Free Pattern for a Basic Roman Stripe Block

The super easy Roman Stripe quilt block can be used by itself or as a component of lots of other blocks. I’ve always called it a Rail Fence block, but I guess the name “Rail Fence” is for blocks that have more than 3 stripes in them – so I guess my fence only has 3 rails in it – lol!

Fabric Requirements:

First, you need to cut strips. In my example, I’ve used two colors but you can use three.

Sewing Directions:

Step 1:

Simply sew the three strips together along the long sides (you’ve made a strip set) and press the seam allowances toward the darker fabric. (Don’t look too close at my example because I pressed the wrong way!)

Step 2:

Now you need to cut the strips into squares. In my example, I’ve made a strip set out of 2.5″ strips so the width of the 3 strips sewn together is 6.5″. So I need to cut 6.5″ squares from the strip set.

The resulting blocks are set in an alternating pattern as shown above. They also look good between Nine-Patch blocks which we’ll get into in another blog post.

Example:

Here’s a picture of a little doll quilt my mom made for me when I was a wee thing. It’s been loved a lot and shows the wear and tear but I can’t get rid of it. All done by hand with corduroy, tied with yarn, and the binding is simply the backing wrapped to the front and hand-stitched down.

The Roman Stripe quilt block is a really quick block to make. Also, it is a great way to use up those scraps in your stash to make a scrappy quilt.

If you like this tutorial and want to see more, simply click HERE to sign up for my newsletter and receive a free PDF quilt pattern called "Chained Weathervane".

Happy Quilting!

Elaine

P.S. To print a PDF of this tutorial, check out the free app at https://www.printfriendly.com/. A reader and I tried it out and it worked great.

P.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