Ocean Waves Quilt blocks are made from a combination of half square triangle units and individual half square triangles -- lots of them. The quilt shown here has a total of 800 half square triangle units (HST) and bunches of singly cut triangles.
Ocean Waves Quilt Size
The smaller sub blocks in the pattern finish at 10" x 10", so groups of four measure 20" x 20" finished. The quilt measures 80-1/2" x 100-1/2" (which includes a 1/4" binding all around). Make it smaller or larger by changing the number of blocks across and/or down.
Keeping the Quilt In Square
Check your unit and block sizes as you work so that everything fits together as it should when it's time to assemble the quilt. Accuracy helpers:
Make a Scrap Quilt or Keep it Orderly
Ocean Waves quilts look good sewn in an orderly fashion, with just a few fabrics, but scrap versions are stellar. Background areas in this quilt are the same, but those patches can be scrappy, too, just like the dark triangles. Read Color Value Basics if you would like to use a variety of background fabrics in similar values that flow together nicely.
One way to approach this quilt is to assemble small batches of half square triangle units whenever you have the time, accumulating them until you have enough patches for a quilt. Of course, you can certainly sew the patches during a couple (or three) marathon sewing sessions.
Quilting Fabrics & Other Materials
It's very difficult to estimate fabrics for a scrap quilt, so yardages assume you will construct your quilt in an orderly fashion. To go scrappy, keep in mind that you can make two half square triangle units by sandwiching a 3-3/8" x 3-3/8" dark square with a light square of the same size -- it's truly a scrap-friendly pattern. The single small triangles that fill in the gaps around HSTs are cut from squares of the same size.
Instructions assume you will use the easy sandwich method to make HSTs. Alter cutting instructions if you plan to use another method, such as sewing on a long strip or grid. HSTs should finish at 2-1/2" x 2-1/2" (in other words, measure 3" x 3" before sewing them together).
Dark Fabric(s) for HSTs: 4-1/2 yards (estimate)
Light Fabric(s) for HSTs: 4-1/2 yards (estimate)
Medium-Light Fabric(s) for Block Corners: 2-1/4 yards
Backing: 6-3/4 yards will allow for about 4" excess on quilt sides. Make it wider if you plan to do extensive quilting. A single piece of wide backing fabric might be more economical. (Quilt Backing Instructions)
Batting: approximately 90" x 110"
Binding: About 390 running inches of doublefold binding to finish at 1/4" wide (Binding Strip Instructions)
