How to Sew the Traditional Empire Cross Quilt Block - a Free Tutorial

The easy Empire Cross quilt block is a wonderful traditional block that creates wonderful secondary designs when made into a quilt. With only half square triangles, snowballed corners, and rectangles, the block goes together quickly. The classic block only has two colors and a background but I had to make it my own with four colors! Let's jump in!

Fabric Requirements for a 12" Finished Empire Cross Quilt Block:

• Light/Pink: 4 - 2" x 5" rectangles, 4 - 2" x 3.5" rectangles, and 8 - 2" squares
• Medium/Green: 2 - 4" squares
• Dark/Red: 4 - 3.5" x 5" rectangles, and 1 - 3.5" square
• Dark/Black: 2 - 4" squares

Sewing Directions:

Pointy Units:

Step 1:

This unit is sort of a Flying Geese block only the position of the snowballed squares is different. You can see the first four steps in the picture below.

• Mark a diagonal line from corner to corner on the back of a Light/Pink 2" square.
• Place the Light/Pink square on a corner of a Dark/Red 3.5" x 5" rectangle and sew along the marked line (or close to the marked line).
• Match up the corners of the Light/Pink square and press.
• Trim away the excess seam allowance.
• Refold the Light/Pink triangle.

Step 2:

Now repeat Step 1 on the adjacent corner of the short side of the Dark/Red rectangle as shown below.

Step 3:

Repeat Steps 1 and 2 for a total of four Pointy units.

Half Square Triangles:

Step 4:

Using a Medium/Green 4" square and a Dark/Black 4" square, sew together two Half Square Triangles. You can find my detailed tutorial for making Half Square Triangles at https://fabric406.com/blogs/fabric406-blog/how-to-sew-a-basic-half-square-triangle-block. In the picture below you can see that I've sewn 1/4" on each side of the marked line and cut them apart along the marked line.

Step 5:

In this picture I've opened up the Half Square Triangle, pressed the seam allowance toward the black fabric, and trimmed/squared up the unit to 3.5" square.

Step 6:

Repeat Steps 4 and 5 for a total of four Half Square Triangle units.

Corner Units:

Step 7:

• Match up a Step 6 Half Square Triangle with a Light/Pink 2" x 3.5" rectangle and sew together as shown in the top left image in the picture below.
• Press the seam allowance toward the pink rectangle - top right image.
• Sew a Light/Pink 2" x 5" rectangle as shown in the bottom left image.
• Press the seam allowance toward the pink rectangle - bottom right image. 

Step 8:

Repeat Step 7 for a total of four Corner units like the ones in the picture below.

Putting It All Together:

Step 9:

Lay out the Pointy units, the Corner units, and the Dark/Red 3.5" square as shown in the picture below. From here the block goes together like a basic Nine Patch block.

Step 10:

Sew the units in three rows.

Step 11:

Press the seam allowance toward the Pointy units as shown in the picture below.

Step 12:

Sew the three rows together to complete the block.

Step 13:

Press the seam allowances away from the center of the block. You're done!

Layout Suggestions:

Here's the basic 4 x 4 layout using the classic two-color and a background design:

And the same layout using my block coloring:

And here it is again with a slight variation with an Hourglass unit in the center and two color Pointy units.

Here's an example with sashing and cornerstones in between the blocks.

And here's an on-point layout. Looks so different!

For this example I've added sashing and cornerstones plus used the red for setting triangles.

A large Hourglass block can make a great alternating block.

And here is a simple chain block alternating with the Empire Cross.

Conclusion:

This is a fun, easy block to sew together and goes together quickly. I enjoyed playing with the colors and layouts to see the different looks the Empire Cross can have.

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. Check out my YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/@fabric406

P.P.S. Check out my patterns I have for sale on Etsy at https://fabric406.etsy.com