The easy Empire Cross quilt block is a wonderful traditional block that creates wonderful secondary designs when made into a quilt. With only half square triangles, snowballed corners, and rectangles, the block goes together quickly. The classic block only has two colors and a background but I had to make it my own with four colors! Let’s jump in!
Fabric Requirements for a 12″ Finished Empire Cross Quilt Block:
- Light/Pink: 4 – 2″ x 5″ rectangles, 4 – 2″ x 3.5″ rectangles, and 8 – 2″ squares
- Medium/Green: 2 – 4″ squares
- Dark/Red: 4 – 3.5″ x 5″ rectangles, and 1 – 3.5″ square
- Dark/Black: 2 – 4″ squares
Sewing Directions:
Pointy Units:
Step 1:
This unit is sort of a Flying Geese block only the position of the snowballed squares is different. You can see the first four steps in the picture below.
- Mark a diagonal line from corner to corner on the back of a Light/Pink 2″ square.
- Place the Light/Pink square on a corner of a Dark/Red 3.5″ x 5″ rectangle and sew along the marked line (or close to the marked line).
- Match up the corners of the Light/Pink square and press.
- Trim away the excess seam allowance.
- Refold the Light/Pink triangle.
Step 2:
Now repeat Step 1 on the adjacent corner of the short side of the Dark/Red rectangle as shown below.
Step 3:
Repeat Steps 1 and 2 for a total of four Pointy units.
Half Square Triangles:
Step 4:
Using a Medium/Green 4″ square and a Dark/Black 4″ square, sew together two Half Square Triangles. You can find my detailed tutorial for making Half Square Triangles at https://quiltembroiderypdf.com/how-to-sew-a-basic-half-square-triangle-block. In the picture below you can see that I’ve sewn 1/4″ on each side of the marked line and cut them apart along the marked line.
Step 5:
In this picture I’ve opened up the Half Square Triangle, pressed the seam allowance toward the black fabric, and trimmed/squared up the unit to 3.5″ square.
Step 6:
Repeat Steps 4 and 5 for a total of four Half Square Triangle units.
Corner Units:
Step 7:
- Match up a Step 6 Half Square Triangle with a Light/Pink 2″ x 3.5″ rectangle and sew together as shown in the top left image in the picture below.
- Press the seam allowance toward the pink rectangle – top right image.
- Sew a Light/Pink 2″ x 5″ rectangle as shown in the bottom left image.
- Press the seam allowance toward the pink rectangle – bottom right image.
Step 8:
Repeat Step 7 for a total of four Corner units like the ones in the picture below.
Putting It All Together:
Step 9:
Lay out the Pointy units, the Corner units, and the Dark/Red 3.5″ square as shown in the picture below. From here the block goes together like a basic Nine Patch block.
Step 10:
Sew the units in three rows.
Step 11:
Press the seam allowance toward the Pointy units as shown in the picture below.
Step 12:
Sew the three rows together to complete the block.
Step 13:
Press the seam allowances away from the center of the block. You’re done!
Layout Suggestions:
Here’s the basic 4 x 4 layout using the classic two-color and a background design:
And the same layout using my block coloring:
And here it is again with a slight variation with an Hourglass unit in the center and two color Pointy units.
Here’s an example with sashing and cornerstones in between the blocks.
And here’s an on-point layout. Looks so different!
For this example I’ve added sashing and cornerstones plus used the red for setting triangles.
A large Hourglass block can make a great alternating block.
And here is a simple chain block alternating with the Empire Cross.
