How to Make the Cups and Saucers Quilt Block - a Free Tutorial
The Cups and Saucers quilt block is a quick one to sew and makes a stunning quilt. I've chosen to make a scrappy version but it looks great as a two-color block too.
The block was contributed by Mrs. Edward Hendreds to the Kansas City Star in 1936 and was a "revived" pattern meaning it had been around a long time! A true classic! With only half square triangles, flying geese, and squares, it goes together quickly. Let's get sewing!
Fabric Requirements for a 12" Finished Cups and Saucers Quilt Block:
- Light/White: 2 - 5" squares, and 8 - 2.5" x 4.5" rectangles
- Assorted Prints: 2 - 5" squares, 1 - 4.5" square, and 16 - 2.5" squares
Sewing Directions:
Half Square Triangle Units:
Step 1:
Using a Light/White 5" square and an Assorted Print 5" square, sew together a Half Square Triangle unit.
- Mark a diagonal line from corner to corner on the back of one of the Light/White squares and sew 1/4" (or a little less) on each side of the line.
- Cut along the diagonal line. You will have 2 half-square triangle patches.
Step 2:
- Open up the patch and press the seam allowance toward the Assorted Print fabric.
- Trim the unit to 4.5" square.
For a detailed tutorial check out my blog post at https://fabric406.com/blogs/fabric406-blog/how-to-sew-a-basic-half-square-triangle-block.
Step 3:
Repeat for a total of four Half Square Triangle units like the ones shown below. If I were making multiple blocks, I would have made more colorings of the these units to get a truly scrappy look.
Flying Geese Units:
Step 4:
Using the Light/White 2.5" x 4.5" rectangles and Assorted Prints 2.5" squares, make a Flying Geese unit. You can find my detailed tutorial using my no-trim method for making perfect Flying Geese at https://fabric406.com/blogs/fabric406-blog/how-to-sew-a-basic-flying-geese-block. In the picture below you can see the first four steps.
Step 5:
And here you can see the last four steps.
Step 6:
Repeat Steps 4 and 5 for a total of eight Flying Geese units as shown below.
Middle Units:
Step 7:
Sew together two Step 6 Flying Geese units and press the seam allowance as shown in the picture below (away from the point).
Step 8:
Repeat Step 7 for a total of four Middle units as shown below.
Putting It All Together:
Step 9:
Lay out the Half Square Triangle units, the Middle units, and the Assorted Prints 4.5" square as shown below. From here the block goes together like a basic Nine Patch block.
Step 10:
Just sew the units into three rows.
Step 11:
And press the seam allowances away from the Middle units as you can see in the picture below.
Step 12:
All that left is to sew the three rows together and...
Step 13:
Press the seam allowances toward the center of block as shown. That's it!
Layout Ideas:
Here's a typical 4 x 4 layout with the scrappy block:
This is the same layout but using a two-color block.
In this example I've used the two-color block and added in narrow sashing and cornerstones.
In this layout it is on-point and scrappy.
And this one is also on-point but with the light fabric used in the setting triangles.
For this on-point example I added in dark sashings and light cornerstones for a different effect.
Here's what reversing the colors looks like. This block is called Illinois.
And for this one I alternated the Cups and Saucers block with the Illinois block. I really like this layout.
Conclusion:
The Cups and Saucers block was fun to play with and went together quickly. I really enjoyed it! It always amazes me all the different designs you can get just using a couple of basic units in a block.
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Happy Quilting!
Elaine
P.S. For more scrappy quilt blocks, click on this link: https://fabric406.com/blogs/fabric406-blog/40-of-the-best-free-scrappy-quilt-block-tutorials
P.P.S. Need a quilt pattern in a hurry? Check out my easy downloadable PDF patterns at https://fabric406.etsy.com