How to Sew this Variation of the Women's Choice Quilt Block

Using a Medium/Blue 3" square and a Dark/Purple 3" square, make Half Square Triangle (HST) units as shown. Here are the steps corresponding to the images in the picture below going from top to bottom, left to right.

• Match up a Medium/Blue square and a Dark/Purple square right sides together.
• Mark a diagonal line from corner to corner on the back of the Medium/Blue square and sew 1/4" (or a little less) on each side of the line.
• Cut along the diagonal line.  You will have 2 half-square triangle patches.
• Open up the patch and press the seam allowance toward the Dark/Purple fabric. 
  Square up/trim the units to 2.5" square. 
• You can find my tutorial for making HST units at https://fabric406.com/blogs/fabric406-blog/how-to-sew-a-basic-half-square-triangle-block

Repeat Step 1 for a total of 8 Blue/Purple Half Square Triangle units like the ones shown in the picture below.

 

Repeat Steps 1 and 2 only substituting the Light/White 3" squares for the Medium/Blue 3" squares.

 

Lay out one of the Step 2 units, 2 of the Step 3 units, and a Medium/Blue 2.5" square as shown below.

 

Sew the units into two rows and press the seam allowances away from the Step 3 White/Purple Half Square Triangle units as shown in the picture below.

 

Sew the two rows together and press the seam allowance. As you can see from the picture below, I pressed the seam allowance using the tweak/twirl/furl method. However, when I got to the final seams of the block I realized I should have pressed the seam allowance toward the bottom row (the row with two HST units). Repeat for a total of two units.

 

Repeat Steps 4 through 6 only substituting a Dark/Navy 2.5" square for the Medium/Blue 2.5" square.

 

Using eight Light/White 2.5" squares and four Medium/Blue 2.5" x 4.5" rectangles, sew together four Flying Geese units. For a detailed tutorial of my no-trim method for making perfect Flying Geese blocks check out https://fabric406.com/blogs/fabric406-blog/how-to-sew-a-basic-flying-geese-block. The picture below shows the first steps.

• Mark a diagonal line from corner to corner on the back of the Light/White 2.5" squares.
• Sew a Light/White 2.5" square to a Medium/Blue rectangle along the marked line (top image). Note the orientation of the marked line. 
• Match the corners of the Light/White square and press (second image). 
• Open the square up and trim the seam allowance (third image). 
• Refold (bottom image).

Repeat Step 8 on the adjacent corner. Make a total of four White/Blue Flying Geese units like the ones in the picture below.

 

Repeat Steps 8 and 9 only using eight Medium/Blue 2.5" squares and four Dark/Navy 2.5" x 4.5" rectangles.

 

Lay out a Step 9 and a Step 10 Flying Geese unit as shown below.

 

Sew the two units together and press the seam allowance toward the White/Blue unit as shown. 

 

Repeat Steps 11 and 12 for a total of four Middle units.

 

This is the unit that has different options - after all women should have choices! You can see them in the Putting It All Together section below.

 

Using the four Step 2 units, sew together a Pinwheel unit like the one shown below. You will find a tutorial for making a basic Pinwheel block at https://fabric406.com/blogs/fabric406-blog/pinwheel-quilt-block-pattern. Press the seam allowances using the tweak/twirl/furl method.

Lay out the Corner units, the Middle units, and the Center unit as shown in the picture below.

 

Switch out the Center pinwheel unit with a simple Four Patch. This will mimic the Four Patch that forms at the intersection where multiple blocks are sewn together.

 

 

This is the traditional Women's Choice block layout. I made the Center unit using an uneven Nine Patch and then trimming it to a 4.5" diamond (pictures below).

 

First I stitched an uneven Nine Patch using squares and rectangles. I recommend using Dark/Purple 3" squares, Medium/Blue  3" x 2" rectangles, and a Dark/Purple 2" square as I used smaller dimensions and lost the corners when I trimmed as you can see in the next picture.

  

I then took a 4.5" square up ruler and made this shape. Here you can see that the unit wasn't quite big enough. Since all the edges of this unit are on the bias, I would recommend using some starch to stabilize the fabric and sew carefully.

 

Sew the units into three rows as shown below. There are lots of thick seams so take your time with the next steps.

 

Press the seam allowances toward the Middle units as shown in the picture below.

 

Finally sew the three rows together.

 

Press the seam allowances toward the center of the block as shown. You can also see where I repressed the seams in the Corner units.

 

This is the basic 4 x 4 layout using colors similar to the tutorial.

 

And this is the same layout as above but with narrow (1") sashing and cornerstones added. 

 

This layout is the basic 4 x 4 but using the Option 2 block.

 

Another basic layout but with the Option 3 block.

 

This is an example of the Option 4 (traditional) block used with an alternating chain block.

 

For this alternating layout the Option 3 block is alternated with a Snowball block.

 

Here's an on-point layout using the Option 4 block and narrow (1") sashing and cornerstones. The light background fabric is also used in the setting triangles.

 

This is an alternating on-point layout where every other block is a Snowball block that also extends into the setting triangles.

 

So I had multiple issues with this block although I think I was just having a "bad sewing" day. I couldn't keep my 1/4" seam allowance right (even while using a 1/4" presser foot!), etc. I love the block though! It's just so pretty! I especially like the layouts that alternate with the Snowball block.

 

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 some star blocks? Take a look at these tutorials: https://fabric406.com/blogs/fabric406-blog/tagged/eight-pointed-star-blocks

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