Hourglass Quilt Block Pattern Tutorial

Step 2: Stitch the Hourglass quilt block

Layer the A and the B square with right sides together (RST).

Use pins to hold them together (especially as they get larger or if you've cut the patches the 'exact' size).

Stitch a 1/4" away from the drawn line on both sides.

The orange arrow above points to my anchor cloth. (I use this folded piece of scrap fabric to save thread and to ensure that my sewing machine doesn't 'eat the points' as the fabric is fed through.)

Cut the stitched unit apart on the drawn line with either a scissor or rotary cutter.

Press the units. First in the closed position (Fig. 1). And then open (Fig. 2).

If you start with the dark fabric on top, then when you open them, they are automatically pressed to the dark side.

Draw a diagonal line, perpendicular with the sewn seam on just one of the sewn units.

With RST, layer the two sewn squares.

The SAs nest to make matching the seam much easier. Use pins if needed.

In the photo below, notice how the SA is pointing towards the needle. That helps to keep the seams aligned during stitching. Stitch 1/4" away from both side of the line.

Cut the unit apart on the drawn line.

Press. First closed to set the SA, and then open.

Below one seam is pressed to one side, the other is pressed so that the SAs 'twirl'. This is to reduce bulk.

To trim these units to size, find the Midpoint or Center measurement of the unfinished block.

This is simply the unfinished dimension divided by 2 or...

3-1/2" divided by 2 = 1-3/4"

Or use the chart below:

Hourglass Dimensions
Finished Block Size	Center/Midpoint Measurement	Trim block to
2"	1-1/4"	2-1/2"
3"	1-3/4"	3-1/2"
4"	2-1/4"	4-1/2"
5"	2-3/4"	5-1/2"
6"	3-1/4"	6-1/2"

Match the 45 degree mark on the ruler with the diagonal seamline.

Match the Center/Midpoint of 1-3/4" with the intersection of the center seams (black arrow above). Double check your ruler positioning and then trim two sides with your rotary cutter.

Flip the block so that the two untrimmed sides are exposed. Find the midpoint, align the ruler and trim so that the block is the finished size PLUS 1/2" or 3-1/2".

This is your finished pair of Hourglass quilt blocks.

Same name, different block

'Hourglass' is a unbelievably common name for quilt blocks. The ones shown below are know as Hourglass quilt blocks, too.

Use your cursor to click on the colored illustrations to go to instructions on how to make that particular version of the Hourglass or additional names for the block.