How to Sew the Flying Square Quilt Block — Easy & Beginner-Friendly
The Flying Square quilt block is one of those simple designs that really shines when you see it repeated across a quilt. This easy 10″ block is made entirely from squares and rectangles, making it perfect for beginners and a great choice when you want a fast, relaxing project. This scrappy block is especially fun to sew - each block can look a little different, but when they’re stitched together they create striking layouts that add movement and interest to the finished quilt.
Fabric Requirements for a 10" Finished Flying Square Quilt Block:
- Light/Blue: 4 - 2.5" x 6.5" rectangles, and 1 - 2.5" square
- Assorted Prints: 12 - 2.5" squares
Sewing Directions:
Step 1:
I recommend laying out all the scrappy squares and the Light/Blue pieces at the start so you can arrange the colors to your liking. Note that the Light/Blue 2.5" square is always in the center.
Center Unit:
Step 2:
Using the center nine 2.5" squares, lay out the squares in a Nine Patch configuration as shown below. The unit goes together like a basic Nine Patch block.
Step 3:
Sew the units into three rows as shown below.
Step 4:
Using the picture below for a reference, press the seam allowances in the top and bottom rows toward the center and the middle row away from the center.
Step 5:
Sew the three rows together to complete the unit.
Step 6:
Press the seam allowances away from the center of the unit as shown below. (Note: After sewing the block, I realized that I should have pressed the seam allowances toward the center of the unit. If I had done that, all of the Step 7 unit seam allowances could have been pressed away from the Light/Blue rectangles.)
Also of note: It's important to have accurate 1/4" seam allowances on this Center unit. If you look close you'll see where I had to go back and resew two of my seams because I wasn't paying close enough attention!
Rectangle Units:
Step 7:
Sew the remaining four Assorted Prints squares to the four Light/Blue 2.5" x 6.5" rectangles as shown below. Press the seam allowances for two of the units away from the Light/Blue rectangle - and two toward the Light/Blue rectangle.
Putting It All Together:
Step 8:
Lay out the Center unit and the Rectangle Units as shown in the picture below. Now we're going to sew the rest of the block using partial seam construction - much easier than it sounds.
Step 9:
Now you can sew the top Rectangle unit to the Center unit with a partial seam. You can see how I've only sewn about half of the seam in the picture below.
Step 10:
Press the seam allowance away from the Center unit as shown below.
Step 11:
Now you can sew the right Rectangle unit to the right side of the Step 10 unit and press the seam allowance away from the Center unit as shown in the pictures below.
Step 12:
Now you can sew the bottom Rectangle unit to the bottom of the Step 11 unit and press the seam allowance away from the Center unit as shown below.
Step 13:
Now you can sew the left Rectangle unit to the left side of the Step 12 unit and press the seam allowance away from the Center unit as shown below.
Step 14:
Finish sewing up that partial seam you started with and press the seam allowance away from the Center unit as shown in the pictures below.
Alternate Sewing Method:
If you really don't want to use the partial seam construction, you can substitute each of the Light/Blue rectangles with three 2.5" squares as shown in the diagram below. For this method, you will lay out all of the squares and then sew into five rows. Press the seam allowances in opposite directions from row to row (example: rows 1, 3 and 5 to the right; rows 2 and 4 to the left). Sew the five rows together and press the seam allowances.
The Mirror Image Block:
In order for the Flying Square block to be used in an interlocking design, you will need every other block to be a mirror image of the main block. The picture below is an example of this.
Layout Ideas:
This is the basic 4 x 4 layout using colors similar to the tutorial.
Here is the same layout as above but with 2" (finished) wide sashing and cornerstones added. The sashing is pieced with a 2" (finished) square in the center which ties the blocks together visually.
In this alternating example every other block is a mirror image of the main block. This creates a fun interwoven effect.
This is another alternating design using a simple chain block in between the main blocks.
Here's an on-point interwoven design using the mirror image block for the alternate block and extending into the setting triangles.
This on-point layout has pieced sashing and cornerstones and the green background fabric is used for the setting triangles.
Conclusion:
I was looking for an easy block to use up the 2.5" squares in my stash and this block fits the bill. I'll be working on a scrappy quilt using this block in the near future!
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 scrappy blocks? Take a look at these fun block tutorials: https://fabric406.com/blogs/fabric406-blog/tagged/scrappy-quilt-block-tutorials
P.P.S. Check out my Etsy shop at https://www.etsy.com/shop/fabric406