Make a Corner Beam Quilt Block Without a Specialty Ruler ~ You CAN do it!

Are you tired of buying expensive rulers for every quilt block?

The Corner Beam Ruler by Studio 180 is a terrific tool for making this basic, essential block. However, if you're making only one quilt or worse yet one block, you might want a less-costly alternative—and no extra ruler to store.

In this tutorial, you'll learn a cost-effective and straightforward method for creating the Corner Beam block using paper piecing.

There are 3 BIG reasons why this is my go-to method:

1. You can eliminate the inconvenience of buying and storing a ruler with an unusual shape.
2. As long as you sew on the line and can make a straight cut with your ruler, it's as accurate as it gets with no fuss.
3. There's no new technique to learn or memorize when you make more Corner Beams for a quilt three years in the future—once you can paper piece, you can paper piece.

For those who love a good gadget, be sure to check out our review of the Corner Beam ruler by Deb Tucker from Studio 180 Designs.

If you're a gadget-gal, this is an expertly designed tool that gets the job done!

Quilt blocks that use the Corner Beam

While not the most popular block in the quilting world, it does lend an interesting angle to our block designs.

Obviously, you want those pointy-points in the right place and sharp.

As long as you can sew on the line, you'll get that with paper piecing. You can see this in the King David's Crown and Autumn Leaf blocks below—a nice point at the outside edge.

In more complex block designs, like Lasting Blossom or Bouquet, achieving accurate piecing becomes even more critical—there's simply more places where you want a good match between angles and points like the Bouquet or Lasting Blossom blocks.

As a quilter, you know that the accuracy of your piecing can make or break a project. It also determines how much fun the block is to assemble.

Seriously. If the block is grueling to make, what chance does the quilt have of being finished?

That's right!

When your pieces fit together perfectly, there's nothing quite like the feeling of satisfaction that comes with creating something beautiful.

Paper piecing gets the job done...painlessly. :D

With just three patches to cut, there's not much to a Corner Beam quilt block. All we really need to be is mindful of cutting with straight of grain on the outside edges. We'll do that next.

To cut your patches for the Beams, layer your four Beam squares, edges even on your rotary mat, lining up the corners of your templates and cut patches.

These patches can be RST or WST or all the same side up or down. It doesn't matter for the Beam patch.

Those template edges we trimmed should be even with the upper left and lower right corners for quick and easy (and accurate) placement.

Once everything's lined up just so, align the edge of your ruler with one of the solid cutting lines and cut through the four layers.

Carefully lift your ruler to align it with the second cutting line, lining up all the cut edges as needed before making this cut.

Now for the Corner and Corner.R patches.

Since these patches are not symmetrical, we MUST LAYER OUR Corner rectangles in PAIRS either RST or WST.

Click here to see this layering (if it's confusing to you) before all the patches are stacked on top of each other.

NEVER EVER should these patches be ALL right sides up or ALL wrong sides up.

Again, layer in PAIRS or RST or WST to create the mirror image patches.

With a marker (I like a mechanical pencil for its consistent line) make a mark 5/8" in from the left on the upper edge and 5/8" in from the right on the bottom edge. (red arrows)

Align your ruler with these marks at the edges and cut the rectangle in half on the diagonal through all four layers.

I've arranged all four cut patches to show the results of our efforts to position the patches correctly before cutting.

Perfect!

Piecing a Corner Beam quilt block

Time to sew!

With a teeny dab of Elmer's Washable Glue stick, position and stick the Beam patch to the unprinted side of the paper pattern. Use the dashed guidelines for quick and easy positioning.

With the small ends of each patch on the same side, position a Corner's long bias  edge with the perfectly positioned Beam patch.

Since our Corners are lighter than the Beam, I nudge the Corner a few threads past the edge of the Beam. (red arrow) No need to worry about the darker fabric shadowing through the light one.

When the patch is in position, there is overhang on both sides (blue arrows). 

From the paper side start stitching outside the dashed line surrounding the unit and straight onto the solid line. End your stitching past the outside dashed line.

There's no need for back stitching. Just as in traditional piecing, there'll be a line of stitches that eventually crosses the end of the seam to secure it.

Press.

With RST, position the second Corner.R with the other long edge of the Beam, lining up the cut edges.

Here's that big equal-sided triangle from the pattern side.

Stitch as before.

You can see in the photo below how my stitches extend well past the outside dashed lines. Yours should look similar.

Press.

All that's left is to trim to perfection. 

At your cutting mat, position the 1/4" on your ruler with the solid line at the edge of the unit. Double check. Trim away the excess. (1st trim below)

Continue on in this manner for all four sides.

Below left is the hot mess after stitching.

Below right is the perfection we get with paper piecing. 

All four are ready to be used in a quilt block.

The pointy-point is exactly 1/4" in from the edges. Accurate blocks—the exact size with the angles and points right where they should be—make block assembly a breeze.

All this quilty-goodness...and you didn't have to shoot the lock off the old wallet for a specialty ruler that just won't get a whole lotta use. 

All that's left is to remove the paper pattern. Our edges are all on the straight of grain, so the paper has served its purpose.

And frankly, it's a pain in the you-know-where to remove once it's sewn into a block with a 1/4" seam.

While you might not see the Beam shape very often in blocks, the two Corners are really triangles that are twice as tall as they are wide.

THAT shape we HAVE seen before...in Half Rectangle Triangles and Triangle in a Square, and Diamond in a Rectangle (as in a Storm at Sea block). Consider adding them when designed with a Corner Beam quilt block.