Looking for the perfect companion block to pair with your Friendship block? Meet the Diamonds in Squares quilt block—an eye-catching, 12″ design that’s easier to sew than it looks! This versatile block adds sparkle and movement to your quilt layout, especially when used as an alternating block.
With clean lines and bold geometry, it also stands strong on its own, making it a great choice for everything from samplers to full quilt repeats. In this tutorial, I’ll walk you through each step so you can confidently add this elegant yet simple block to your quilting lineup.
Fabric Requirements for a 12″ Finished Diamonds in Squares Quilt Block:
- White: 12 – 3.5″ squares, and 8 – 2.5″ squares
- Medium Pink: 1 – 6.5″ square
- Dark Pink: 4 – 3.5″ squares, and 8 – 1.5″ squares
- Dark Blue: 4 – 3.5″ x 6.5″ rectangles
Sewing Directions:
Corner Units:
Step 1:
Using a White 2.5″ square and a Dark Pink 3.5″ square, “snowball” a corner of the Dark Pink square with the White square. Here are the steps going from top to bottom, left to right:
- Mark a diagonal line from corner to corner on the back of the White 2.5″ square.
- Sew a White 2.5″ square to the Dark Pink square along the marked line.
- Match the corners of the White square and press.
- Open the small square up and trim the seam allowance.
- Refold.
Repeat on the opposite corner of the Dark Pink square.
Step 2:
Repeat Step 1 for a total of four Corner units like the ones shown below.
Square in a Square Unit:
Step 3:
Using the Medium Pink 6.5″ square and four White 3.5″ squares, repeat Step 1 on all four corners of the Medium Pink 6.5″ square. You can check out my detailed tutorial for making the Square in a Square block at https://quiltembroiderypdf.com/how-to-sew-a-basic-square-in-a-square-block
Flying Geese Units:
Step 4:
- Make four Flying Geese units (as shown in the picture below) using the four Dark Blue 3.5″ x 6.5″ rectangles and eight White 3.5″ squares.
- This is the same technique used in Step 1 except that adjacent corners are used instead of opposite corners.
- You can find my detailed no-trim method for making perfect Flying Geese blocks at https://quiltembroiderypdf.com/how-to-sew-a-basic-flying-geese-block
Step 5:
Now we’ll add some interest to the Flying Geese units!
- “Snowball” the Dark Pink 1.5″ squares to the White corners of the Step 4 units as shown in the picture below.
- This is the same technique as Step 1.
- Repeat for a total of four units.
Putting It All Together:
Step 6:
Layout the Corner units, the Square in a Square unit, and the Flying Geese units as shown in the picture below. From here the block goes together like an uneven Nine Patch block.
Step 7:
Sew the units into three rows as shown below.
Step 8:
Press the seam allowances away from the Flying Geese units as shown in the picture below.
Step 9:
Now sew the three rows together to complete the block.
Step 10:
Finally, press the seam allowances toward the center of the block as shown below.
Layout Ideas:
As the Diamonds in Squares block is best used as an alternating block, I haven’t included any layouts using just this block.
Here’s the alternating layout with the Friendship block in colors similar to this tutorial. The blocks mesh together so that it is hard to tell where one ends and the other begins.
This layout alternates an applique block with the Diamonds and Squares block. It reminds me of roses on a trellis.
This is an on-point layout alternating with the Friendship block and using a light coordinating color for the setting triangles.
This is the same on-point layout as the previous one except that a modified block is used for the setting triangles.
