How to Sew the Beginner-Friendly Arkansas Crossroads Quilt Block

By: Elaine Huff

The Arkansas Crossroads quilt block is one of those wonderfully deceptive patterns: easy to sew but looks intricate and complex once your blocks are joined into a quilt top. Made from nothing more than squares and "snowballed" squares, it goes together quickly. I'll walk you through cutting and assembling the Arkansas Crossroads block in two popular finished sizes, 8" and 12".

arkansas crossroads quilt block

Fabric Requirements for an Arkansas Crossroads Quilt Block:

8" Finished:

  • Light/White: 2 - 4.5" squares
  • Medium/Blue: 4 - 2.5" squares
  • Medium/Print: 4 - 2.5" squares
  • Dark/Pink: 4 - 2.5" squares

12" Finished:

  • Light/White: 2 - 6.5" squares
  • Medium/Blue: 4 - 3.5" squares
  • Medium/Print: 4 - 3.5" squares
  • Dark/Pink: 4 - 3.5" squares
arkansas crossroads fabric requirements

Sewing Directions:

Snowballed Squares:

Step 1:

The Sewing Directions are for the 8" block.
 
Using a Light/White 4.5" square, and two Dark/Pink 2.5" squares "snowball" two opposite corners of the Light/White 4.5" square. This is basically half of a Square in a Square block. In the picture below you can see the steps going from top to bottom:
  • Mark a diagonal line from corner to corner on the back of the Dark/Pink 2.5" squares.
  • Sew the Dark/Pink 2.5" squares to opposite corners of the Light/White 4.5" square along the marked line. Note the orientation of the marked lines.
  • Match the corners of the 2.5" squares and press.
  • Open up the 2.5" squares and trim the seam allowances.
  • Refold.
arkansas crossroads 1

Step 2:

Repeat Step 1 for a total of two Snowballed Square units like the ones shown in the picture below.
 
arkansas crossroad 2

Four Patch Units:

Step 3:

Using the Medium/Blue 2.5" squares and the Medium/Print 2.5" squares sew together Four Patch units as follows:
  • Lay out 2 squares of each color as shown below and sew into two rows
  • Press the seam allowances toward the Medium/Print squares
arkansas crossroads 3
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Step 4:

  • Sew the two rows together 
  • Press the seam allowances. As you can see, I pressed the seam allowance using the tweak/twirl/furl method but you can press however you wish
  • Repeat for a total of two units.
  • You can find a detailed tutorial for making Four Patch units at https://fabric406.com/blogs/fabric406-blog/how-to-sew-a-basic-four-patch-quilt-block
  • If I were making multiple blocks, I would use the strip piecing method for making these units (which you can find in the Four Patch tutorial linked above).
arkansas crossroads 4

Putting It All Together:

Step 5:

Lay out the Step 2 and Step 4 units as shown in the picture below. From here the units are sewn together like a basic Four Patch block.
 
arkansas crossroads 5

Step 6:

Sew the units into two rows.
 
arkansas crossroads 6

Step 7:

Press the seam allowances away from the Four Patch units as shown below.
 
arkansas crossroads 7

Step 8:

Sew the two rows together.
 
arkansas crossroads 8

Step 9:

Press the seam allowance. As you can see I've used the tweak/twirl/furl method for pressing. You're done! That went together fast!
 
arkansas crossroads 9

Layout Ideas:

This is the basic 4 x 4 layout using colors similar to the tutorial.
 
quilt 1
However, this is the way I think the basic layout should be with every other block rotated 90 degrees.
 
quilt 2
This the same layout as above but with 2" sashing and cornerstones added.
 
quilt 3
This layout uses two different colorings of the block in an alternating design.
 
quilt 4
Here's another alternating design where every other block is a diagonal chain.
 
quilt 5
For a totally different look, here's an on-point layout.
 
quilt 6
This on-point layout has narrow (1") sashing and cornerstones in coordinating colors and the background fabric is used in the setting triangles.
 
quilt 7

Conclusion:

The Arkansas Crossroads was fun - quick and easy to sew! I had fun with the layouts too! I especially like the last one. Give it a try if you're looking for a quick quilting project!
 

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. Looking for more beginner-friendly blocks? Take a look at these tutorials: https://fabric406.com/blogs/fabric406-blog/tagged/tutorials_beginning-blocks

P.P.S. Check out my Etsy shop at https://www.etsy.com/shop/fabric406