How to Make this Easy Crown of Thorns Quilt Block

The Crown of Thorns quilt block is an easy block that creates a lovely quilt. Traditionally it is made with only a light and dark (or medium) color but it looks beautiful with more colors and even scrappy! Toward the end of the tutorial I've included several layout/color options to show how versatile it is! Let's get started!

Fabric Requirements for a 12" Finished Crown of Thorns Quilt Block:

• Light/White: 4 - 2.5" x 4.5" rectangles, and 8 - 3" squares
• Medium/Focal Fabric: 1 - 4.5" square
• Medium/Green: 6 - 3" squares
• Dark/Blue: 4 - 2.5" x 4.5" rectangles, and 2 - 3" squares

Sewing Directions:

Rail Unit:

Step 1:

Match up a Dark/Blue 2.5" x 4.5" rectangle with a Light/White 2.5" x 4.5" rectangle and sew together along a long side. Press the seam allowance toward the Dark/Blue fabric as shown in the picture below.

Step 2:

Repeat Step 1 for a total of four Rail units as shown below.

Half Square Triangle Units:

Step 3:

Mark a diagonal line from corner to corner on the back of a Light/White 3" square and match it up with a Medium/Green 3" square. Then:

• Sew 1/4" on both sides of the marked line (top left image)
• Cut along the marked line (top right image) You'll have 2 units.
• Open up one unit and press the seam allowance toward the Medium/Green fabric (bottom left image)
• Trim/square up the unit to 2.5" square (bottom right image)

You can find my detailed tutorials for making a basic Half Square Triangle block at https://fabric406.com/blogs/fabric406-blog/how-to-sew-a-basic-half-square-triangle-block and https://fabric406.com/blogs/fabric406-blog/two-easy-methods-for-making-half-square-triangle-quilt-blocks

Step 4:

Repeat Step 3 for a total of 12 Half Square Triangle units.

Step 5:

Now repeat Step 3 only use a Dark/Blue 3" square in place of the Medium/Green 3" square for a total of 4 units as shown below.

Corner Units:

Step 6:

Arrange three Step 4 and one Step 5 Half Square Triangle units as shown in the picture below.

Step 7:

Sew the units into two rows and press the seam allowances as shown in the picture below.

Step 8:

Sew the two rows together and press the seam allowance away from the Dark/Blue Half Square Triangle unit as shown below.

Step 9:

Repeat Steps 6 through 8 for a total of four Corner units.

Putting It All Together:

Step 10:

Lay out the Rail units, the Corner units, and the Medium/Focal Print 4.5" square as shown in the picture below.

Step 11:

Sew the units into three rows just like a typical Nine Patch block.

Step 12:

Press the seam allowances toward the Rail units as shown in the picture below.

Step 13:

Sew the three rows together, and...

Step 14:

Press the seam allowances away from the center of the block as shown in the picture below. You're done!

Layout Options:

Here's the basic 4 x 4 layout done with a two color block:

Here I've added a third color:

And this shows what it would look like with sashing and cornerstones:

This example shows using scraps for the "thorn" Half Square Triangles.

I put a focal print in the center for this example:

Here's an on point layout with blank blocks in between - very sweet!

This design uses a large simple Hourglass block inbetween the Crown of Thorns blocks.

Finally, here is an example where each block has a different coloring. I think this is my favorite!

Conclusion:

This block went together quickly and I really had fun putting all the layout options together! Hindsight being 20/20, I should have chosen a smaller focal print for the center of the block (or a different coloring). I think it gets lost in between the Dark/Blue fabric.

I hope you've enjoyed this Crown of Thorns quilt block 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.