Square in a Square / The Beginning

I recently finished a square in a square quilt using this pretty Finnegan fabric from Brenda Riddle.  These blocks are referred to as economy blocks and can be made in a variety of sizes. I used 2 layer cakes.  This way I get a whole beautiful collection picked out for me by the fabric designer - and not much left over fabric to add to the never ending scrap hoard.  

Before you cut your pieces, look at the patterns and colors of the layer cakes. See what fabric you might like for a center.   What color or pattern contrasts with that for a  middle area - and finally, what looks good as your largest square - the outer one.

With a strong collection like this Grand Canal collection from Kate Spain - the sunflowers became the center square and the larger scale images worked nicely in the outer square.   

For this quilt, flowers added visual weight for the center. Whether it's by color or with design, try to make a distinction between the center, middle and outer squares.  Shown above are the stronger center squares and softer middle pieces laid on top.

Lastly are the larger outer squares that can match in color even if there aren't enough duplicates in the layer cakes to make everything perfectly match. 

The layout above shows all 30 blocks made from two layer cakes.  The next post will be about the specs and cutting dimensions so you too can make this fun pattern.  With a little planning on what fabrics to emphasize in each square - scraps are just as effective.   

Each block has only nine pieces and trimmed to an unfinished size of 13" x 13".  This is not a forever project but one that is easy to keep track of for those times when you want something simple to stop and start. 

Materials:

Finnegan layer cakes by Brenda Riddle / Moda 

December 2020