Hi everyone!
It’s Fran from Cotton and Joy with the second block on my HSTs 3 Ways series! I’ll be honest, I designed this block, and then I sat down to write this blog post and realized I didn’t really know what it’s called? I have seen it often, but never really learned its name. I had been calling it a card trick variation, but after some searching I realized this wasn’t quite right. After some more time on Google, I realized it’s been called many different things but the name windmill kept popping up, so for this series’ purpose we’ll be calling it the Dutch Windmill!
Just like the Pinwheel block, the Dutch Windmill block is ideal for beginners and comes together easily and quickly!
Instructions
Let’s get right to making this block! This block finishes at 12” (but can be easily resized!) and here’s what you’ll need to make it –
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[8] 4” x 4” in background fabric
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[2] 4” x 4” squares in four different colors
Method
1. Using this tutorial make four HSTs in each color, for a total of 16 HSTs four in each color.
2. Start making each windmill unit by sewing two HSTs together, making sure the HSTs are facing the correct direction. Press seam open or towards the left HSTs.
3. Next, sew the two remaining HSTs together, once again making sure the HSTs are facing the correct direction. Press seam open or towards the right HSTs.
4. Align the two units from Steps 2 and 3 so the middle seams line up, nesting together if seams were pressed to the side. Sew the top unit to the bottom unit. If necessary, trim your block to 6.5” square.
4. Repeat steps 2-4 with remaining colors.
5. Sew full block together with windmill units in a 2 x 2 arrangement. If necessary, trim your block to 12.5” square.
Isn’t this block so fun? I love how quickly it comes together, with just some HSTs (the same amount of HSTs in the Pinwheel block and yet it looks so, so different!
Now what can you do with this one block? So many things! Here are 3 quick ideas:
Table Runner: use 3 blocks, plus four 2.5” x 12.5” strips, and two 2.5” x 44.5” strips.
Pillow Cover: upsize the block by using 6” squares instead of 4” for a 20” x 20” block, perfect for a pillow cover.
Baby Quilt: upsize the block by using 6” squares instead of 4” for a 20” x 20” block. Add two 2.5” x 20.5” strips, and one 2.5” x 42.5” strip.
Hope you enjoy this fun tutorial! I’ll be back later with the third and last block in the series!