Moroccan Tile Quilt Pattern Tutorial

0
0

This tutorial will guide you through creating a beautiful Moroccan Tile Quilt, perfect for showcasing your favorite fabrics and adding an exotic touch to your home decor. The design uses a Layer Cake to highlight beautiful prints without cutting them into small pieces. The secondary block creates an added design element, resulting in a quilt that resembles exotic tiles.

Here's how to create your own Moroccan Tiles Quilt:

Materials Needed

  • Layer Cake (42 squares)
  • Charm Pack (5" squares)
  • Background Fabric

Cutting Instructions

Prepare your fabrics with these cuts:

  • Cut (12) 3 1/2" strips.
  • Cut (4) 5" strips.
  • All of the LC squares are to be trimmed to 9 1/2" square.
  • Cut each Charm square into (4) 2" squares. Yield: (8) matching 2" squares for each LC square. Sort these into matching piles to make things easier.

Snowball Corners

Add a unique touch to your quilt with snowball corners:

  1. With a small ruler, mark a diagonal line on all of the 2" squares.
  2. Place a 2" BG square to the opposite corner of the units you just completed.
  3. Sew on the line.
  4. Repeat until all the 3 1/2" units have opposite corners snowballed.
  5. Cut the excess fabric away from the corners leaving a 1/4" seam.
  6. Press the corners from left to right (or right to left) so that one corner is pressed towards the centre and the other is pressed towards the corner.

Creating Cross Blocks

Follow these steps to create the cross blocks:

Read also: The Allure of Blue and White Tile

  1. Set aside (22) units with snowballed corners.
  2. Start by sewing them into pairs.
  3. Rotate the blocks until the corners are nesting, with the seams going in opposite directions.
  4. Press towards the right.
  5. Next, sew the pairs into 4-patch (Cross) blocks.
  6. You can "spin" the seams by placing your thumbs close to the centre and tugging gently in the direction you wish the seams to lay.
  7. The block should measure 6 1/2" square.

Partial Border Triangles

Create the partial border triangles to frame your quilt:

  1. Cut all (26) of these 5" squares in half on the diagonal. Make 4.
  2. Position a triangle unit to the right side of the snowballed unit. The seams should nest (rotate the SB unit if it doesn't).
  3. Next position the other triangle unit on top.
  4. Press towards the triangle unit.
  5. Yield: 22 Partial Border Triangles.

Super Easy Moroccan Tiles. A Disappearing Hourglass Quilt Made with 5" Scrap Charms

Layout and Arrangement

Having a design wall will be extremely useful for this step. Here's how to lay out your quilt:

  1. Layout all 42 LC squares into a pleasing layout.
  2. The LC squares are positioned on point with a blank space left for the other units.
  3. Once you are happy with the arrangement you are ready to proceed.
  4. DO NOT remove the squares from the design wall unless you are working on that particular square.

Creating Background Units

Follow these steps to create the background units that fill in the gaps around the Layer Cake squares. These units involve combining charm squares with background rectangles to form inset triangles, adding a unique design element to the quilt.

  1. Prepare the Charm Square and Background Rectangles: Take the 2" charm squares and 2" x 5" background (BG) rectangles.
  2. Mark Diagonal Lines: On the wrong side of each charm square, draw a diagonal line from one corner to the opposite corner.
  3. Sew the Charm Squares to the Rectangles: Place a charm square on the 2" x 5" BG rectangle so that they form a "V". Ensure the matching 2" squares are in opposite directions before sewing. Sew on the drawn lines.
  4. Trim and Press: Trim 1/4" away from the sew line, towards the corner. Press the matching set in opposite directions so they will nest nicely when sewn together.
  5. Assemble the Inset Triangle: Sew the matching units together, nesting the seams so that they form an inset triangle.
  6. Repeat: Repeat these steps for all the 2" charm squares and 2" x 5" BG rectangles.

Assembling Corner Units

Now, let's assemble the corner units that will connect the Layer Cake squares and background pieces.

  1. Sew Background Strips to Corner Units: Notice the placement of the BG rectangles. Attach the strip set with the shorter rectangle to the pieced corner unit FIRST, then attach the longest strip set last.
  2. Sew and Trim: Sew on the drawn line, making sure they are going in opposite directions. Trim 1/4" away from the sewn line and press in opposite directions.
  3. Attach to Border Triangle: Attach the short side to the appropriate side of the Partial Border triangle. Press towards the triangle.
  4. Ensure Correct Notch: Check that the notch where the arrow is pointing looks correct, indicating proper alignment.

Row Assembly

Continue with the assembly of the rows:

Read also: Morocco's Blue Pearl

  1. Procced with the assembly of the rows.
  2. Press towards the LC squares when sewing your units into rows. You may press your sewn rows in any direction.
  3. Continue piecing your cross blocks and pieced borders, always paying attention to where the 2" squares need to be placed to match their Layer cake blocks.

Final Assembly

Complete the quilt by sewing the rows together:

  1. Once you have completed sewing all your rows, you can begin sewing the rows together.

Finishing Touches

Add the final touches to your quilt:

  1. Once the quilt top is quilted, you will need to trim off the excess fabric, leaving 1/4" from the points.
  2. Cut 8-9 strips of binding to your desired width (usually between 2"-2 1/2").

Troubleshooting

If you accidentally sew triangles on in the wrong direction, don't panic:

  1. Flip the Background so it is opposite the unit you are pairing it with.
  2. If you used a solid you are good to go.
  3. If you used a print. Sew the triangle back on to the rectangle piece assuring that the angle is now correct.

Hourglass Moroccan Tile Block

Have you tried exploring other patterns you can make with an hourglass? Brita Nelson the Questioning Quilter discovered this amazing Morrocan tile block just by making simple alterations. At first glance, it may look complicated, but trust me - it is very easy to do. I am sure you’ll have fun making this piece.

Instructions:

  1. Turn all 5-inch dark and white charms into 144 half-square triangles. Start by placing one colored charm on top of a white charm, right sides together. Draw a diagonal line, from corner to corner. Sew 1/4″ away from the line on both sides. Cut the two pieces apart along the diagonal line. Once done, press each one open toward the dark side and trim it into 4 1/2″ blocks.
  2. Take four pieces of half-square triangles and turn them into an hourglass. Just rotate 2 opposite pieces, so that there will be two white triangles and two colored in the center. See the photo below for reference. Sew them together with a quarter of an inch seam allowance.
  3. Get a ruler and you’ll be making four cuts. Cut 1 3/8″ from the center seam on all sides. So rotate your ruler to easily cut them.
  4. Take four corners and turn them 180 degrees. That will be your block.
  5. Sew the nine pieces together.
  6. Get four pieces of the blocks and arrange them into a four-patch. Sew them together to make one Moroccan tile.
  7. Sew three rows with three of the four-patch on each row.

I hope you have enjoyed my Moroccan Tiles Quilt tutorial. I think it would look amazing in rich Autumn colors, or batiks, really the possibilities are endless.

Read also: Men's Moroccan Fashion

Popular articles:

tags: #Moroccan