Schoolhouse Block Tutorial

My last post was a brief one, this one much longer. It’s fun seeing all the 3” house blocks so many of you are sharing on your blogs. I thought about joining in, but just wasn’t into piecing that tiny block with many pieces. At the same time I kept coming across schoolhouse blocks in books and magazines and a blog or two - Needle Turnings and Repro Quilt Lover. When I came across a diagram on the Passion Patchwork blog mapping out the piecing order I was ready to give it a try. A couple people seemed interested in how I pieced my schoolhouse block so I thought I’d share it. I couldn’t find a ruler among the many I own with the right angle for the roof so I paper pieced the roof section. Here we go-

This is the diagram I drew for a 9" finished block-

Cutting instructions for sections A and C-

From white fabric-      2-   2 ½” x 2”

1-    2 ½” x 4 ½”

1-    1 ½” x 3 ½”

2-    1 ½” x 5 ½”

3-    1 ½” x 2 ½”

From blue fabric-        5-   1 ½” x 2 ½”

4-    1 ½” x 3 ½”

2-    1 ½” x 5 ½”

For section B (the roof) you will use the remainder 1 ½” strip of white. You will also need a 2 ½” strip from the white fabric and a 3” strip from the blue.

Piece sections A and C using the numbers in the diagram for piecing order-

My source for paper piecing instructions is Show Me How to Paper Piece by Carol Doak. Use a large needle in your machine (90/14) and a smaller stitch length (18-20 stitches per inch or 1.5 on a machine with a range of 0-5).

I drew section B on tracing paper-

Added 1/4" all around-

Sorry for this poor photo and confusing drawing. If you like, email me and I will send you a pdf of this section.

Click on the the photos to enlarge.

With paper right side up, cover piece 4 (I should have labeled these- piece 4 is the big section of roof) with a piece of your 3" blue strip (cut it making sure it extends at least 1/4" all around). Place a piece of the 2 1/2" white strip on the blue strip so it will cover piece 5. Since section B is asymmetrical it is important that the fabric is right side up on the marked side of the paper.

 Turn over and pin-

 Stitch-

I like using my "add an eight" ruler to trim the seam allowances.

 Press without steam-

Right side of the roof complete. Now start on the other side using the 1 1/2" white strip-

For the triangle use the 3" blue strip. Make sure you have it placed so it will cover the whole triangle when flipped over.

For the last piece (which is actually piece 1 in the diagram) use the 2 1/2" strip-

This is what it looks like after all the pieces are sewn and pressed-

The other side-

Trim all the way around being sure to keep your 1/4" seam allowance-

This is what I do to make sure seams match up where they need to. Measure 1/4" between piece 2 and 3.

I would do the same between pieces 8 and 9, but since I have the paper I can use the 1/4" line.

Keep that pin going straight through both sections and pin on either side. Remove the pin in the middle. Pin the rest of the seam, doing the same where seams need to intersect just right. Stitch.

I pressed the seams toward section B to minimize any blue shadowing through the white.

Not too bad-

  

Remove the paper-

Finished block-

To the one person who made it this far! Hi, Mom! LOL. Please let me know if you have any questions. I didn't show every single step, though it may seem like it. I'm sure there are plenty of videos on Youtube showing you how to paper piece. I always do a quick review in Carol Doak's book and think about what I'm doing before I stitch. Because of the small stitch length you want to avoid having to rip out.

I'm not exactly sure where I'm going with these blocks. Can't believe I've started another quilt! I will probably keep it relatively small - maybe 20 blocks and with 3" white sashing all around.