Tutorial: DIsappearing Hour Glass Quilt

 I've finally documented the steps in making a disappearing hour glass quilt.  There are video tutorials available - in particular the Missouri Star Quilt company have a great one, but this is just a quick photo one.

Pick your fabrics.  I chose three.  Background, and medium and dark colours.  Having looked at the quilt, I would go back to choosing a background and two medium value colours in the future, like other quilt tops that I've made, or even just two contrasting fabrics, each using 2m.

I used approximately 2 metres of background and 1m of each the colours.  This gives me a quilt of approximately 57" square (twenty five blocks set 5x5)

 You will need to cut a total of 50 10" squares.

Twenty five from the background fabric, and 12 and 13 of each of the two colours.

Place each colour square right sides together with a background square.  Line them up as carefully as you can!

Sew around all four sides of the square, using your 1/4" seam allowance as usual.

 Once you've done that, cut them diagonally from corner to corner in both directions and open them out.  You have created four half square triangles (HSTs).

 Now rotate two opposite HSTs to create an hourglass block (make sure you don't create a pinwheel by accident!).

Sew to create your blocks.  Do the same for all 25 blocks. Then press them carefully.  Your block should be 12 3/4" square.

 Now you need to cut the blocks into thirds in both directions.

I find it easiest to use a ruler that is a little wider than the 2 1/8" that you will need to measure on either side of both central seams - but you might have your own 'easiest method'.

 Once you have your block in nine pieces, you need to rotate five of the pieces.  You need to rotate the four corner blocks sew that they have the little triangles facing out (half a turn each) and the centre piece just a quarter turn, so that it makes a nice chequered pattern.

 Sew these resulting pieces together to make your final block.  Again, repeat for all 25 blocks.  Your blocks should be 11 1/4" (if my maths is right!).

 I choose not to press again, so this is how my two piles of blocks looked at this point.

Lay the blocks out in alternate colours.  Make sure that all the blocks are facing the same direction, so you end up with 'secondary' diamonds being formed, alternating white and colours.

Finally, sew these together to make your quilt top.

 As I said earlier, I think that having the two colours closer in value gives a more pleasing effect, but this will still work OK!

The total time that it took me to get this point was about eight and a half hours.  That included pulling various fabrics from my stash and measuring them to see if I had sufficient to make this in greys.  It will now go on the back burner until the backing fabric and wadding that I have ordered arrive and let me make more progress with it.  I'll show photos again once it's quilted, bound and finished.

I hope that if you choose to make a disappearing hour glass quilt that you have good fun with it too!