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Quilt Block Tutorial: Interlocking Seasons

Interlocking Seasons Quilt Block Tutorial

Version 1.1

*PDF Click Here*

This 12.5” x 12.5” block will require 6 different fabrics; 4 for the outer rings, 1 for center ring, and 1 for background.

  Outer Rings (For each of the 4 fabrics): 

Piece: Quantity: Measurement:
A-1 3 1.25”x 3.5”
A-2 4 1.25”x1.25”

Center Ring:

Piece: Quantity: Measurement:
C-1 4 1.25”x 3.5”
C-2 4 1.25”x1.25”

Background:

Piece: Quantity: Measurement:
B-1 4 1.25”x 2.75”
B-2 8 1.25”x2”
B-3 9 1.25”x1.25”
B-4 4 8”x8” -  triangle

 

  

Cutting

(*Use the following direction as a suggestion. Cutting each piece one by one will result in more accurate result but you can save time by minimizing the number of cuts by cutting multiple pieces at once.)

a. Outer rings

  1. 1. Cut 1.25” wide strip of Outer Ring Fabric. A strip of half yard fabric should be sufficient. 
  2. 2. Fold strip to make 4 layers of 1.5”. Cut all four layers into 1.25”x1.25”(A-2)
  3. 3. Fold remaining strip into 3 layers of 3.75”. Cut layers into 3.5” x 1.25” (A-1)
  4. 4. Repeat for other 3 remaining outer ring fabrics and separate each fabric into 4 groups.b. 

b. Center ring

  1. 1. Cut 1.25” wide strip of Center Ring Fabric. A strip of half yard fabric should be sufficient.
  2. 2. Fold strip to make 4 layers of 1.5”. Cut all four layers into 1.25”x1.25”(C-2)
  3. 3. Fold remaining strip into 4 layers of 3.75”. Cut layers into 3.5” x 1.25” (C-1)
c. Background   
  1. 1. Cut 1.25” wide strip of Background Fabric. A strip of a yard fabric should be sufficient.
  2. 2. Fold strip to make 3 layers of 4”. Cut all 3 layers into 3 sets of  1.25”x1.25”(B-3). You will have 9 pieces.
  3. 3. Fold remaining strip into 4 layers of 4.25”. Cut layers into 2 sets of 2”x1.25” (B-2). You will have 8 pieces.
  4. 4. Fold remaining strip into 4 layers of 3”. Cut layers into 2.75”x1.25” (B-1)
  5. 5. Cut 8” wide strip of Background fabric. A strip of half yard fabric should be sufficient.
  6.  6. Cut strip into 2, 8”x8” pieces. Take both pieces and rotate by 45 degrees. Cut the 8”x8” into 4 triangles (B-4).

  

   

Piecing:

Arrange outer ring fabric into 4 sets in the order of how you want the rings to interlock.  Select one set as the current outer ring. You will sew the pieces into 4 individual panels. The 4 panels will be sewn together to form a whole interlocking ring panel.

        Suggestions:

  • • After sewing each piece, be sure to iron both sides of the fabric, pressing the ¼” seam allowance to the darker fabric side.
  • • All sewn strips will be ¾” wide. Measuring before sewing and after ironing will result in seams that will line up evenly.
  • • Carefully align and pin seams prior to sewing.
  1. 1. Sew B-1 (background) to top of A-2 of next outer ring set.
  2. 2. A-1 of current outer ring set to the left side of the pieces
  3. 3. B-2 to the bottom of the pieces then set aside the pieces.

  

 
  

 

1. Sew B-3, A-2 of next outer ring set, B-3, and C-2

2. Sew C-1 to the left side of the pieces

3. Sew B-2 to the top

 

 

 

1. Sew first group of pieces to the 2nd group

2. Sew A-1 to the top

3. Sew A-2, A-2 of next outer ring fabric, and A-1

4. Sew last group of pieces to the right

 

Repeat the steps for the next 3 panels to create 4 panels.

*The last panel will use the first set of outer ring fabric for the “next outer ring set” for A-2.

  1. 1. Combine the 4 panels by first sewing the last B-3 to the bottom right corner of first panel.  *Leave 5/8” un-sewn on the top to sew the final block.
  2. 2. Sew 4th block to the bottom of 1st with B-3. Turn 90 degrees to line up the patterns.
  3. 3. Sew 3rd to the 4th and then sew the 2nd onto the 3rd.
  4. 4. Sew the 2nd block to the 1st block. Be careful to line up the seams of B-3 from step one.

 

 

 

  1. 1. Sew B-4 to the top of the interlocking rings. Leave 1” un-sewn on the left edge, fold and pin.
  2. 2. Turn 90 degrees counter clockwise and sew the next B-4. Trim the corner edge remaining after a B-4 piece is sewn to each side of the interlocking rings leaving the ¼” seam allowance.
  3. 3. Continue sewing B-4 to each side of the interlocking rings. After sewing the last B-4 piece, unfold the pinned edge, sew together and trim edge corner. You will be left with a large square about 13” x 13”.
  4. 4. Trim all four sides, aligning the center of the interlocking rings, measuring 12.5”x12.5”.
  5. 5. Relax and enjoy the completed interlocking seasons block.

To see the completed blocks, you can find the blog posts here and here.  You can also find them on my Flickr:  1,2,3,4,5,6,7 and 8.  This block was designed by Mister Parfait for the 3×6 Bee. 

If you make a block using this tutorial, please add it to my Flickr group, Parfait Projects!

Please feel free to contact us for any questions at all!

All editorial content and graphics on this document produced by Madame Parfait (original material) are copyright and all rights reserved. Please do not reproduce, copy, or distribute any material from this document. Feel free to link to the website, and please contact me if you would like further information on use. All projects and tutorials created and listed are for personal use only. Any outside images, material and information NOT produced by Madame Parfait are copyright their respective owners. © 2010 – 2011 Madame Parfait and The Parfait Café.

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, June 15th, 2011 at 11:26 pm and is filed under Patterns & Tutorials, Quilting Blocks. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

21 Responses to “Quilt Block Tutorial: Interlocking Seasons”

  1. DianeY says:
    June 16, 2011 at 2:43 pm

    Thank you both so very much! I absolutely love this block & just printed it out! I really didn’t think you’d get to the instructions so quickly after welcoming your newest addition, for which I offer a belated Congrats!

  2. Aima says:
    June 18, 2011 at 6:44 am

    What a clever idea. Thanks for sharing this tutorial. I will definitely try it out. The block is really cool.

  3. Bente says:
    June 19, 2011 at 1:02 pm

    Thank you very much, this is a great tutorial!!!

  4. elfriede says:
    June 23, 2011 at 4:38 pm

    oh, that idea is very great. this block I will make. that will be fun to stich, because I like handsewing much.
    many thanks for the templates.
    have a good time
    elfriede
    ps. will there came more blocks?

  5. Tutorial: Interlocking Seasons quilt block · Quilting | CraftGossip.com says:
    June 24, 2011 at 11:35 pm

    [...] the 3 x 6 Sampler Quilt Mini Bee. She calls it Interlocking Seasons, I call it superbly done! Click here to get the tutorial. You may also [...]

  6. Marga Lund says:
    June 25, 2011 at 12:43 pm

    Thank you so much /Marga

  7. marieta says:
    June 26, 2011 at 9:20 am

    lovey¡¡
    greattut¡¡
    thanks
    xxoo

  8. Lynne (Lily's Quilts) says:
    June 26, 2011 at 4:45 pm

    There is very little out there in blogland and on flickr that is really new and exciting and I also stubbornly only usually want to make my own designs but this block is really something special and I love it A LOT and might even have to make one tomorrow I like it so much – fabulous

  9. Sue says:
    June 29, 2011 at 1:28 am

    Hi I love this block, it is just so nice and simple but looks stunning. I am getting the Bee in Oz girls to make me this block in Kaffe Fassett with grey plain fabric.

  10. Sewing at last... | Sewjournal says:
    September 1, 2011 at 8:33 pm

    [...] been machine piecing a very complicated block for Bee in Oz. It’s supposed to look like this when it’s finished but bigger. At the moment it looks like [...]

  11. Sue says:
    September 6, 2011 at 2:03 am

    I have 10 of my 12 blocks and they are huge 32″ finished. I doubled the size from 1.25 to 2.5 width. I ended up using bone the grey was just to dark and I couldn’t find a light one that I liked. There is a photo on my blog of the first finished. Thank you again for a great pattern and I hope you like what I have done with it. When it is finished I will let you know

  12. happy zombie says:
    September 7, 2011 at 1:53 pm

    Your block is just too cool, and what a FANTASTIC tutorial!!!

  13. prsd4tim2 says:
    October 1, 2011 at 11:51 pm

    Mme. Parfait (and Mr. Parfait too?) I love your block. It is very cool. I made it for a VQB tonight and I wanted to ask if there might be an error in your drawing? The drawing says the bottom right corner is A-2, but the instructions say A-1. Of course, I was looking at the drawing, and couldn’t figure out why it didn’t work. My second try was much better. Thanks for a great block. It’s awesome!

  14. NanGreen says:
    February 12, 2012 at 1:05 pm

    Thank you for this tutorial. My head is spinning with possibilities.

  15. The Busy Bean · WIP Wednesday says:
    February 15, 2012 at 9:08 am

    [...] taking turns to have everyone make a block for us. This month Rachel asked us to do a block using this tutorial at the Parfait Cafe. It was a little bit of a challenge, really making sure that everything lined [...]

  16. Sukie » Blog Archive » Blocks. . blocks. . blocks. . says:
    February 27, 2012 at 1:35 am

    [...] loud mouth and I’m such a complainer. I’m in a local bee and Rachel asked us to do the Interlocking Seasons block by Ms Parfait Cafe. I’ve got to admit one of the hardest block I’ve had to do and [...]

  17. draw how to link says:
    April 7, 2012 at 5:26 pm

    draw how to link…

    [...]Quilt Block Tutorial: Interlocking Seasons « The Parfait Cafe[...]…

  18. Jillian in North Dakota says:
    August 31, 2012 at 1:24 am

    THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU for charting the course for this block, one of my absolute favorites.

  19. Rebecca says:
    April 2, 2013 at 7:42 pm

    This is such a beautiful block! Thank-you so much for sharing!
    We’re using this tutorial for our charity quilt bee this month. The flickr group is here: http://www.flickr.com/groups/1768653@N25/

  20. Maureen says:
    April 23, 2013 at 8:42 pm

    Just love the pattern and had fun doing it. I have tried to enlarge it by an inch and am having a very hard time.. Also thought of using only one main block and all 4 others the same fabric with a black background. Can you help?

  21. Block Catch Up | Jaclyn Quilts says:
    April 25, 2013 at 11:02 pm

    [...] do. Good Stitches Joy group we did an interlocking block design from Parfait Cafe called Interlocking Seasons. We were asked to use fabric in pinks, purples and peaches with a solid white background.  The [...]

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