Grand Canal Scrap Quilt / Large Granny Square Tutorial - Part 3

This is the Granny Square part of the Grand Canal Scrap Quilt tutorials. I made these squares way back in 2017 and used the paperback book "Great Granny squared by Lori Holt" (here) as my guide. Lori Holt also has a recent post (here) from March of this year with great pictures and directions showing a similar block. Other tutorials can be found at Blue Elephant Stitches and Wombat Quilts.

These pictures will show a different fabric but the method and measurements are exactly how I made the Grand Canal Granny Square. 

Each Block:
13 focus fabric squares cut to 3.5" x 3.5"
12 background pieces cut: 3.5" x 4" (rectangles)

Lay out focus fabric.

Sew all focus fabric and background rectangles together in rows except for the top and bottom rectangles
Iron seams open.

Next - sew all those rows together.  Do NOT iron yet.
Now sew on the top and bottom rectangles so they can be centered over that middle square.

It's almost time to iron the horizontal seams but here is a tip:  finger press the seams in the proper direction from the FRONT before ironing.  These seams are NOT pressed open. Finger press 3 seams towards the top square and iron from the front to start.  The pix below shows how it looks when you give it a second press from the backside.

Rotate your block and finger press the other 3 seams to the 'bottom' rectangle. Iron the front and then give it a second press on the back.

Now you can flip your block every which way to iron and starch it since all seam directions are perfect! 

All blocks were trimmed to 13.25".

You might be more accurate than me and even get a block 13.5" x 13.5" - but caution - always trim at least 1/4" from where the seams join so you don't lose any points.

And that's it! You know how to make a scrappy log cabin here - and now the large granny square. If you plan on making a scrap quilt with these two blocks I would recommend making the granny squares first.  The granny square blocks will set the size. The log cabin squares can be 'fudged' to fit whatever space needs filling. A little trimming on the log cabins will never be noticed.  Again - this log cabin block is a scrappy one for irregularly sized left overs.

5 granny square left overs from here and the log cabins made two years later - it's always good to save those left over blocks!

The next and last post for this Grand Canal Scrap quilt will be how to take every last scrap ......

 and make this awesome border - the easy peasy way :)

Links:  Overview Part One (here)    
           Log Cabin Tutorial Part Two (here)
Date: September 2019