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Traditional Quilt Block – Friendship Block

    Today we’re going to create the traditional quilt block called Friendship Block – not to be confused with the Friendship Star quilt block! It is a lovely block that finishes at 12″ square and uses only three basic units – four patch, flying geese, and square in a square. Let’s get started!

    friendship quilt block

    Fabric Requirements for a 12″ Finished Friendship Block:

    • Light/Ivory: 20 – 2.5″ squares, and 4 – 2.5″ x 4.5″ rectangles
    • Medium/Tan: 1 – 4.5″ square, and 8 – 2.5″ squares
    • Dark/Red: 8 – 2.5″ squares, and 4 – 2.5″ x 4.5″ rectangles
    friendship fabric requirements

    Sewing Directions:

    Four Patch Unit:

    Step 1:

    Using 2 Light/Ivory 2.5″ squares and 2 Medium/Tan 2.5″ squares, make a basic Four Patch block. You can find my tutorial for making a Four Patch block at: https://quiltembroiderypdf.com/how-to-sew-a-basic-four-patch-quilt-block

    friendship 1

    Step 2:

    Press the seam allowances as shown in the picture below. I would not use the tweak/twirl/furl method of pressing for this particular block.

    friendship 2

    Step 3:

    Repeat Steps 1 and 2 for a total of 4 Four Patch units.

    friendship 3

    Square in a Square Unit:

    Step 4:

    Using the Medium/Tan 4.5″ square and four Light/Ivory 2.5″ squares, make a Square in a Square block as shown in the picture below. My tutorial for making a basic Square in a Square block is at: https://quiltembroiderypdf.com/how-to-sew-a-basic-square-in-a-square-block

    friendship 4

    Flying Geese Units:

    Step 5:

    Using the Light/Ivory 2.5″ x 4.5″ rectangles and the Dark/Red 2.5″ squares, make a total of four Flying Geese units as shown in the picture below. You can find my tutorial for making Flying Geese blocks at: https://quiltembroiderypdf.com/how-to-sew-a-basic-flying-geese-block

    friendship 5

    Step 6:

    Now you can make Flying Geese units that are the opposite color orientation from Step 5. So using the Dark/Red 2.5″ x 4.5″ rectangles and 8 Light/Ivory 2.5″ squares, make four Flying Geese units as shown below. 

    friendship 6

    Step 7:

    Now you need to sew one Step 5 unit and one Step 6 together as shown in the picture of below.

    friendship 7

    Step 8:

    And press the seam allowance in the same direction as the points of the Flying Geese units as shown in the picture below.

    friendship 8

    Putting It All Together:

    Step 9:

    Lay out the Four Patch units, the center Square in a Square unit, and the Flying Geese units as shown in the picture below. Now the block can be sewn together like a basic Nine Patch block.

    friendship 9

    Step 10:

    Sew the units together into three rows as shown below.

    friendship 10

    Step 11:

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

    friendship 11

    Step 12:

    Now you sew the three rows together to complete the block!

    friendship 12

    Step 13:

    And press the seam allowances toward the center of the block as shown below. You are done!

    friendship 13

    Layout Ideas:

    Here’s the basic 4 x 4 layout using colors similar to the tutorial. I think the lovely block design gets lost in this plain setting.
     
    quilt 1
    This is the same layout as above but with sashing and cornerstones added. Much better!
     
    This version uses a simple chain block for an alternating block.
     
    quilt 3
    This layout utilizes an alternate block that blends with the Friendship block, making it hard to determine where one block ends and another begins.
     
    quilt 4
    This is an on-point example with light purple sashing and cornerstones and light blue in the setting triangles.
     
    quilt 5
    And this on-point layout has an alternating block that extends into the setting triangles. This is the same block as in the fourth quilt above.