Quatrefoil Quilt Block Pattern

The Quatrefoil quilt block (also called the Quarterfoil block) is a traditional block that is easy to sew together and it makes a beautiful quilt! Typically it is made with just two colors and a background but I had to add more fabrics – this also gives you an idea of how it would look as a scrappy quilt. I’ve also done some layout options at the end. Let’s get sewing!

Fabric Requirements for a 12″ Finished Quatrefoil Quilt Block:

Light/White: 1 – 4.5″ square, and 16 – 2.5″ squares
Medium 1/Blue Floral: 4 – 2.5″ x 4.5″ rectangles
Mediium 2/Yellow: 4 – 2.5″ squares
Dark 1/Multicolor: 4 – 2.5″ squares
Dark 2/Green: 4 – 2.5″ x 4.5″ rectangles

Sewing Directions:

Corner Units:

Step 1:

Using eight of the Light/White 2.5″ squares, the Medium 2/Yellow 2.5″ squares, and the Dark 1/Multicolor 2.5″ squares, sew together 4 Four Patch units as shown in the picture below. You can find the tutorial for making a basic Four Patch at https://quiltembroiderypdf.com/how-to-sew-a-basic-four-patch-quilt-block

Flying Geese Units:

Step 2:

Now you can sew together four Flying Geese units using the rest of the Light/White 2.5″ squares and the Medium 1/Blue 2.5″ x 4.5″ rectangles as shown below. You will find the tutorial for making a basic Flying Geese block at https://quiltembroiderypdf.com/how-to-sew-a-basic-flying-geese-block

Step 3:

Next thing is to sew a Dark 2/Green 2.5″ x 4.5″ rectangle to the bottom of a Flying Geese patch from Step 2. In the picture below you can see that I pressed the seam allowance away from the Flying Geese patch.

Step 4:

Repeat Step 3 for a total of four Flying Geese units as shown below.

Putting It All Together:

Step 5:

Using the picture below as a reference, lay out the Corner units, the Flying Geese units, and the Light/White 4.5″ square.

Step 6:

From here the Quatrefoil block goes together like a basic Nine Patch block. You first sew the patches into three rows as shown below.

Step 7:

Then press the seam allowances away from the Flying Geese units as shown in the picture below.

Step 8:

Then you can sew those three rows together to complete the block!

Step 9:

All that’s left is the pressing. Press the seam allowances away from the center of the block as shown below.

Layout Ideas:

This is the basic 4 x 4 layout with colors somewhat similar to the tutorial.

And this is the same coloring/layout as above but with narrow (1″) coordinating sashing and cornerstones added.

This is a monochromatic alternating design where every other block is a Snowball block.

This is another alternating layout using a chain block for the alternate block.

This is an on-point alternating design using a chain block for the alternating block and the background fabric for the setting triangles.

This on-point layout uses the light blue fabric for sashing, cornerstones, and setting triangles.

I had to get a scrappy layout in here! Lots of room for some fancy quilting/embroidery/applique in the Snowball blocks.