QUICK & EASY WONKY BLOCK TUTORIAL (CHARM PACK & JELLY ROLL FRIENDLY)

A friend of mine came across these really fun and cute blocks on flickr.  She searched for a tutorial on how to make them and couldn't find one. After looking at the block I thought I could figure it out & I did :). Since I was taking pics for my friend anyway I decided to post a quick tute on how to make these adorable blocks.   Here is what the finished "wonky" block will look like (see, just a little wonky but super cute!)...

For this block I used a charm square (precut 5" square) and a 28" x 2.5" strip of coordinating stripe for the borders.  I didn't have a jelly roll for this project so I just used some yardage I had on hand.  If you don't have a charm pack you could also use yardage for your squares.  Before you get started you should know that there is a little waste during this process (you will be making a 9" square and trimming it down to an 8" sqaure).  Be sure to calculate properly before cutting into your yardage!  If you are using precuts then you have nothing to worry about :)

1.  Cut your 28" x 2.5" strip into 2~5" x 2.5" strips and 2~9" x 2.5" strips. 

1~5" square, 2~5"x 2.5" strips, 2~9"x 2.5" strips (sorry, I stacked my strips)

2. Using a 1/4" seam, sew your 5" x 2.5" strips to 2 opposite sides of your 5" square (example: left & right or top & bottom), right sides together.  Iron seams flat(I sew mine open but sewing them to one side is perfectly fine too).  You should now have something that looks like this...

3.  Using a 1/4" seam, sew your 9" x 2.5" strips to the long side of your block, right sides together.  Iron seams flat.  You should now have a block that measures 9" square that looks like this...

You could totally stop here and still have a very cute block but if you want to add a little something to your finished quilt top I would go another step further to get that "wonky" look.

4. I didn't want my block to be completely off kilter but I wanted it to be noticeable so I chose to tilt my block 1" on my cutting board.  (You could easily tilt your block a little less or more to get the look you want).

5.  Cut your tilted block to 8" square.

After you have trimmed all 4 sides, pat yourself on the back because you have made a wonky block...hooray!!  Easy, right?  It should now look like this...

Make some more, add a little sashing and you will have one fun quilt top!  Please let me know if you have any questions or get stuck on something.  I would be more than happy to help :)  Also, if you make a quilt using this wonky block tutorial I would LOVE to see pics!

Smiles
~Beth