Duck Tracks Quilt Block Pattern
The Duck Tracks quilt block is an easy pattern and goes together quickly. It's layered star design will give depth and visual interest to a quilt. I've made my sample with a light background but the pattern looks good with a dark background and lighter fabrics for the star design. Let's get started!
I have a full quilt pattern that uses this block in my Etsy shop. It is a downloadable PDF pattern. This is totally optional. Click the button below to learn more:
Fabric Requirements for an 8" Finished Duck Tracks Quilt Block:
- Light/White: 8 - 2.5" squares, and 2 - 3" squares
- Medium 1/Teal: 2 - 2.5" x 4.5" rectangles
- Medium 2/Hexie Print: 2 - 2.5" x 4.5" rectangles
- Dark/Navy: 2 - 3" squares
Sewing Directions:
Half Square Triangle Units:
Step 1:
Using the Light/White 3" squares and the Dark/Navy 3" squares, sew together four Half Square Triangle units as shown in the picture below. You can find my tutorial for making a Half Square Triangle (HST) at https://fabric406.com/blogs/fabric406-blog/how-to-sew-a-basic-half-square-triangle-block
Half Flying Geese Units:
Step 2:
Mark a diagonal line from corner to corner on the back of four Light/White 2.5" squares as shown below.
Step 3:
Match up the Step 2 squares with the Medium colored 2.5" x 4.5" rectangles.
Step 4:
Basically, we are just sewing the first half of a Flying Geese unit. Sew on (or slightly to the seam allowance side of) the marked line as shown in the picture below.
Step 5:
Match the corners of the square and press as shown below. When you match the corners, there is no need to square up your patch.
Step 6:
Open up the square and trim the seam allowance like shown in the picture below.
Step 7:
Turn the corner back and you're done with this Half Flying Geese unit.
Step 8:
Repeat Steps 3 through 7 using the rest of the Medium colored 2.5" x 4.5" rectangles and marked Light/White 2.5" squares for a total of four Half Flying Geese units.
Corner Units:
Step 9:
Now you can sew the Half Square Triangle units to the remaining Light/White 2.5" squares as shown in the picture below. Press the seam allowance toward the White/Light fabric. Repeat for a total of four units.
Step 10:
Match up a Step 9 unit with a Half Flying Geese unit as shown below.
Step 11:
Sew the two units together and press the seam allowance toward the Half Flying Geese unit as shown in the picture below. Repeat Steps 10 and 11 for a total of four Corner units.
Putting It All Together:
Step 12:
Lay out the four Corner units as shown in the picture below. From here the Duck Tracks quilt block goes together like a typical Four Patch block.
Step 13:
Sew the units into two rows as shown below.
Step 14:
And press the seam allowances as shown below.
Step 15:
And now you can sew the two rows together to complete the block!
Step 16:
Press the seam allowances. Here you can see that I've used the tweak/twirl/furl method for pressing so that the block lays nice and flat. You're done!
I have a full quilt pattern that uses this block in my Etsy shop. It is a downloadable PDF pattern. This is totally optional. Click the button below to learn more:
Layout Ideas:
Here's the basic 4 x 4 layout using colors similar to the ones in the tutorial.
Here's the same layout as above but with coordinating sashing and cornerstones added.
This is an example using a large Hourglass block for an alternating block.
Here's another alternating layout using a chain block as the alternating block.
This is an on-point example with plain background for the setting triangles.
And this on-point example uses an alternating chain block that extends into the setting triangles.
Conclusion:
The Duck Tracks quilt block was fun to put together. It was easy and quick to sew and the corners and points came out nice. It sort of gives the illusion of three stars twirling around on top of each other.
I hope you enjoyed this tutorial. If you liked this post and want to see more quilting tutorials like this, simply click here to sign up for my newsletter and also receive a free PDF quilt pattern.
Happy Quilting!
Elaine
P.S. To figure out how much fabric you need to make a quilt using this block (or any other block for that matter) see the tutorial https://fabric406.com/blogs/fabric406-blog/how-much-fabric-do-i-need