How To Square Up A Block

Squaring up a block is the best way to be sure that your blocks are all the same size. This is easy, but can be time consuming with a lot of blocks, on say a king size quilt. But it is worth the time.  It will ensure that your quilt lies flat, and that the blocks all line up the way they should.  Begin by finding your square ruler with a diagonal line.  I recommend that you have at least two at your disposal – a 6-1/2 inch square and a 12-1/2 inch square.

Place the diagonal so it goes through the middle of the block (or along the seam of a HST), putting the halfway point in the middle. So, for a 2-1/2 inch block, put the 1-1/4 inch mark in the dead center.

Cut off the excess on two sides.

Turn it around and line up the cut edges with your finished size, be sure your diagonal is across the center, then cut off the excess of the remaining two sides

Oops, I moved the ruler and didn’t notice it before I took the pic.  It is now 2-1/2 inches square.

If you have a more complex block, the procedure is the same.  Start by putting the center of your ruler in the center of the block.

So here we want a 4-1/4 inch block so put the 2-1/8 inch mark in the center.  Cut off the right side and the top.

Now turn it around 180 degrees, and line it up again, with the cut edges at the final size, the diagonal line running through the middle and to the corner points.  Cut off the right side and top again.

Voila!!  No matter how careful I am, my blocks are never straight after sewing, so I do this with all my blocks.  After the block is constructed, I’ll square it up to the final size – mostly 12-1/2 inches.  Then the blocks always line up, the points are straight and not cut off or floating.

These QOV blocks squared up to 7-1/2 inches.  You’ll be seeing more of them in future posts.

I hope this is helpful, happy Quilting!!