Chock-A-Block Wednesday

Rail Fence

The Rail Fence is a very simple block

that you can use to make a quick quilt.

It also has many ways to put it

together to make a variety of patterns.

Fabric Requirements:

Fabric A, B, C and D

1 - 2" x 28" strip of each fabric

Strip piece the 4 strips together by

sewing together along the long edge

of the strip.  There are 2 things to

remember when doing this, check

your fabric placement before sewing.

And, the most important hint:

When strip piecing you should always

start your seam from the opposite side

of your previous seam.  I leave the

beginning thread tails on when I

strip piece to show me where I started.

This will give you a very tight and

straight strip set.  If you were to sew

all the seams by starting on the same

side, your piece would bow and arc

and you will not be able to cut it easily.

Once you have sewn all your strips

together, square off one end and then

cut 4 - 6 1/2" squares from the strip set.

The way you layout your squares

will determine the pattern of your

quilt.  Here are a couple of options, if you

lay them out as shown above you get:

A quilt that looks like this.

If you lay them out like this,

you get this quilt.

Decide which way you want to

layout your squares and then

sew together in 2 rows, press

the seam in row 1 to the right

and the seam in row 2 to the left.

Sew rows together and press final

seam open to reduce bulk.

Square to 12 1/2".