Snowball Quilt Blocks
The Snowball quilt block, a plain square with half square triangles at its corners, is one of the most versatile quilt blocks you'll encounter. Snowball blocks can be used as the only block in a quilt, but the design is always one to consider when you're looking for an alternate block.The Snowball quilt block works well as an alternate (think of it as a connector) because of its triangle tips. When the triangles align with the patches of a neighboring block, the combination makes one block seem to flow into another and adds diagonal movement along the lines of the quilt.
The star quilt above, called A Joyous Celebration, alternates star and Snowball blocks. The green corners of the Snowballs link with the red star tips along the diagonal. The neutral print used in the Snowballs blends into the printed fabric used for the star's background, making the Snowballs appear to be set on point, even though they are in a straight setting.
You can alter the Snowball quilt block to make it work for nearly any layout. If you're new to quilting, it would be helpful for you to get familiar with patchwork bone structure before you decide how to construct your Snowball blocks, because there's no single corner configuration that works with every block.
Step through the following pages for examples of Snowballs used with designs from our quilt block pattern library.
