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The Box Quilt Block – an Easy, Beginner-Friendly Quilt Block Tutorial

    Let’s sew up this traditional Box Quilt block today. It is beginner-friendly and you could dig into your stash and/or scraps to make a beautiful quilt. This pattern is a little different than other Box Quilt blocks you can find online and is attributed to Nancy Page. Personally, I think the name “Boxed Star” would be a better description!

    Using only squares and rectangles, the block goes together fast! Let’s check it out!

    box quilt block

    Fabric Requirements for a 12″ Finished Box Quilt Block:

    • Light/White: 4 – 3.5″ squares, and 8 – 2″ squares
    • Light Pink: 2 – 2″ x 5″ rectangles, and 2 – 2″ x 6.5″ rectangles
    • Light Blue: 2 – 2″ x 3.5″ rectangles, and 2 – 2″ x 5″ rectangles
    • Dark Pink: 2 – 2″ x 5″ rectangles, and 2 – 2″ x 6.5″ rectangles
    • Dark Blue: 2 – 2″ x 3.5″ rectangles, and 2 – 2″ x 5″ rectangles

    box quilt fabric requirements

    Update: I now have this tutorial available as a downloadable PDF in my Etsy shop. Click on this link to check it out: BOX QUILT

    Sewing Directions:

    Square Units:

    Step 1:

    Sew a Light Blue 2″ x 3.5″ rectangle to one side of a White 3.5″ square and press the seam allowance toward the Light Blue rectangle as shown in the picture below.

    box quilt 1

    Step 2:

    Now you can sew a Light Blue 2″ x 5″ rectangle to the Step 1 unit and press the seam allowance toward the Light Blue rectangle as shown below. Repeat for a total of two units.

    box quilt 2

    Step 3:

    Repeat Steps 1 and 2 only using the Dark Blue rectangles in place of the Light Blue rectangles as shown below.

    box quilt 3

    Step 4:

    Here’s a picture of all four of the Square units.

    box quilt 4

    Snowball Rectangle Units:

    Step 5:

    “Snowball” the upper left corner of a Dark Pink 5″ rectangle as shown in the pictures below. 

    Here are the first steps:

    • Mark a diagonal line on the back of a White 2″ square.
    • Sew the White square to the Dark Pink rectangle along the marked line. Note the orientation of the marked line.
    • Match up the corners of the White square and press.

    box quilt 5

    Step 6:

    Here are the last steps:

    • Trim away the excess seam allowance.
    • Refold to complete the unit.
    • Repeat Steps 5 and 6 for a total of two units.

    box quilt 6

    Step 7:

    Repeat Steps 5 through 7 only using the Dark Pink 2″ x 6.5″ rectangles. Also note that the direction of the marked line has changed!

    box quilt 7

    Step 8:

    Here’s a picture of all four of the Snowball Rectangle units.

    box quilt 8

    Step 9:

    Repeat Steps 5 through 8 only substitute the Light Pink rectangles for the Dark Pink ones.

    box quilt 9

    Corner Units:

    Step 10:

    Sew a Step 6 Snowball Rectangle unit to a Step 2 Square unit as shown in the picture below. Press the seam allowance toward the Step 6 unit.

    box quilt 10

    Step 11:

    Sew a Step 7 Snowball Rectangle unit to the Step 10 unit you just made and press the seam allowance toward the Snowball Rectangle unit as shown below. Repeat for a total of two of these units.

    box quilt 11

    Step 12:

    Repeat Steps 10 and 11 only using the Step 3 Dark Blue Square units and the Step 9 Light Pink Snowball Rectangle units as shown in the picture below.

    box quilt 12

    Putting It All Together:

    Step 13:

    Lay out all the Corner units as shown in the picture below. From here the block goes together like a basic Four Patch block.

    box quilt 13

    Step 14:

    Sew the units into two rows. Matching up the diagonal seams is the hardest part of this block. Just take your time.

    box quilt 14

    Step 15:

    Press the seam allowances in opposite directions so that the seams will nest nicely in the next step.

    box quilt 15

    Step 16:

    Sew the two rows together to complete the block.

    box quilt 16

    Step 17:

    Press the seam allowance. You can see in the picture below that I used the tweak/twirl/furl method for pressing but you can press however you wish.

    box quilt 17

    Layout Ideas:

    Here’s the basic 4 x 4 layout:

    quilt 1

    This example has sashing and cornerstones added.

    quilt 2

    In this scrappy version, I used lights for all the Square units, and darks for the Snowball units, plus I used black for the background color.

    quilt 3

    Here’s what a two-color (with a background) would look like.

    quilt 4

    This one would be nice for a patriotic quilt!

    quilt 5

    Here’s a two-color alternating with a plain block of the lighter fabric. 

    quilt 6

    And this is an example of an on-point layout with plain background setting triangles.

    quilt 7

    And this is a scrappy on-point layout with dark sashing and white cornerstones and setting triangles. This is my favorite!

    quilt 8