Let’s take a look at how to sew the All Hallows quilt block. This traditional star block makes a beautiful secondary Pinwheel design when multiple blocks are sewn together. It uses only Half Square Triangles, Square in a Square and Flying Geese units to construct but there are a lot of points to match up! Originally it is made with only three colors but I had to add in two more to really get the secondary design to pop. Let’s get started!
Fabric Requirements for a 12″ Finished All Hallows Quilt Block:
- Light/White: 4 – 4.5″ squares, 4 – 3″ squares, and 4 – 2.5″ squares
- Medium/Green: 2 – 3″ squares, and 4 – 2.5″ squares
- Medium/Purple: 2 – 3″ squares, and 4 – 2.5″ x 4.5″ rectangles
- Dark/Green: 2 – 3″ squares, and 4 – 2.5″ squares
- Dark/Purple: 2 – 3″ squares, and 12 – 2.5″ squares
Sewing Directions:
Half Square Triangle Units:
Step 1:
Using a Light/White 3″ square and a Dark/Purple 3″ square sew together a Half Square Triangle unit as follows:
- Mark a diagonal line from corner to corner on the back of the Light/White square.
- Match up a Light/White and a Dark/Purple 3″ square, right sides together, and sew 1/4″ (or a little less) on each side of the marked line.
- Cut along the diagonal line. You will have two half-square triangle patches.
- Open up the patch and press the seam allowance toward the darker fabric.
- Trim the unit to 2.5″ square.
You can see these steps in the picture below.
For a detailed tutorial check out my blog post at https://quiltembroiderypdf.com/how-to-sew-a-basic-half-square-triangle-block.
Step 2:
Repeat Step 1 for a total of four White/Dark Purple Half Square Triangle units.
Step 3:
Repeat Steps 1 and 2 only using the Light/White 3″ squares and the Medium/Purple 3″ squares as shown in the picture below.
Step 4:
Repeat Steps 1 and 2 only using the Medium/Green and Dark/Green 3″ squares as shown below.
Flying Geese Units:
Step 5:
Using the Medium/Purple 2.5″ x 4.5″ rectangles and Light/White 2.5″ squares, make a Flying Geese unit. You can find my detailed tutorial using my no-trim method for making perfect Flying Geese at https://quiltembroiderypdf.com/how-to-sew-a-basic-flying-geese-block. In the picture below you can see the first four steps.
Step 6:
Now repeat Step 5 only on the adjacent corner and using a Dark/Purple 2.5″ square.
Step 7:
Repeat Steps 5 and 6 for a total of four Flying Geese units like those in the picture below.
Corner Units:
Step 8:
Using a Step 2 and a Step 3 Half Square Triangle unit, sew together a two-patch unit as shown in the picture below. Press the seam allowance toward the Medium/Purple fabric.
Step 9:
Repeat Step 8 for a total of four two-patch units as shown below.
Step 10:
Sew together a Step 7 Flying Geese unit and a Step 9 two-patch unit as shown below and press the seam allowance toward the two-patch unit.
Step 11:
Repeat Step 10 for a total of four Corner units like the ones in the picture below.
Square in a Square Units:
Step 12:
Using a Light/White 4.5″ square, two Dark/Purple 2.5″ squares, one Dark/Green 2.5″ square, and one Medium/Green 2.5″ square, sew together a Square in a Square patch.
You can find my detailed tutorial for making a basic Square in a Square block at https://quiltembroiderypdf.com/how-to-sew-a-basic-square-in-a-square-block.
In the picture below you can see the first four steps that use a Dark/Purple and a Dark/Green 2.5″ square.
Step 13:
Repeat Step 12 on the other two corners of the Light/White 4.5″ square to complete the patch. This time you will be using a Dark/Purple and a Medium/Green 2.5″ square. Make sure you get the color orientation as shown below.
Step 14:
Repeat Steps 12 and 13 for a total of four Square in Square units like the ones below.
Center Pinwheel Unit:
Step 15:
Lay out the Step 4 Half Square Triangle units as shown in the picture below.
Step 16:
Sew the patches into two rows.
Step 17:
Press the seam allowances toward the Medium/Green fabric. Notice that the seam allowances in each row go the same direction.
Step 18:
Sew the two rows together.
Step 19:
Press the seam allowance. You can see that I pressed using the tweak/twirl/furl method and all the seam allowances lay in a clockwise direction. This method makes the unit lay flatter but you can press however you wish.
Putting It All Together:
Step 20:
Lay out the Center Pinwheel unit, the Corner units, and the Square in a Square units as shown in the picture below. From here the block goes together like a basic Nine Patch block.
Step 21:
Sew the units into three rows.
Step 22:
Press the seam allowances toward the Square in a Square units as shown below.
Step 23:
Sew the three rows together to complete the block.
Step 24:
Press the seam allowances away from the center of the block as shown in the picture below.
Layout Ideas:
Here’s the basic 4 x 4 layout using similar colors as the tutorial. Isn’t that a great secondary pinwheel and diamond design?
In this example, I’ve added in narrow sashing and cornerstones.
Here’s a two-color option.
This is an on-point layout with solid color setting triangles.
