How to Sew a Steps to the Altar Quilt Block
Let’s learn how to sew a Steps to the Altar quilt block today! The Steps to the Altar quilt block is an easy, beginner-friendly pattern made using nothing but half-square triangles and simple squares. Don't let its simplicity fool you, though: when you sew multiple blocks together, they create gorgeous secondary designs that look far more intricate than the pattern actually is. It's also a fantastic choice for a scrappy quilt, since it's the perfect way to use up fabric scraps from your stash. In this tutorial, you'll learn exactly how to piece this classic block step by step.
This is the last block for a quilt I’ve been working on for a couple of years – Yeah!! I got the pattern from Kim Diehl’s Evening Star Quilt pattern. It is a Steps to the Altar quilt block with a color placement variation. It is a great block to use up your medium and dark scraps and creates a nice secondary pattern when put together in a quilt. Of course you could use light and medium fabric colors and get a whole different feel to the finished quilt. You can see more of Kim Diehl’s patterns and fabric on her Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/kim.diehl.96
Fabric Requirements for a 12" Steps to the Altar Quilt Block:
- Black Print – 6 – 2.5″ squares
- Medium/Dark 1 – 6 – 2.5″ squares, and 3 – 5″ squares
- Medium/Dark 2 – 3 – 5″ squares
Sewing Directions:
We’ve already gone over the two patches that make up this block – the Four Patch and the Half-Square Triangle.
Four Patch Units:
Step 1:
Using the 2.5" Black Print squares and the 2.5" Medium/Dark 1 squares, make three Four Patch units. You can read the tutorial for the Four Patch block here: https://fabric-406.myshopify.com/blogs/fabric406-blog/how-to-sew-a-basic-four-patch-quilt-block
Half Square Triangle Units:
Step 2:
Using the 5" Medium/Dark 1 squares and the 5" Medium/Dark 2 squares, make six Half-Square Triangle units. Trim/square up the units to 4.5" square. You can find my Half-Square Triangle tutorial here: https://fabric-406.myshopify.com/blogs/fabric406-blog/how-to-sew-a-basic-half-square-triangle-block
Putting It All Together:
Step 3:
The sewing construction goes together just like a Basic Nine-Patch block.
Layout the Four-Patch and Half-Square Triangle units as shown in the picture below.
Step 4:
Sew the units into three rows as shown below.
Step 5:
Press the seam allowances in the top and bottom rows toward the outside of the block and the middle row toward the inside of the block as shown in the picture below.
Step 6:
Then you sew the 3 rows together and you’re done!
Step 7:
Press the seam allowances toward the center of the block. Here is a picture of the back of the finished block showing the direction of the seam allowances.
Layout Ideas:
The usual layout for this block is to rotate every other block. Here is a 4 x 4 layout with colors similar to the tutorial and where every other block is rotated 90 degrees.
Here I've added in 2" wide sashing and cornerstones for a different look to the previous layout.
Here's a scrappy layout that keeps the black squares in every block but changes all the other colors.
This 4 x 4 layout alternates two different color blocks.
Here's an alternating layout where every other block is a Snowball block. Also, a light fabric is substituted for the black.
This is an alternating on-point layout. The two blocks are the same colors - just the blue and pink fabric placement has been switched. The blue fabric is also used in the setting triangles.
This is another scrappy version done in an on-point layout with 1" sashing and cornerstones in a complementary color.
Conclusion:
Here is my layout for 1/4 of my quilt top. The blocks make a wonderful secondary design of X’s and diamonds. My design wall (at the time of this writing) is only 4′ wide so it only holds 1/4 of a queen-size quilt. But that’s big enough for most projects. If I need to lay out the whole quilt at once, I just use my bed or the floor.
When I was laying out the units to take a picture, I accidentally did it wrong – no, not wrong, just different. So this layout would work too and would give a totally different look to the finished quilt.
I hope you have enjoyed this tutorial for a Steps to the Altar quilt block. When I get my quilt quilted, I'll post a picture of it.
If you like the tutorial 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. Looking for more beginner-friendly quilt blocks? 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