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Quilt Explorer · Block of the Month

Build a Sampler Quilt in a Year

Piece one classic block a month. Twelve months later, sash them together into a finished sampler quilt — a quilting tradition, at your own pace.

Following along live? It's Month 8 (August) — this month's featured block is Bear Paw. All 12 are unlocked, so jump ahead any time.

Sampler colorway

0 of 12 blocks pieced

Tap a block on the board to mark it complete.

The 12-month curriculum

Month 1 · January

Nine Patch

Foundational 3×3 grid and your scant 1/4" seam test.

Cutting list

  • 12" Finished Block: Cut 5 squares 4.5" Fabric A. Cut 4 squares 4.5" Fabric B.

Assembly

  1. Arrange 9 squares into 3 rows of 3 in alternating checkerboard pattern.
  2. Sew squares into 3 horizontal rows.
  3. Press seams in alternating directions per row.
  4. Join 3 rows matching intersection seams.

Pressing · Press seams toward the darker squares, alternating direction by row so they nest.

Block details
Month 2 · February

Rail Fence

Strip piecing and rotating units for movement.

Cutting list

  • 12" Finished Block: Cut 4 fabric strips 3.5" x 12.5" alternating light and dark.

Assembly

  1. Sew 4 parallel fabric strips together along long edges.
  2. Press seams in one direction.
  3. Trim sides square to 12.5".
  4. Rotate adjacent blocks 90 degrees when joining into a quilt top.

Pressing · Press all strip seams the same direction, then rotate alternate blocks a quarter turn.

Block details
Month 3 · March

Quarter-Square Triangle

Quarter-square triangles (the hourglass unit).

Cutting list

  • 6" Finished Unit: Cut 2 HST units at 7", place right sides together with opposing colors, mark diagonal line perpendicular to seam, sew 1/4" on both sides, cut.
  • 12" Finished Unit: Cut 2 HST units at 13", place right sides together with opposing colors, mark diagonal line, sew 1/4" on both sides, cut.

Assembly

  1. Create two identical HST units.
  2. Place the HST units right sides together with opposite fabrics nesting at the center seam.
  3. Mark a diagonal line across the existing seam.
  4. Sew 1/4" on both sides of the line, cut apart, press center, and trim.

Pressing · Press toward the larger triangle and clip the center to spin the seams flat.

Block details
Month 4 · April

Pinwheel

Half-square triangles and directional spin.

Cutting list

  • 12" Finished Block: Cut 4 HST units trimmed to 6.5" (using 2 squares 7" background, 2 squares 7" blade fabric).

Assembly

  1. Piece 4 identical HST units.
  2. Rotate HST units so blade triangles point inward in a rotational direction.
  3. Sew top 2 HSTs into top row, bottom 2 into bottom row.
  4. Join rows at center seam and pin-spin center point flat.

Pressing · Press all four HSTs the same rotational direction so the center pinwheels flat.

Block details
Month 5 · May

Flying Geese Block

Flanked triangle points and border units.

Cutting list

  • 12" Finished Block: Stack 4 Flying Geese units 3.5" x 6.5" into two vertical columns.

Assembly

  1. Make 8 Flying Geese units.
  2. Stitch into two vertical columns of 4 geese each.
  3. Join columns down the middle seam.
  4. Press flat.

Pressing · Press toward the sky triangles so goose points stay crisp and unblunted.

Block details
Month 6 · June

Log Cabin

The center hearth and spiraling logs.

Cutting list

  • 12" Finished Block: Cut 1 center square 2.5". Cut 1.5" strips for light and dark logs, adding in spiral sequence.

Assembly

  1. Sew first light log to center square.
  2. Sew second light log to top edge.
  3. Sew first dark log to right side, second dark log to bottom.
  4. Continue spiraling light logs on top/left and dark logs on bottom/right for 4 full rounds.

Pressing · Press every log outward, away from the center, as you add each round.

Block details
Month 7 · July

Ohio Star

Star points and center-hub alignment.

Cutting list

  • 12" Finished Block: Cut 4 QST units 4.5", 4 corner background squares 4.5", 1 center square 4.5".

Assembly

  1. Make 4 QST (hourglass) units for star points.
  2. Assemble top row: Corner + QST + Corner.
  3. Assemble middle row: QST + Center + QST.
  4. Assemble bottom row: Corner + QST + Corner. Sew rows together.

Pressing · Press the QST points toward the corners so the center hub seams nest.

Block details
Month 8 · August 🌟 This month

Bear Paw

Multi-unit assembly with cornerstones.

Cutting list

  • 12" Finished Block: Cut 16 small HSTs 2.5", 4 paw squares 4.5", sashing strips 2.5" x 9.5".

Assembly

  1. Piece 16 small claw HST units.
  2. Attach claws to top and side of each paw square to make 4 paw blocks.
  3. Join paw blocks with center sashing strips and cornerstone square.
  4. Press flat.

Pressing · Press each paw unit toward the background, then nest at the sashing intersections.

Block details
Month 9 · September

Churn Dash

A framed center square with HST corners.

Cutting list

  • 12" Finished Block: Cut 1 center square 4.5", 4 rectangle bars 2.5" x 4.5", 4 HST units 4.5".

Assembly

  1. Piece 4 HST corner units.
  2. Sew background and frame strips together to form 4 side bar units.
  3. Arrange 3x3 layout: HSTs in corners, side bars on edges, solid square in center.
  4. Sew into 3 rows and join rows together.

Pressing · Press toward the frame rectangles so the center square floats.

Block details
Month 10 · October

Shoofly

Angled corner triangles around a center.

Cutting list

  • 12" Finished Block: Cut 1 center square 4.5", 4 HSTs trimmed to 4.5", 4 background squares 4.5".

Assembly

  1. Make 4 HST units combining corner fabric and background fabric.
  2. Arrange 9 units into a 3x3 grid with center square in middle and HSTs in 4 corners.
  3. Sew units into 3 rows.
  4. Sew 3 rows together to complete block.

Pressing · Press corner HSTs toward the background, alternating rows to nest.

Block details
Month 11 · November

Bow Tie

The 3D bow-tie illusion through piecing.

Cutting list

  • 12" Finished Block: Cut 2 tie squares 6.5", 2 background squares 6.5", 2 small knot squares 2.5".

Assembly

  1. Stitch knot squares onto corners of tie squares using stitch-and-flip method.
  2. Arrange 2 tie squares diagonally opposite 2 background squares.
  3. Sew into 2 rows.
  4. Join center seam.

Pressing · Press the knot seams toward the tie so the illusion sits proud.

Block details
Month 12 · December

Sawtooth Star

Your grand star finale.

Cutting list

  • 12" Finished Block: Cut 1 center square 6.5", 4 Flying Geese units 3.5" x 6.5", 4 background corner squares 3.5".

Assembly

  1. Make 4 Flying Geese units.
  2. Attach background squares to ends of top and bottom Flying Geese.
  3. Attach remaining Flying Geese to left and right sides of center square.
  4. Sew top, middle, and bottom rows together.

Pressing · Press flying-geese points outward and nest at every star-point seam.

Block details
Month 13 · Finishing

Sashing, Borders & Binding

Join all 12 blocks with sashing and cornerstones, add borders, baste the quilt sandwich, quilt it, and finish with continuous binding.

  1. Lay the 12 blocks out 3 across × 4 down and audit the balance of color and value.
  2. Add sashing strips between blocks, with cornerstones where they meet.
  3. Sew the blocks into rows, then join the rows into the full quilt top.
  4. Add borders to frame the top.
  5. Layer the quilt sandwich (backing, batting, top) and baste it.
  6. Quilt through all three layers, then bind the outer edge.
SashingCornerstonesBorderQuilt sandwichBastingBinding

Planning your fabric?

Design any of these blocks in the Pattern Maker, then send it to the Yardage Calculator for an exact fabric list.

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