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Long Time Gone Quilt: Churn Dash Block

The Churn Dash is one of my most favourite blocks out there and I love the Jen has included them in the Long Time Gone pattern. I must confess that my sewing machine is in need of it’s regular 6 month service and so it struggled a bit with the way I pressed my seams which caused me issues (due to bulk) when I made the 2 Churn Dash sections of the quilt. I’ve shared details about why this happened and how I’d avoid it if I had to make them again in the tutorial below.

These sections of the quilt are not my greatest work (not as bad as when I first started! but you can tell I was rushed while making them), but here’s the beauty of this quilt – you’re not going to be able to tell when it’s quilted and being loved and used. If you have problems matching your points in the sections don’t lose sleep over it – make it as best you can and then move on to the next blocks. It’s so easy to get bogged down in these types of blocks chasing perfection that you’ll lose steam for the next blocks and no one needs that to happen!

TUTORIAL: CHURN DASH BLOCK

general information

If you’d like to know “My Top 10 Beginners Patchworking Tools” you can find them by clicking here.

Measurements for the pieces needed to construct this block will not be provided in this tutorial. It is a prerequisite of making this block that you have a copy of the pattern, Long Time Gone by Jen Kingwell. Measurements, where applicable, can be found in this book and it’s associated media.

using from marti michell templates

If you’re using the Marti Michell Perfect Patchwork Templates you can find the conversion chart by clicking here. You can purchase the From Marti Michell Templates by clicking here.

HOW TO MAKE THE BLOCK

general advice:

  • Tolerance Levels: you need to decide what is an acceptable tolerance level for “mistakes”. For example if your blocks are consistently 6¼” instead of 6.5″ are you ok with this. Or if your seams matching are less than an eight of an inch “off” are you ok with this. There’s no hard or fast rule and it’s different for everyone, so remember it’s your quilt so make your decision for you.
  • Press your seams at each step. Click here for a great article on how to press your seams for patchwork.
  • You can iron and starch your fabric prior to cutting. I also starch when pressing bulky seams.
  • When pinning, pin away from you so that you don’t move your pieces when pinning.
  • Where possible I chain piece all the pieces I can in one step. If you’re unsure of what chain piecing is, click here for a tutorial on how to do it. However, for the purpose of the tutorials I will step you through all the seams individually.

BLOCK ASSEMBLY STEPS

1: Make the Half Square Triangles

This is a block in two parts. If you want to save time (and who doesn’t want to do that!) you’ll need to make all the half square triangles first and then complete the Churn Dash blocks. Making Half Square Triangles (HST) is a foundational quilting skill – it’s such a great block and an easy way to add interest to your designs.

Tip: If you’re using this method to make HSTs then I like to opt to make something slightly bigger and then trim to size to help improve my accuracy. With these HSTs I rounded the cutting measurements up to the nearest whole number to give me the space to trim down as needed.

  • On the wrong side of the background squares use a fabric pen/pencil to draw a diagonal line from one corner to the other. This will be the line you use to work out your seam. Pair a background fabric with your feature fabric, place right sides together.
  • Stitch a scant quarter inch seam on either side of the diagonal line. (This is where having the little bit of extra fabric will come in handy if your seam is not as scant as it could be.)
  • Using a ruler and rotary cutter trim the square on the diagonal line to make two.
  • Press the squares open. Trim to the same measurement as the centre square of the churn dash block.

Please note: This step is made super easy with the use of From Marti Michell Perfect Patchwork Templates. They reduce fabric waste and increase accuracy. You can purchase the templates by clicking here.

Make: 84

2: Make the Churn Dash Blocks

Chain piece the rectangles together to make the units as shown in diagram 1 below. (If you need to see more details photos of these steps check out my tutorial for the Fussy Cutters Churn Dash by clicking here.)

Long Time Gone Sewalong - Learn how to sew and assemble Jen Kingwell's Long Time Gone with this sewalong from Angie (GnomeAngel), Nicole (Snips Snippets) and Marti Michell. See more at www.GnomeAngel.com

Tip: Laying the blocks out in the order in which you’ll be joining them will help keep the placement straight. 

Long Time Gone Sewalong - Learn how to sew and assemble Jen Kingwell's Long Time Gone with this sewalong from Angie (GnomeAngel), Nicole (Snips Snippets) and Marti Michell. See more at www.GnomeAngel.com

Join the pieces to form three rows as per diagram 2. I alternated the direction of my seams so I could nest the rows together. 

3: Complete the Block

Join the three rows together to complete your churn dash block.

Make: 21

You’ll need to join 9 blocks together to make one section of the quilt and 12 blocks together to make another.

additional tutorial support

These tutorials were first published as part of the Long Time Gone Sew-along which was hosted by myself (GnomeAngel), Nicole Calver (of Snips Snippets) and Marti Michell. Both Nicole and Marti have provided their own tutorials to help you make these block you can check out these tutorials by clicking the buttons below:

Please note: I do not control any of the information not contained within the GnomeAngel.com domain. This means when you leave this site I have no ability to correct the information, provide the information or alter the information contained on the sites linked too. These links are provided as a courtesy only and I take no responsibility for the content contained on these sites.