Block of the Month- April 2015 Economy Patch

Welcome to the block of the month for April. This time, we are looking at one of my all time favourites. It is called the Economy Patch and I am sure that it will come to be a favourite of yours too.

I am going to give you a double serving too because last month, we made a Classic Four Patch so as well as showing you the Economy Patch, I will show you how to do a variation with last month's offering and turn that into an Economy Patch too!

Enough chat! Let's get on with it!! Here is the Economy Patch in all its glory....

And here is a variation...

As you can see, the variation has a patched square in the middle and this time the square is what we call en pointe. Soulds a little bit like ballet and  it means that the square is sitting on its tip instead of flat. Somehow sounds more exotic in French! The variation also only has one row of triangles.
Triangles can sometimes strike fear into the heart of beginners but there is a simple golden rule that you will read about later on.

So, to business! Let's concentrate on the basic one for now and leave the variation for a bit later on. You will need three different fabrics for this one.
Begin with the square. Cut a square 8.5cm x 8.5cm.

TIP: your starting square can be any size at all - we have to choose one so I have gone with the size above.

Next cut another square 2cm larger than the first one. This is to be divided into quarters to make some triangles like this...

You now have four triangles and they are added to the square. Notice that the triangles are flipped around though so that the long end goes against the square. Place the first one on this side....

then the opposite....

then the remaining two overlapping the ends....

iron it now and trim the daggy ears off and it is looking like this....

WARNING!!! When you trim, NEVER trim back to the point on the square! This is your seam allowance and if you trim it off, you will not get a sharp point when you put the next layer on.

Your block measures 11cm x 11cm at the moment. From your final fabric, cut another square 13cm x 13cm. Divide the new square diagonally again as you did before. Now flip and add these four triangles to the block as you did before too....

then the opposite and the last two....

I have pressed and trimmed so that the patch is now exactly 15cm sq. That's it! This little patch can be made in any size at all. The golden rule is to remember to always make your triangles 2cm larger than the square to allow for the seam. This is vital because the points on the squares have to be sharp enough to prick your finger! This would be wrong....

This is what you are after....

Now I did promise a variation and here it is. Take the Classic Four Patch from last month 

and measure it, add the triangles, measure the new square and add the last few triangles and you have this....

You don't need to have a solid square in the middle - for the ordinary Economy Patch, I guess you do but variations are how new blocks are born. You can applique too - sky is the limit!

I hope that you had fun with this one and, once again, thank you so much for stopping by!

Hugs and kisses
Debbie xxx