Cheerful Homemaker: Quilt-A-Long Week #2: Creating Your Quilt Top

Welcome back to Week #2 of my fantastic Quilt-A-Long/tutorial-fest!

Did you miss Week #1? Catch up here.

This week we're going to transform our stack of quilt blocks into the top layer of our quilt sandwich! I find that it is easiest to work in chunks. This graphic will show you how I break the blocks up:

Step #1: Lay your blocks out on a flat surface and arrange them how you would like them to be in your finished top. If you need to, take a picture of your final layout to refer back to in case you have to pick up your blocks. It's very important to note that every other block goes a different direction. In the first row, blocks 1 and 3 have the big seam running up and down. In blocks 2 and 4 they have the seam running from left to right. You'll continue this checkered pattern through the entire quilt.

Step #2: Take the first two blocks from the top row. Lay the right block over the left and sew down the right side. Press open. Repeat this for each row in the chunk. Once you have 3 rectangles, you will sew the them together, pressing your seams open. As always, make sure the big seam in each block is going the opposite way as the blocks surrounding it.

Step #3: Repeat Step #2 for the other chunks of the quilt.

Step #4: Take the two larger chunks and lay the right block of the right and stitch down the right side, creating an even larger block. Do the same for the smaller chunks.

Step #5: Sew the last two remaining quilt chunks together.

**When sewing blocks together, make sure you are sewing 1/4" from the edge of the fabric. This will help you make sure that your seams meet. Once you start making the larger blocks, feel free to pin your fabric so there is less shifting. I line up my seams and place pins on either side.**

Once the four chunks of your quilt are sewn together and pressed, your quilt top is complete!