pretty quick to whip up since most of the blocks are cut from pieced strips, but the 60° triangle construction makes it a little different from your standard quilt.  And just so you know... even though it looks like there are hexagons, there are NO y-seams required!  This quilt is built from two types of blocks - low volume striped triangle blocks and sets of six blocks that together make up each snowflake thingy.  For the quilt above, I used 32 low volume blocks and 4 sets of 6 snowflake blocks. 

To make the low volume striped triangles:

1. Cut four 2.5" strips of low volume prints.  I used fat quarters cut in the long (21-22") direction, but you can also use yardage and cut it width of fabric (WOF).  If you are using fat quarters, you should be able to cut 4 triangles from each strip set.  If you are using yardage, you should be able to cut 8. 
2. Stack the four strips with at least one end even, and then cut the end at a 60° angle by aligning the 60° ruler mark with the long edge of the strips.





3. Sew the four strips together along the long edges, aligning the angled ends so that the fabric meets at the seam line:





4. Press the pieced strips, then use the 60° line on your ruler to trim the angled edge and remove any unevenness.





5. Turn the pieced strip around for cutting.  Align the 60° line on your ruler with the top edge of the fabric and the edge of the ruler with the obtuse angle to cut off an equilateral triangle.





6. Rotate your ruler (not the strip) to cut the next triangle.  Align the 60° line on your ruler with the bottom edge of the fabric and the edge of the ruler with the obtuse angle to cut off another equilateral triangle.





7. Repeat steps 5 and 6 until the whole strip is cut.

To make the large Snowflake Things:

1. Cut 6 sets of the light and dark print pieces indicated in the image below and arrange in stacks as shown. Make three stacks like the one on the left and three stacks like the mirror image on the right.  The short light prints next to each dark print can be cut in varying lengths between 1.5" and 2.5" long.  After sewing onto the dark prints, the resulting strip should be cut to the length indicated in the center.





2. Sew together each stack and press.
3. Align the 60° angle mark on your ruler with the bottom edge of each birthday cake and trim the all-background edge of each pieced pyramid.  Trim as close to the edge as possible. (See pictures below)





4. Using the 60° angle mark on your ruler and aligning the corner your piece with the 9 3/8" mark, cut the remaining edge to make an equilateral triangle that is 9 3/8" long at the side.





5. Pair the resulting 6 triangles into 3 sets, each having background strips pointing in opposite directions.  Sew a 1" foreground strip to each of the six triangles, using the same print for each triangle in the 3 pairs.  The strip should be sewn so that it's touching the short edges of the foreground strips in the triangles, as in the photo below.  Press seams.  





6. Trim edges of the new strips to be even with the triangle edges.



 

To make the small Snowflake Things:
To sew the smaller snowflake, use the instructions for the large snowflake, but leave off the bottom two layers (8.5" and 9.75").  Trim to a 60° triangle, then sew a 1" dark strip on the side and then sew a 10.75" by 2.5" light/background strip onto the bottom before trimming it all up.

 
Finishing the quilt top:
After you have your blocks finished and laid out, sew the top together in rows, using this guide to sewing 60° triangles.  Sew the rows together and then trim the sides straight to finish off the top.

Printable PDF here

Thanks Ruth! You are awesome!