How to Piece a Blooming Nine Patch Block

Yesterday we kicked off the new Machine Quilting Block Party and I’m thrilled by the response! Hundreds of quilters have joined in the fun and will be making the Flower Festival quilt month by month with me this year. Click Here to find the first pattern!

Today is the first Monday of the month so we’re going to jump right in to piecing this Blooming Nine Patch quilt block together. However, it’s always good to start on a solid foundation so please take a minute to watch the Quilting Basics video on fabric preparation and cutting.

I’ve received a lot of questions about cutting and how to work with the fabric yardage. When calculating fabric I have added enough extra for you to cut your long fabric pieces into 1 yard sections. So the 2 yards of Fabric D Cream can be cut into 1 yard sections so they are easier to work with.

When cutting the pieces for your Blooming Nine Patch quilt block, the best way to cut is from strips. I’ve set up the cutting chart to have the biggest units to cut listed first. So if the first unit is 4 – 2 1/2-inch squares, then first cut a 2 1/2 inch strip of that color, then cut your squares, then sub-cut any other pieces you need from that one strip.

After you’re done cutting, make sure to keep your fabrics organized in a bin or box so you can pull out the leftover strips and cut more pieces later.

When it comes time to piece your quilt block, be sure to watch the Quilting Basics Tutorial on piecing to get the basics under your belt with piecing. The most important tip from this video is to develop a system for pinning so when you get to the machine you know which edge you’re piecing. It’s really easy to get things flipped around, even when moving the short distance from your pressing board to your sewing machine.

The last video you really need to watch before watching today’s video is our Quilting Basics Tutorial on piecing Half Square Triangles. We need several half square triangles for this quilt block so make sure to watch this video so you know how to create them.

Whew! That’s a lot of basics to get under your belt all in one go, but I wanted you to get started on the right foot. Quilt piecing can be intimidating and it’s sometimes hard to know where to get started. I know when I first started quilting I would have cut my fabric all wrong, notching out little squares from the corners rather than cutting full length strips!

We all have to start somewhere and I hope all of these Quilting Basics tutorials will help answer a lot of the questions you have before you get started. Click Here to watch the entire playlist of quilting tutorials.

Now let’s talk about our Blooming Nine Patch quilt block. This block has very simple shapes, but a LOT of pieces. To simplify the piecing, we’re going to tackle this in three units – the vase, the stem, and the flower. Let’s learn how to piece this Blooming Nine Patch quilt block together in this quilting tutorial video:

Click Here to find the pattern for this block!

As you can see from the video, this block could be a bit complicated, but by piecing it together in three sections, it comes together easily and quickly.

What’s next? We call this the Machine Quilting Block Party for a reason! We’re not just piecing blocks together, we’re also going to machine quilt this Blooming Nine Patch quilt block with a variety of designs, including free motion feathers!

I’ll share a video on how to quilt this Blooming Nine Patch quilt block next Monday, January 9th. Between now and then, make sure to check back here each day because I’m sharing new tip videos and posts to get you started machine quilting on the right foot.

Do you have questions about this block? How did it work out for you? Make sure to share your experience in the comments below or on our Block Party Facebook Group.

Let’s go quilt,

Leah Day