Here are the three center types that I have found in my antique quilts. Quilt historian Pepper Cory owns a log cabin quilt where the logs have actually been folded in half wrong sides together before being sewn to a foundation. Now, of course, there are different ways of piecing the center, including foundation piecing and folding. By altering the way individual logs are colored, an astonishing variety of blocks can be created. These are surrounded by logs of the same width but different lengths spiraling around the center. Four of these could make a snowball.įor me, a traditional log cabin block starts with a square in the center. I used the Curved Log Cabin block in the Circle of Life pattern. I have an antique red and black version of this, but it was pieced to a foundation and the black has deteriorated along the seams. Yes, I have seen this in antique quilts, although they are usually set on point. Blocks that are cut in quarters and recombined. They are wonderful blocks on their own, but they aren’t traditional log cabin blocks. I don’t consider the Pineapple block, the Courthouse Steps block, the Quarter Square block, or the Curved Log Cabin block to be traditional log cabin blocks. There are probably hundreds of different ways to set this block and just as many names for them. Well, I should say, the traditional block. This tutorial is for a traditional log cabin quilt. That’s probably not historically accurate either:-)) Now we say a red center represents the hearth of the home. It wasn’t until much later that I actually started studying American history that I discovered how foolish that notion was. When I first became interested in quilt history, I was told that a black centered log cabin hung on a line might indicate a safe house for a runaway slave. My guess is that the Log Cabin block probably became a favorite among early quilters because it gave them the chance to use narrow scraps of fabric leftover from making garments. If you want to see more tutorials as they come out, simply click HERE to sign up for my newsletter and get a free PDF quilt pattern called "Chained Weathervane".The log cabin as a quilt block pattern became popular in America in the 1860s (although the design can be traced to the UK in the mid-1700s, where it was called Roof Eaves.) In fact, it was once referred to as Lincoln’s Log cabin. I hope you enjoyed this tutorial for a Log Cabin quilt block. You will continue sewing the rectangles to the center unit in a clockwise sequence until you’ve completed the block. Now you will sew the pink print 2″ x 3.5″ rectangle to the bottom of the unit you just made. Next you sew the 2″ x 3.5″ white print to the right side of the unit you made above. It’s also a good idea to check the size of the center unit after you press each seam. For this block I recommend pressing the seam allowances away from the center of the block. Sew the 2 squares together and press the seam allowance. Unless I look really hard, I can’t tell where the odd fabric is! Good news – the company that sold her the kit had a comparable fabric that she used. Unfortunately, she wound up not having enough of one of the fabrics to finish the last block – auugghh! We’ve probably all been there at some point. Well, we all know fabric can stretch a bit. My mom made a log cabin quilt from a kit (this was before kits were even a thing!) and she decided to just sew the strips to the center unit and then trim it off. It is important to cut out the rectangles before sewing instead of just sewing a strip onto the center unit and then trimming off the extra. Here are the cutting directions for my example which makes a 10.5″ finished block: Fabric Requirements for a 10.5" Finished Log Cabin Quilt Block: Traditionally, half of the strips are lighter and half are darker but I’ve seen gorgeous quilts made with all light tone-on-tone beiges/whites and ones made with only one color – like all your green scraps. For my example, I’m using 2″ strips and squares, but you can use whatever size you like. However, it is important to have an accurate 1/4″ seam allowance. Sewing a Log Cabin block is fairly easy – just straight sewing.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Details
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |