September Block Instructions

The first block for the bee is a block made up of 7 fabric strips and a background piece, along with a request for each bee member to add a strip of their own fabric.

The block is based on books sitting on a book shelf!

The finished block is 12.5" wide by 15.5" tall.

Supplies in Fabric pack:

 

7 strips of fabric 3" by 10"

Back ground fabric: 13" by 22"

Instructions:

Taking all of your strips, put them into an order you are happy with - take a photo for future reference.

The widest books can stay 3" wide, the slimmest 1.5" wide for the pattern.

Cut the strips into different widths for the books. Make sure to remember your book end scrap and that when sewn together the block needs to be 12.5" wide.

 

This process takes a while so take your time! Once you have sorted out the widths of the strips, start cutting down the heights of the blocks to give you different books sizes. Mine are from 10" tall down to 5" tall.

Take the background fabric and cut strips that match the width of your fabric strips and 13" long. Keep the lengths quite long for sorting out later.

Start stitching all of the books to their corresponding background strips using a 1/4" seam allowance:

Start to stitch each book and background to the next one in the order you have decided, with a 1/4" seam allowance. Don't forget to include your book end!

 

At the end of sewing all your strips together, your block should be 12.5" wide. If it is too big - cut it down as appropriate. If it is too slim, add another book!



 





 

Take the block and square off the top to make a block 12.5" by 15.5.



I hope all this easy to follow!

Inspiration for the block came from Sarah Johnson's quilt Heads or Tails in the book Modern Quilting Bee: Block Party.