How to Sew a Mrs. Bryan’s Choice Quilt Block – Version 2.0

Today we’re going to look at a different way to sew a Mrs. Bryan’s Choice quilt block. I debated about which way to teach this block and then decided I would do a tutorial on both ways. The method here has fewer seams but can be a little trickier to match seams. You can see the first tutorial I did on this block at https://fabric-406.myshopify.com/blogs/fabric406-blog/how-to-sew-mrs-bryan-s-choice-quilt-block

Fabric Requirements for a 12" Finished Mrs. Bryan's Choice Quilt Block:

• Light/White: 8 – 2.5″ squares; 4 – 2.5″ x 4.5″ rectangles; and 4 – 2.5″ x 6.5″ rectangles
• Medium/Pink: 4 – 2.5″ squares; 4 – 2.5″ x 4.5″ rectangles; and 1 – 4.5″ square
• Dark/Black: 4 – 2.5″ x 4.5″ rectangles

Sewing Directions:

Step 1:

Flying Geese Units:

First you will need to make four Flying Geese units using the 8 – 2.5″ Light/White squares and the 4 – 2.5″ x 4.5″ Dark/Black rectangles. You can find my directions for making Flying Geese units here: https://fabric-406.myshopify.com/blogs/fabric406-blog/how-to-sew-a-basic-flying-geese-block

Step 2:

Lay out the four Flying Geese units, the 4 Medium/Pink 2.5″ squares, and the center Medium/Pink 4.5″ square as shown.

Step 3:

And sew the units into 3 rows just like you would for a Nine-Patch block. Click on https://fabric-406.myshopify.com/blogs/fabric406-blog/how-to-sew-a-basic-nine-patch-quilt-block for my tutorial on Nine-Patch blocks. Press the seam allowances away from the Flying Geese units.

Step 4:

Sew the three rows together to form the center unit of the block. Actually, this is a pretty cute block all by itself!

Step 5:

Press the seam allowances toward the center of the block.

Here’s where it gets a little different:

Step 6:

Mark a 45 degree diagonal line on the 4 Light/White 2.5″ x 4.5″ rectangles as shown below. Two will be mirror reflections of the other two rectangles. I used my 4.5″ square-up ruler and placed its diagonal line along a long side of the rectangle. I think you can see that pretty clearly in the photo.

Step 7:

Lay a Light/White 2.5″ x 4.5″ rectangle on a Medium/Pink 2.5″ x 4.5″ rectangle as shown below and sew on the diagonal line. This is like sewing a Flying Geese unit but with two rectangles instead of a rectangle and a square. I think of it as having a tail.

Step 8:

Fold the Light/White rectangle along the diagonal line. Keep everything straight and make sure the corners come to nice points and press.

Step 9:

Unfold the Light/White rectangle and trim the seam allowance to approximately .25″.

Step 10:

Fold the rectangle back in place.

Step 11:

Now you sew the other side using one of the Light/White 2.5″ x 4.5″ rectangles that is a mirror of the rectangle you just used.

This unit should measure 2.5″ x 8.5″. Make another one for a total of two units.

Step 12:

Now you’ll need to make 2 units in the same manner as the above units but you’ll use the remaining Medium/Pink 2.5″ x 4.5″ rectangles and the four Light/White 2.5″ x 6.5″ rectangles. These units should measure 2.5″ x 12.5″.

Step 13:

Lay out the block center, the two 2.5″ x 8.5″ units, and the two 2.5″ x 12.5″ units as shown below.

Step 14:

Sew the two 2.5″ x 8.5″ units to opposite sides of the block center. This where it can be tricky to match the seams. I trusted that the points would fall where they were supposed to and they did! If you feel that you need to pin, go for it.

Step 15:

Press the seam allowances toward the outside of the block.

Step 16:

Sew the two 2.5″ x 12.5″ units to the top and bottom to complete the block!

Step 17:

Press the seam allowances toward the outside of the block. All Done!

In conclusion:

While this tutorial is longer than the original method for constructing a Mrs. Bryan’s Choice block, it really went together faster. If you look really closely at my finished block, you can see that my points didn’t match perfectly but they are really close. That doesn’t bother me as I believe that done is better than perfect!

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

Happy Quilting!

Elaine

P.S. I have a pattern that uses this block. Check it out at https://www.etsy.com/listing/1035090006/mrs-bryans-choice-tablerunner-pdf-quilt