The Traditional Quilt Block Called Yankee Charm - a Free Pattern

The Yankee Charm is a traditional quilt block that is easy to create and it's a good block to use up skinny strips for a scrappy look. With only Half Square Triangles, squares and rectangles, it goes together quickly. I also did some different layout and color options at the end. Let's get started sewing!

Fabric Requirements for a 12" Finished Yankee Charm Quilt Block:

• Light/White: 4 - 2.5" x 8.5" rectangles, 2 - 3" squares, 1 - 2.5" square, and 8 - 1.5" squares
• Medium/Purple: 4 - 1.5" x 4.5" rectangles
• Dark 1/ Navy & Blue: 2 - 3" squares
• Dark 2/Navy & Purple: 2 - 1.5" x 8.5" rectangles, 2 - 1.5" x 6.5" rectangles, and 4 - 1.5" x 2.5" rectangles (I goofed in this picture but you get the gist of it)

Sewing Directions:

Half Square Triangle Units:

Step 1:

Using the Light/White 3" squares and the Dark 1/Navy & Blue 3" squares, piece together four Half Square Triangle units as shown in the picture below. You will find my tutorial for making a basic Half Square Triangle block at https://fabric406.com/blogs/fabric406-blog/how-to-sew-a-basic-half-square-triangle-block Trim/square up the units to 2.5" square.

Step 2:

Using the picture below for a reference, lay out the Light/White 2.5" square, four Light/White 1.5" squares, and 4 Dark 2/Navy & Purple 1.5" x 2.5" rectangles.

Step 3:

The patches sew together just like an uneven Nine Patch block. First you sew the patches into three rows as shown below.

And press the seam allowances away from the Light/White fabric.

Step 4:

And then you sew the three rows together as shown in the picture below.

And press the seam allowances toward the center as shown below. Actually, you can press the seam allowances whichever direction you prefer since none of the seams match up with any other seams.

Step 5:

Now you can layout the 4 remaining Light/White 1.5" squares, and the four Medium/Purple 1.5" x 4.5" rectangles with the Step 4 unit as shown below.

Step 6:

And now you can sew them into three rows as shown in the picture below.

Press the seam allowances toward the Medium/Purple fabric as shown below.

Step 7:

And sew the three rows together as shown in the picture below.

And press the seam allowances toward the outside of the unit as shown in the picture below.

Step 8:

And on to the next round! Sew the two Dark 2/Navy & Purple 1.5" x 6.5" rectangle to the top and bottom of the Step 7 unit as shown below.

And now you can press the seam allowances away from the center.

Step 9:

Now sew the two Dark 2/Navy & Purple 1.5" x 8.5" rectangles to the sides of the Step 8 unit as shown in the picture below.

And press the seam allowances away from the center as shown below.

Step 10:

The final round! Lay out the Half Square Triangle units, the Light/White 2.5" x 8.5" rectangles, and the Step 14 unit as shown in the picture below. 

Step 11:

Sew the units into three rows as shown below. (Sounds familiar!)

And press the seam allowances toward the Light/White rectangles as shown below.

Step 12:

Sew those three rows together and you're done!

All that's left is to press the seam allowances away from the center as shown in the picture below.

Conclusion:

While there are a lot of steps to constructing the Yankee Charm, it is all straight forward piecing. I did notice that the block seems to be smaller in the center than on the edges. I think that if I had used a lighter weight (50 weight) thread or sewed scant 1/4" seams, that issue would not have happened. I might have to sew another block to see if that corrects it.

Layouts:

I decided to add a few layout options for this block. Here you can see one similar to the colors I used in the tutorial. I like the diamond shape where the blocks come together. This layout gives the illusion of sashing and cornerstones.

In this one, I've made the Half Square Triangle unit without the background color so it makes a Square in a Square design where the blocks come together. The layout also gives the illusion of sashing but with a different type of cornerstone than the previous layout.

I made this one with light backgrounds that aren't white or cream. I definitely like the extra color!

In the quilt layout below you can get an idea of what a scrappy version of the quilt would look like. Hmmm, I have all those skinny scraps of Kim Diehl fabric - bet they would look good in this setting.

And finally, I had to see what an on point layout would look like. Definitely a keeper!

I hope you've enjoyed this tutorial for the Yankee Charm quilt block and all the layout examples. 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. To print a PDF of this tutorial, check out the free app at https://www.printfriendly.com/. 

P.P.S. To figure out yardage for a quilt, check out this post: https://fabric406.com/blogs/fabric406-blog/how-much-fabric-do-i-need