3-Dimensional Bow-tie Quilt Blocks

[Quilty]

3-Dimensional bow-tie quilt block ~ Step 1:

Five squares of fabric are required, all the same size, 2 being of background fabric and 3 of the fabric from which the bow-tie is to be made.

http://community.visiblesoul.com/forums/images/1100407040-3DBT01.jpg

My pieces here are 2½ inches square.
If you decide to go any smaller, unless you have very nimble fingers and a lot of patience you may find that these little blocks become very fiddly and rather difficult to make.

3-Dimensional bow-tie quilt block ~ Step 2:

Take one of the squares to be used for the bow-tie and fold it in half with the wrong side inside, the right side facing outwards.

http://community.visiblesoul.com/forums/images/1100407129-3DBT02.jpg

This folded square is the piece to become the centre of the bow-tie.

3-Dimensional bow-tie quilt block ~ Step 3:

Take one bow-tie fabric square, and one background fabric square, and place them right sides together with the folded square sandwiched in between them.

http://community.visiblesoul.com/forums/images/1100407196-3DBT03.jpg

Pin them together and sew that one seam (¼ inch seams are used throughout) as shown in the photo above.

[Quilty]

3-Dimensional bow-tie quilt block ~ Step 4:

Do the same thing with the other end of the folded square, but be very careful to place the bow-tie square and the background square in the opposite position from the way you placed them in step 3.

http://community.visiblesoul.com/forums/images/1100407280-3DBT04.jpg

Pin and sew the second seam as before.
The result should look like the following photo where you can see how the background and bow-tie fabric squares are in alternate positions to each other.

http://community.visiblesoul.com/forums/images/1100407363-3DBT05.jpg

Open out the folded centre square in the direction of the arrows as shown in the following photo.

http://community.visiblesoul.com/forums/images/1100407451-3DBT06_a_.jpg

While opening this centre square, finger press the two seams in opposite directions from each other so that they can be matched together perfectly when you come to pin and sew the final seam.

http://community.visiblesoul.com/forums/images/1100407518-3DBT06_b_.jpg

In the photo above I am pressing the seam towards the bow-tie fabric on each side, but it makes no difference which way you choose to press the seam provided you are consistent.

[Quilty]

3-Dimensional bow-tie quilt block ~ Step 5:

Taking care to match the seams exactly, pin the two pairs of seamed squares together.
It helps to place a pin each side of the seam line to hold it firmly in place.
I have coloured the folded centre square solid purple in the following photo so you can see where it is in relation to what I am doing.

http://community.visiblesoul.com/forums/images/1100407608-3DBT07.jpg

It is important to tease out the centre square before placing the next pin so that you can sew a ¼ inch seam through all four layers of fabric without catching the centre square in such a way as to cause a tuck or pleat in it.

Here it is shown again with the background square folded back, the folded centre square outlined in purple.

http://community.visiblesoul.com/forums/images/1100407693-3DBT08.jpg

Pin the background square and corresponding bow-tie square together with the top edge of the folded centre square accurately aligned. The pin needs to go through all layers to hold it securely.

http://community.visiblesoul.com/forums/images/1100407756-3DBT09.jpg

Do the same with the other side, making certain that the folded centre square has been teased out so that there is room to sew a ¼ inch seam (see where the arrow is pointing on next photo) without causing a tuck or pleat to occur.

This is where it gets fiddly if these squares are cut much smaller than mine.

http://community.visiblesoul.com/forums/images/1100407819-3DBT10.jpg

Here is the pinned block ready for the final seam.

[Quilty]

Sew the final seam, taking special care as you sew over the pins, or remove the pins at the very last moment as the needle reaches their position.

http://community.visiblesoul.com/forums/images/1100407875-3DBT11.jpg

Remove all the pins and open out the block.

http://community.visiblesoul.com/forums/images/1100407939-3DBT12.jpg

Press the block carefully, easing it into a square as you go.

http://community.visiblesoul.com/forums/images/1100408001-3DBT13.jpg

Woo hoo!!! Finished! :)

http://community.visiblesoul.com/forums/images/1100408064-3DBT14.jpg

[winger2]

Very nice job, Quilty