Mini-Blocks make quilting fun!
Mini-blocks are the Secret of
One Block Only Quilts
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What in the world are Mini-blocks? Okay, I promised Kiddie pool—fun not deep end panic. Here it is...Mini-blocks are the baby steps within One Block Only Traditional Quilt Blocks. Whether it is a pattern or a kit—these little blocks are what will make the whole project go faster. They take the mystic out of quilt patterns. On each page of this site you’ll find a sampling of Traditional Quilt Blocks. They all have a name and everyone of them are easily broken into mini-blocks. I promise you that after you have done a couple of these, you will be able to look at a pattern—whether in a magazine or any other source—and break it down into mini-blocks. It’s that simple!
Look at the center quilt block
How?
When I started building one block quilts from one Traditional Block, I discovered something—there is a great deal of repetition and redundancy in making them.
Looking at the center block, again...
Can you see...
• The “cat’s head”
• The “chevron”
• The “square-in-a-square”?
Can you see how most of these mini-blocks are made of
• “Triangle-Squares”?
As you can see the one Traditional Block may look complicated. But when you break it down into Mini-Blocks —it isn’t. Once the Mini-Blocks are assembled, it is only a
matter of sewing a few blocks into a quilt. In this case:
nine 16-inch square blocks are sewn into a nice lap quilt
or baby quilt of 48”x48”.
I’ve put together a booklet that explains how to make these different mini-blocks. It is also a booklet with lots of information for the beginner guilter. From selecting
the fabric to sewing tips.
Click here to get in on some very special offers!
As I mentioned before, these are BIG BABY STEPS...You are playing with big pieces of fabric. No less than six inches—more like 8 inches to even 12-16 inches. What makes that so special is as a beginner, you start with large pieces (like those big blocks as a kid!). You
get a chance to learn the basics on pieces big enough
to understand how they go together. I wish I’d had this idea when I started—or someone to lead me through the steps. Instead I had to stumble and bumble around until I came to know how to do the whole process easier. A lot of trial and error...
...More error than trial, I'd have to say.
I learned to sew when I was about 8 yrs old (when in
self defense my mom sat me down and explained the basics of sewing and let me begin making doll clothes).
I took that with me into quilting. Thirty years ago, my first quilts had half-inch seams (and I wondered why
they didn’t work!) I’ve learned a lot in the last six years and now I want to teach quilting in a way that helps everyone. That’s why
I founded One Block Only. After discovering Traditional Quilt blocks can make a whole quilt by themselves—
it all flowed together. My beginner patterns for quilting are designed to introduce you to a part of quilting—deeply rooted in its traditions. Out of respect to all the quilters who came before, those who designed the blocks originally, my
quilt patterns are based on one quilt block only. The quilt patterns and quilt kits are broken into Mini-Blocks. You are taught basic quilting techniques using that process. Learning to quilt is easier for you,
the beginning quilter. Every part of One Block Only Beginner Quilting is designed to help you over the hurtles of learning how to make quilts. I’ve done the trials and errors so you don’t have to!
A suggestion for the new quilter
Try one of the Specials (offered above) and you will get THREE QUILT PATTERNS that will make a quilt of at least 48"x48" (lap-, baby- or a wallhanging-size). You will work with easy patterns with big pieces that will give you the confidence to go on to bigger and bolder quilts!The Mini-Block process makes it easy to finish a quilt in a few days. You can whip out a gift faster than you'll ever imagine!
Another suggestion for the new quilter:
Try my Block of the Month Club.
It is designed to take you through the Mini-Block Booklet one mini-block at a time. Each month you will get a block that features one of the mini-blocks as it’s main component. It’s a bit different because the blocks are smaller but you are still working with large pieces. The finished square is approximately 15”x15”. When you finish them all, you will have a pretty sampler quilt. Such as the first month’s block “Building Blocks” teaches you how to strip. Then the second block "Broken Band"
shows you the basics for making a square in a square.
A LITTLE HISTORY LESSON
Many young girls (usually by the age of eight) began their sewing and quilting skills with a sampler quilt top.Somewhere in the nineteenth century a tradition was started where a young girl needed to have completed twelve quilt tops before she got engaged. A huge quilting bee would be held to turn these tops into quilts. Since many girls married by about sixteen, the early start of age eight was a necessity! Aren’t you glad Quilting today is for fun!
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