Seesaw Traditional Quilt Block Pattern

This traditional quilt block called Seesaw is a great beginner quilt block. It only uses four different fabrics and goes together fast! Let's get started!

Fabric Requirements for a 12" Finished Seesaw Block:

• Light/White: 8 - 3.5" squares
• Medium/Green: 4 - 3.5" x 6.5" rectangles
• Medium/Pink: 4 - 3.5" x 6.5" rectangles
• Dark/Black: 4 - 3.5" squares

Sewing Directions:

Flying Geese Units:

Step 1:

Using the Medium/Green rectangles and Light/White squares, you will need to make 4 Flying Geese units as shown in the picture below. You can find my tutorial for making Flying Geese blocks at: https://fabric406.com/blogs/fabric406-blog/how-to-sew-a-basic-flying-geese-block

Half Flying Geese Units:

Step 2:

Next, using the Medium/Pink rectangles and the Dark/Black squares, make 4 of what I'm calling Half Flying Geese units as shown in the picture below. You can follow my Flying Geese block tutorial except only do the right side of the Flying Geese block.

Putting It All Together:

Step 3:

Using the picture below as a reference, layout one Flying Geese unit and one Half Flying Geese unit.

Step 4:

Sew the two units together and ...

Step 5:

Press the seam allowance toward the Flying Geese unit as shown below. Repeat Steps 3 - 5 for a total of four units.

Putting It All Together:

Step 6:

Layout the four units you just made as shown in the picture below.

Step 7:

Sew the units into 2 rows (or columns) like in the picture below. There aren't any seams to match so this is super easy!

Step 8:

Press the seam allowances in opposite directions so the seams will nest together nicely.

Step 9:

Now you can sew the 2 rows (or columns) together, making sure the center seams nest together.

Step 10:

You're all done except for the pressing!

I pressed my seam allowance using the twirl/tweak/furl method and here is a closer look at the center where the seams come together. Can you see the little pinwheel in the seam allowance?

If you go to my tutorial on the Four Patch block, you can find directions there on this tweak method. https://fabric406.com/blogs/fabric406-blog/how-to-sew-a-basic-four-patch-quilt-block

In Conclusion:

The Seesaw traditional quilt block is another variation of a Pinwheel block. This one is easy for beginners but provides an interesting design. Give it a go!

I hope you've enjoyed this tutorial for the Seesaw quilt block. If you liked this post and want to see more quilting tutorials like this, simply click here to sign up for my newsletter and also receive a free PDF quilt pattern called Chained Weathervane.

Happy Quilting!

Elaine

P.S. For more quilt blocks that use Pinwheels, check out this roundup post at  https://fabric406.com/blogs/fabric406-blog/20-of-the-best-pinwheel-quilt-block-patterns