St. Louis 16 Patch quilt block tutorial

Today I am sharing a finish and a tutorial for the St. Louis 16 Patch.  Hope you enjoy!

The traditional St. Louis 16 Patch block is simply four rows of four patches.  This block is normally pieced using a checkerboard layout, alternating between two fabrics.

St. Louis 16 Patch quilt block tutorial

One pair of 2.5″ x 21″ long strips will make one 8″ x 8″ finished size block, as shown in the sample below.
One pair of 3″ x 25″ long strips will make one 10″ x 10″ finished size block.
One pair of 3.5″ x 29″ long strips will make one 12″ x 12″ finished size block.
One pair of 4″ x 33″ long strips will make one 14″ x 14″ finished size block.

While working on my weekly posts for the Top 10 Tips for New Quilters series, I was inspired to make a plaid 16 patch quilt, and put some of the quilting methods I had been covering into practice.  The success of your quilt block will depend on the accuracy of your cutting, your piecing and your 1/4″ seam.  Each of these is covered in the first three weeks of the Top 10 Tips series.

Although I normally press my seams open, this time I pressed my seams to the side, to test how much more accurate the piecing would be.  This humble block is made easily using a strip piecing method.  Pressing of seams and the strip piecing method were the subjects of week four and five of the Top 10 Tips series.

To make a 8″ x 8″ finished size St. Louis 16 Patch block, you will need a pair of 2.5″ x 21″ strips.

With right sides together, sew the pair of strips along the length.  Press the seam to the side.   Cut this strip unit in half making (2) 10.5″ lengths.  With right sides together, sew these two pieces along the length and press the seam to the side.

This photo shows the pieced and pressed unit from the back with all the seams pressed in one direction.

From the front, use your acrylic ruler and rotary cutter to square up the edge of the strips.  Then cut this strip unit into four 2.5″ wide strips.

 

Flip the first and third strips around.  Now sew these columns together to make the block.

Press all the seams to the left.

Join all the blocks for Row #1.  Press all the seams on the back of the blocks to the left.  Press all the seams in Row #2 to the right.  Alternate directions when pressing the seams for each row.

Join the rows and press the seams down.

This Pretty in Plaid design using the St. Louis 16 Patch block was drawn up in EQ7.  The individual squares finish at 2″ square making an 8″ finished size block.  Because I was working with Kona Cotton fat quarters, I was limited to a 7 x 7 block setting.

Pretty in Plaid by Sew Fresh Quilts – 56″ x 56″

Putting into practice the methods used in my posts for the Top 10 Tips for New Quilters series, I was able to complete this plaid 16 patch quilt with relative ease.  Although pressing my seams open, as in the past, does provide you with a nice flat and smooth quilt top, pressing the seams to the side for this project resulted in seams that turned out perfect and were a breeze to match up.

I wonder what this quilt would look like in a pink colourway???  Or even using prints?

 

 

If you are interested in making a Pretty in Plaid quilt, the pattern is now for sale in my shop.

Linking up to Finish it up Friday with Amanda Jean of Crazy Mom Quilts and TGIFF! hosted this week with me at Sew Fresh Quilts.