Tangled Briars Quilt Block Tutorial - A Variation of the Bear Paws Block

Today let's sew together a Tangled Briars quilt block. This block is a variation of the Bear Paws or Bear Claws quilt block and is almost identical to the Bear Tracks quilt block that I showed you awhile back. It's an easy block to do, so let's get started!

Fabric Requirements for a 12" Finished Tangled Briars Quilt Block:

• Light/White: 2 - 5" squares, 8 - 3" squares, and 4 - 2.5" squares
• Medium/Orange: 1 - 5" square, and 4 - 3" squares
• Dark/Navy: 1 - 5" square, and 4 - 3" squares

Sewing Directions:

Large Half Square Triangle Units:

Step 1:

Using the two Light/White 5" squares, the Medium/Orange 5" square, and the Dark/Navy 5" square, sew together four Half Square Triangle (HST) units as shown in the picture below. Trim/square up the units to 4.5". You can find my tutorial for making Half Square Triangle blocks at https://fabric406.com/blogs/fabric406-blog/how-to-sew-a-basic-half-square-triangle-block

Small Half Square Triangle Units:

Step 2:

Using four Light/White 3" squares and four Medium/Orange 3" squares, make eight Half Square Triangle units as shown in the picture below. Trim/square up the units to 2.5". Again, you can find my tutorial for a basic Half Square Triangle block at https://fabric406.com/blogs/fabric406-blog/how-to-sew-a-basic-half-square-triangle-block

Step 3:

Now just repeat Step 2 only using four Light/White 3" squares and four Dark/Navy 3" squares to get eight light/dark Half Square Triangle units as shown in the picture below.

Briar Units:

Step 4:

Using the light/medium 2.5" Half Square Triangle units from Step 2, make four two patch sets - two with the Medium/Orange triangle in the lower left corner and two with the Medium/Orange triangle in the upper right corner as shown in the picture below. Press the seam allowances toward the Medium/Orange fabric as shown.

Step 5:

Repeat Step 4 using the light/dark Half Square Triangles from Step 3 as shown in the picture below.

Step 6:

Lay out a light/dark Large Half Square Triangle unit, two two-patch units from Step 4, and a Light/White 2.5" square as shown in the picture below. Note that you will use one of the two-patch units with the Medium/Orange in the lower left corner and one with the Medium/Orange in the upper left corner.

Step 7:

Now all you need to do is sew the units together like an uneven Four Patch block. Sew the units into two rows as shown in the picture below.

Step 8:

Press the seam allowances away from the Small Half Square Triangle units as shown below. 

Step 9:

Sew the two rows together and . . .

Step 10:

Press the seam allowance toward the Large Half Square Triangle unit as shown in the picture below. Repeat Steps 6 through 10 to make a total of two units.

Step 11:

Repeat Steps 6 through 10 using the light/medium Large Half Square Triangle units, the light/dark Small Half Square Triangle units, and the remaining Light/White 2.5" squares to make a total of two more Briar units as shown in the picture below.

Putting It All Together:

Step 12:

Lay out the four Briar units you have made as shown in the picture below. From here the Tangled Briars quilt block goes together just like a simple Four Patch block.

Step 13:

Sew the Briar units together into two rows and . . .

Step 14:

Press the seam allowances toward the Large Half Square Triangle units as shown in the picture below.

Step 15:

Now you can sew the two rows together to complete the Tangled Briars quilt block! 

Step 16:

All that is left is the pressing. Press the seam allowance whichever direction you prefer. Here I've pressed it using the twirl/furl/tweak method.

Conclusion:

I had fun putting this Tangled Briars quilt block together. With only half square triangles and squares, it is pretty easy to complete. And it gives us another variation on the Bear Paws block!

I hope  you've enjoyed this tutorial!

Happy Quilting!

Elaine

P.S. If you liked this post and want more quilting tutorials like this, simply click HERE and also receive a free PDF quilt pattern.