Today let’s sew together a Tangled Briars quilt block. This block is a variation of the Bear Paws or Bear Claws quilt block and is almost identical to the Bear Tracks quilt block that I showed you awhile back. It’s an easy block to do, so let’s get started!
Fabric Requirements for a 12″ Finished Tangled Briars Quilt Block:
- Light/White: 2 – 5″ squares, 8 – 3″ squares, and 4 – 2.5″ squares
- Medium/Orange: 1 – 5″ square, and 4 – 3″ squares
- Dark/Navy: 1 – 5″ square, and 4 – 3″ squares
Sewing Directions:
Large Half Square Triangle Units:
Step 1:
Using the two Light/White 5″ squares, the Medium/Orange 5″ square, and the Dark/Navy 5″ square, sew together four Half Square Triangle (HST) units as shown in the picture below. Trim/square up the units to 4.5″. You can find my tutorial for making Half Square Triangle blocks at https://quiltembroiderypdf.com/how-to-sew-a-basic-half-square-triangle-block
Small Half Square Triangle Units:
Step 2:
Using four Light/White 3″ squares and four Medium/Orange 3″ squares, make eight Half Square Triangle units as shown in the picture below. Trim/square up the units to 2.5″. Again, you can find my tutorial for a basic Half Square Triangle block at https://quiltembroiderypdf.com/how-to-sew-a-basic-half-square-triangle-block
Step 3:
Now just repeat Step 2 only using four Light/White 3″ squares and four Dark/Navy 3″ squares to get eight light/dark Half Square Triangle units as shown in the picture below.
Briar Units:
Step 4:
Using the light/medium 2.5″ Half Square Triangle units from Step 2, make four two patch sets – two with the Medium/Orange triangle in the lower left corner and two with the Medium/Orange triangle in the upper right corner as shown in the picture below. Press the seam allowances toward the Medium/Orange fabric as shown.
Step 5:
Repeat Step 4 using the light/dark Half Square Triangles from Step 3 as shown in the picture below.
Step 6:
Lay out a light/dark Large Half Square Triangle unit, two two-patch units from Step 4, and a Light/White 2.5″ square as shown in the picture below. Note that you will use one of the two-patch units with the Medium/Orange in the lower left corner and one with the Medium/Orange in the upper left corner.
Step 7:
Now all you need to do is sew the units together like an uneven Four Patch block. Sew the units into two rows as shown in the picture below.
Step 8:
Press the seam allowances away from the Small Half Square Triangle units as shown below.
Step 9:
Sew the two rows together and . . .
Step 10:
Press the seam allowance toward the Large Half Square Triangle unit as shown in the picture below. Repeat Steps 6 through 10 to make a total of two units.
Step 11:
Repeat Steps 6 through 10 using the light/medium Large Half Square Triangle units, the light/dark Small Half Square Triangle units, and the remaining Light/White 2.5″ squares to make a total of two more Briar units as shown in the picture below.
Putting It All Together:
Step 12:
Lay out the four Briar units you have made as shown in the picture below. From here the Tangled Briars quilt block goes together just like a simple Four Patch block.
Step 13:
Sew the Briar units together into two rows and . . .
Step 14:
Press the seam allowances toward the Large Half Square Triangle units as shown in the picture below.
Step 15:
Now you can sew the two rows together to complete the Tangled Briars quilt block!
Step 16:
All that is left is the pressing. Press the seam allowance whichever direction you prefer. Here I’ve pressed it using the twirl/furl/tweak method.
