Free Tutorial for the Easy Friendship Quilt Block

By: Elaine Huff

Today let's look at this easy quilt block called Friendship Quilt. It is a traditional block and was first published in Hearth and Home. Using only squares and rectangles it is quick and easy to sew together. Let's get started!

friendship quilt

Fabric Requirements for a 12" Finished Friendship Quilt Block:

  • Light/Blue: 4 - 2.5" x 4.5" rectangles, and 20 - 2.5" squares
  • Dark/Purple: 5 - 4.5" squares, and 4 - 2.5" x 4.5" rectangles
  • A 5" x width of fabric (40") strip of each color should make one block

friendship quilt fabric requirements

Sewing Directions:

Square in a Square Units:

Step 1:

Mark a diagonal line from corner to corner on the back of four Light/Blue 2.5" squares as shown in the picture below. 

You can also find a detailed tutorial for making a basic Square in a Square block at https://fabric406.com/blogs/fabric406-blog/how-to-sew-a-basic-square-in-a-square-block

friendship quilt 1

Step 2:

You can see the first four steps for making this unit in the picture below.

  • Top left: Place two of the Light/Blue 2.5" squares on opposite corners of a Dark/Purple 4.5" square, right sides together, and sew close to the marked line in what will be the seam allowance.
  • Top right: Match up the corners of the Light/Blue 2.5" squares and press.
  • Bottom left: Open up the Light/Blue 2.5" squares and trim the seam allowances.
  • Bottom right: Refold the Light/Blue triangles.

friendship quilt 2

Step 3:

Repeat Step 2 on the other two corners of the Dark/Purple 4.5" square as shown below.

friendship quilt 3

Step 4:

Repeat Steps 1 through 3 for a total of five Square in a Square units.

friendship quilt 4

Rectangle Units:

Step 5:

Sew together a Light/Blue 2.5" x 4.5" rectangle and a Dark/Purple 2.5" x 4.5" rectangle and press the seam allowance toward the Dark/Purple rectangle as shown.

friendship quilt 5

Step 6:

Repeat Step 5 for a total of four Rectangle units.

friendship quilt 6

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Putting It All Together:

Step 7:

Lay out the Square in a Square units and the Rectangle units as shown in the picture below. From here the block goes together like a basic Nine Patch block.

friendship quilt 7

Step 8:

Sew the units into three rows as shown in the picture below.

friendship quilt 8

Step 9:

Press the seam allowances away from the Square in a Square units as shown below.

friendship quilt 9

Step 10:

Sew the three rows together and...

friendship 10

Step 11:

Press the seam allowances away from the center of the block. You're done! That was quick!

friendship quilt 11

Layout Suggestions:

Here's the basic 4 x 4 layout:

quilt 1

And here it is as a scrappy quilt:

quilt 2

For this example, the blocks are made with the same light colored fabric but each block has a different dark color:

quilt 3

And here three dark fabrics are used in each block:

quilt 4

Here's what it looks like with sashing and cornerstones added:

quilt 5

Here I mixed up the colors for the sashing and cornerstones - what a difference!

quilt 6

Here are two on-point layouts. Lovely!

quilt 7

quilt 8

Conclusion:

This Friendship Quilt block was quick and easy to sew together. And I like all the different ways it can be laid out. So give this traditional block a try!

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

Happy Quilting!

Elaine

P.S. In case you missed it, check out my roundup post of easy quilt blocks at https://fabric406.com/blogs/fabric406-blog/30-easy-quilt-block-tutorials-for-the-beginning-quilter

P.P.S. Check out my patterns I have for sale on Etsy at https://www.etsy.com/shop/fabric406