Easy Rosebud Quilt Block Tutorial

By: Elaine Huff

Today let's look at the Rosebud quilt block. Other blocks go by the same name but this one first appeared in the publication called Aunt Martha Studios and it is also called Tea Rose. This beginner-friendly 14" block only used half square triangles, squares and rectangles so it goes together quickly! Let's get started!

Fabric Requirements for a 14" Finished Rosebud Quilt Block:

Light/White: 8 - 3" squares, 4 - 2.5" x 6.5" rectangles, and 1 - 2.5" square
Light Print: 8 - 2.5" squares
Medium/Yellow: 12 - 2.5" squares
Dark/Blue: 8 - 3" squares (I substituted 1 - 2.5" square of the Dark/Blue for the Light/White 2.5" square)

Sewing Directions:

Four Patch Units:

Step 1:

Using the 8 Light Print 2.5" squares and 8 Medium/Yellow 2.5" squares, sew together 4 Four Patch units. You can see in the picture below how I pressed the seam allowances. You will find my tutorial for making a basic Four Patch block at https://fabric406.com/blogs/fabric406-blog/how-to-sew-a-basic-four-patch-quilt-block

Half Square Triangle Units:

Step 2:

Next, sew together 16 Half Square Triangles using the 8 Light/White 3" squares and the 8 Dark/Blue 3" squares as shown in the picture below. Press the seam allowances toward the Dark/Blue fabric and trim/square up the units to 2.5" square. You can find my tutorial for making Half Square Triangle blocks at https://fabric406.com/blogs/fabric406-blog/how-to-sew-a-basic-half-square-triangle-block

Step 3:

Take two of the Step 2 units and sew together as shown in the far left example in the picture below. Take two more Step 2 units and sew together as shown in the second example below. Repeat for a total of four units of each orientation. Press the seam allowances toward the Light/White fabric as shown in the two examples on the right in the picture below.

Corner Units:

Step 4:

Lay out one Four Patch unit, one each of both orientations from Step 3, and one Medium/Yellow 2.5" square as shown in the picture below.

Step 5:

Sew the units into two rows as shown below.

Step 6:

And press the seam allowances away from the Half Square Triangle units as shown in the picture below.

Step 7:

Now you just sew the two rows together.

Step 8:

Press the seam allowance toward the Four Patch/HST side as shown in the picture below. Repeat Steps 4 through 8 for a total of four Corner units.

Putting It All Together:

Step 9:

Lay out the Corner units, the four Light/White 2.5" x 6.5" rectangles, and the Light/White 2.5" square as shown in the picture below. I like having a separate square in the center so that when sewn together, the Corner units line up correctly.

I decided I likes having a color square in the center, so I substituted a Dark/Blue 2.5" square for the Light/White one.

Step 10:

All that's left is to sew the units into three rows...

Step 11:

And press the seam allowances toward the Light/White rectangles as shown below.

Step 12:

Sew the three rows together and you're done! Well, except for...

Step 13:

the pressing. Press the seam allowances toward the center of the block as shown in the picture below.

Layout Ideas:

This is the basic 4 x 4 layout using colors similar to the tutorial. I was completely surprised by the star design that appears at the intersections of the blocks!

And here's the same layout but with 2" sashing and cornerstones added.

This is an alternating layout where every other block is a chain block.

Here's another alternating design where a Snowball block is used for the alternate block.

I went with holiday colors for this on-point example with narrow (1") sashing and cornerstones. The light background fabric is also used for the setting triangles.

This is an alternating on-point layout where a simple chain block is the alternate block that also extends into the setting triangles. I also used a monochromatic color scheme.

And this alternating on-point layout uses a Snowball block for the alternate block and also is used for the setting triangles.

Conclusion:

This Rosebud quilt block was quick and easy to sew together. I do like having a color in the center instead of white and was pleasantly surprised with the different looks in the layouts. I thought this block would make a good scrappy block but I wasn't happy with it when it was put together - too busy!

I hope you've enjoyed this Rosebud quilt block. 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 called Chained Weathervane.

Happy Quilting!

Elaine

P.S. To figure out yardage for a quilt, check out this post: https://fabric406.com/blogs/fabric406-blog/how-much-fabric-do-i-need

P.P.S. Check out my Etsy shop at https://www.etsy.com/shop/fabric406