From Janet Wickell,
Your Guide to Quilting.
FREE Newsletter. Sign Up Now!

Monkey Wrench / Churn Dash Quilt Block Pattern

This floral quilt block finishes at 4-1/2-inches or 9-inches square, your choice. A large Floral / White-on-White (WoW) half-square triangle unit sits at each block corner, separated by a strip pieced rectangle made from a contrasting fabric and more of the WoW background. Center squares are cut from a third fabric.

About the name -- this quilt block has been called many things depending on its structure. Churn Dash and Greek Cross are perhaps a closer match than Monkey Wrench, but I hope you'll humor my choice.

Terri, one of our Quilting Forum Hostess, is conducting a swap event for the 9-inch block. Read the swap guidelines carefully before you make quilt blocks, because swap fabrics differ slightly. For instance, you'll use white Kona cotton for the background instead of a WoW. Swap guidelines always rule.

Use any technique you like to construct the half-square triangle units. I like the sandwich method, but you can sew them on a rectangular or long grid if you like. The cutting chart assume you'll use sandwiched squares; alter the instructions to suit the method you choose.

I nearly always make my half-square triangle units larger than necessary, and then cut them back to the exact unfinished size before sewing them into a block. That's especially helpful when working with small units, where even small variations in a seam allowance can result in an incorrectly sized unit. Use larger parent squares to sew oversize units. Trim them back using a ruler with a 45-degree line (such as Martingale's Bias Square) that allows you to center the diagonal seam to ensure that each half of the block is identically sized.

You'll find yardages and cutting instructions on page 2.