I love the Churn Dash block. It’s made on a 3×3 grid which makes it super versatile and open to having fun with. Traditionally the grid is all the same size, but I decided to make this version a little more… fuller. I wanted to be able to have some fussy cutting fun with the centre square of the grid.

The Churn Dash goes together really quickly and it’s perfect for chain piecing. I find the longest part of the process is picking fabrics. The piecing in this block works as a beautiful little frame to show off those special prints you’ve been hoarding. Don’t believe me? Here’s some I prepared earlier.

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TUTORIAL: Fussy Cutters Churn Dash

general information

• See tutorial for seam pressing details.
• I use a Schmetz 70/10 needle.
• I use and recommend Wonderfil Konfetti Cotton 50wt in Pale Grey (KT906) thread for piecing.
• I use  Flatter by Soak in Yuzu 248ml as my starch.
• I use Clover Wonder Clips to help keep my pieces in place.
• I use a Frixon pen as my fabric pen.
• I use a Sue Daley 10″ Rotating Cutting Mat.
• I use a design board to layout my pieces while I worked. Click here for a tutorial on how to make your own.

If you’d like to know “My Top 10 Beginners Patchworking Tools” you can find them 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 sizes

• BLOCK UNFINISHED SIZE: 6″ x 6″
• BLOCK FINISHED SIZE: 5.5″ x 5.5″

cutting instructions

Fabric 1 – Background (Yellow Moons)

• 4 – 1 1/4″ x 3″
• 2 – 2 3/4″ x 2 3/4″

If you like to be more economical with your fabric and you can sew a scant seam without issue you might like to cut these at 2 1/2″ x 2 1/2″)

Fabric 2 – Churn Dash (Rainbow)

• 4 – 1 1/4″ x 3″
• 2 – 2 3/4″ x 2 3/4″

If you like to be more economical with your fabric and you can sew a scant seam without issue you might like to cut these at 2 1/2″ x 2 1/2″)

Fabric 3 – Centre (Unicorn)

• 1 – 3″ x 3″

BLOCK ASSEMBLY STEPS

1: Cut the Block Pieces

I find laying out my fabrics helps me keep the block in order. Diagram 1 shows the fabrics in position. 

Join 1 Fabric 1 rectangle to 1 Fabric 2 rectangle, repeat for all four pairs. Diagram 2 shows these joined.

Tip: I like to chain piece wherever possible and so I chain piece the rectangle together. If you’re not familiar with this technique click here for tutorial.

Making the Half Square Triangle Units: On the wrong side of both of Fabric 2’s squares draw a diagonal line with a fabric pen as shown in diagram 2.

Place 1 Fabric 1 square right-sides together with 1 Fabric 2 square and stitch as per the red lines in diagram 4. Repeat for remaining pair of squares.  Using your ruler and rotary cutter trim along the black line in diagram 4. This will create 2 pairs of half square triangles. Press and trim these to 2″ x 2″.

Lay out your fabric units as pictured in diagram 5.

You’ll be stitching these units together to create three rows. I work right to left, but you can work left to right. Join units as per diagram 6.

Join units as per diagram 7 to complete the three rows.

Join the three rows together to complete the block.