A Valentine Banner or Table Runner

Some UFO blocks made in the 1980s...decided to use them for a Valentine wall hanging. I love that it combines so many of the pinks and blue colorways that were popular at the time. I have some of these fabrics in current day projects  - like honoring old friends.

Made from 2.5" strips (fabric samples) and scraps.

The Instructions:

Finished block is 12" - Finished size is  46" X 18" (approximately) Directions are for one block.



1.  Cut a 14"* square in a medium to dark color, and fold in half, press to crease. Unfold, and fold in half the other direction, and press to crease. Cut apart on the creases, giving you 4 background units. Cut one square into two rectangles 2.5" by 6.5" for the top section of the heart.

2. Place one background unit on a contrasting fabric. Make a line from corner to corner, and stitch to make one half square triangle. Repeat for another background unit. Press seams open** and trim to 6.5" X 6.5". This is the bottom part of the heart.

3. Cut 6 strips 2.5" wide X 6.5" from contrasting fabric, medium to light colored:  Make a 4 patch with 4 of the strips. Press seams to one side, and spin the intersection. Note: do not press until all four are together, so you will know which direction to press the side seam allowances. YouTube has many videos on spinning, or twirling the intersections of a 4 patch.

4. With the remaining 2 strips, and two strips of background, make a half square triangle on each end of the lighter strip. (See illustrations below). Do not cut the diagonal seam allowance until you know you have a good proportioned triangle.

5. Stitch the block half pieces together, and stitch the three sections to complete the block.

Making a HST from 2 strips

Cut off excess background

Make a HST on other side of the light strip.

Sashing and Sashing Cornerstones are made from 2.5" strips.

* The background block is cut larger than needed to trim to the right size. This is done because when stitching large diagonals, it is easy for the fabric to distort. This is a FUN project - let's make it easy.
**When piecing blocks that will ultimately have a lot of intersections, I will press seams open instead of my normal practice of pressing to one side.

There are many books and instructions on finishing, so I am stopping here with one exception: the hanging sleeve:

 I like to sew the sleeve on by machine - but that means I can't quilt in the area of the sleeve. I solved this problem by basting a piece of backing to the batting, and quilting that area first, with the rest of the backing (with the sleeve) folded out of the way.