Elizabeth is back with our Week Two Sew-Along project. Every Monday throughout Quilting Month II Elizabeth Hartman from Oh, Fransson! will show you how to create a new block. You can choose to make one block or many, and you can play along every week or just once or twice!
After you enjoy today’s Spiderweb Block tutorial, be sure to visit Oh, Fransson! for Quilt Making Basics, Quilt Patterns, Quilt-Alongs and more. Elizabeth also sells a variety of quilting and sewing patterns, full of the same clear instruction and step-by-step photos we all appreciate in her tutorials!
If you’re sewing along we want to see what you create! You can:
- Write about it on your blog, then leave a link in a comment on the Triangle Block tutorial post from Week One, or here in today’s Spiderweb Block tutorial post.
- Share your block (or quilt?!) with our quilting Flickr group.
- Write about it and post a photo in the sew-along section of the forum.
These 8” Spiderweb Blocks are easy to make and are a great way to use up tiny scraps. I used a technique called foundation piecing, which means that the pieces of the block are sewn to a stabilizing “foundation.” Spiderwebs and other string blocks (blocks that use lots of skinny strips of fabric) can be foundation-pieced to paper, which is torn away after sewing. However, for these small blocks, I used a fabric foundation, which doubles as the solid part of the blocks.
Using a fabric foundation will make your blocks a little bit heavier (since much of the block is, essentially, two layers instead of one) but don’t worry! I’ve employed a little trick to make sure that there won’t be too much fabric clogging up the corners where multiple points meet.
For my blocks, I used print fabric scraps measuring 1” – 2.5” wide and up to about 6” long.
Using a foundation (paper or fabric) is a good, quick way to sew together a bunch of small, unruly strips. Because of the stabilizing foundation beneath, you don’t have to worry about the direction of the grain on the scraps you’re piecing. Even if they’re wonky or bias-cut, the foundation will keep everything orderly!
One advantage to having a paper foundation under scrappy blocks like this is that the foundation “contains” the seam allowances created as you add scraps to the block, so you won’t have to worry about them getting caught on your machine’s feed dogs when you join the blocks.
The Spiderweb Block is based on a simple Quarter-Square Triangle shape. Remember Half-Square Triangles from last week? These are their slightly-fancier cousin. For an 8” Spiderweb Block, you’ll need a 9.25” square of a stable, solid fabric. (I used Kona cotton.) Lay the solid square on your cutting board and use your ruler and rotary cutter to cut it in half diagonally, corner-to-corner. Make a second cut between the other two corners, creating four triangular pieces.
Tip: Want to make Quarter-Square Triangle blocks in another size? Start with squares that are 1.25” larger than the finished blocks you want to make.
Okay, this is the fussy part. It’s time to mark each triangle so we know where to start sewing the scrappy strips. Use a fine-tipped fabric marker or a pencil. If you’re using a pencil, protect your pressing area with scrap fabric (as the heat from your iron may cause pencil marks to migrate). Remember also that disappearing ink disappears. If you’re making a whole bunch of blocks or don’t plan to sew all your blocks right away, a water-soluble marker is probably a better choice. Use a fine mist spray bottle to make the ink “disappear” when you’re finished sewing.
Position each triangle, wrong side up, as shown in the above photo and use a ruler and your marking tool to make the following marks on the wrong side of the fabric.
1. Measure a short line .25” from the bottom of the block.
2. Use the line you just marked and the top center of the triangle to mark a dot at the center of the block, .25” from the bottom.
3. Mark a dot on each side of the triangle, 2” from the top point.
4. Draw a line between each of the dots on the top sides and the dot at bottom center, creating a kite shape that will be the center of the finished block.
Tip: In theory, you should choose one side of a solid fabric as the “right” side. In practice, it’s often impossible to keep track of which side is which. If you don’t notice a difference between the two sides, chances are that nobody looking at your quilt will be able to either. Don’t stress about it. It’s not as though one side is more structurally sound than the other!
Repeat until you have enough pieces. You’ll need four triangles for each 8” block (16 if you want to make a 16” mini quilt like mine).
Place a triangle face down (so with the marked lines facing up) on your work surface. Slide one of your scrap strips under the triangle (right side facing the triangle) as shown in the photo above. The strip should be mostly under the “kite” part of the triangle, but at least .25” should extend beyond one of the marked lines. Once the strip is properly positioned, sew along that marked line, joining the strip to the triangle.
Flip the triangle over and press the strip outward from the center. Place a second scrap strip; face down on the strip you just sewed. Lining up the edges of the strips (as shown above) is optional. You can piece the subsequent strips wonkily. Just make sure there’s at least .25” of overlap between the two pieces before you sew the second piece to the triangle. Press the second strip outward from the center. Continue adding pieces until the point of the triangle is covered.
Repeat these steps to add scrap strips to the other half of the triangle.
You’ve probably noticed that the “right” side of your triangle no longer looks much like a triangle! Flip it over and trim it back to size, using the foundation triangle as a guide.
Repeat the last few steps to make 3 more (4 total) pieced triangles.
Using the seam allowance where the outermost scrap strip was joined to the foundation as a guide, trim away the foundation fabric under each point. This will make the block intersections less bulky.
Using a quarter inch seam allowance, pressing seams open, and following the layout shown in the above photos, sew the four triangles together into an 8.5” square block. You’ll probably notice that a single Spiderweb block doesn’t look much like a spiderweb! That distinctive octagonal shape is actually a secondary pattern created by joining multiple blocks. You can make a 16.5” square mini quilt like I did by joining 4 blocks. This will create a pattern with a complete web shape right in the middle.
For a mini quilt like mine, you’ll need approximately 18” x 18” of batting and a 20” x 20” piece of backing fabric. For binding your mini quilt, 2 strips 2 1/2″ x 40” (width of fabric) should be enough.
Comment in any post this week for your chance to win one of these great prizes:
500 Art Quilts: An Inspiring Collection of Contemporary Work; Make! Over 40 Fantastic Projects with 16 Exclusive Designs by Cath Kidston; 200 Quilting Tips, Techniques & Trade Secrets: An Indispensable Reference of Technical Know-How and Troubleshooting Tips; Quilts, Baby!: 20 Cuddly Designs to Piece, Patch & Embroider; So St. Croix Fat Quarter Pack, 18 fat quarters from the So St. Croix fabric collection by Jennifer Paganelli
» Quilt Block Sew-Along, Sew-Alongs, Sewing Tutorials + Patterns » Spiderweb Block Sew-Along
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I have been wanting a tutorial for the Spiderweb Block for a while now. Thanks sew much!
I just started quilting again a few months ago after a 23 year lapse. You make sewing look so easy. I can’t wait to get started.
This is so cool…love it
WHOOPEE!! I just found this site & am I excited or what?! Oh, man, this is so chogged full of info. it’s not even funny! I can’t believe I’ve been sewing this long & didn’t know about you.
Keep me posted as to the lastest & what’s new?! THANKS again!!
Great tutorial! I wondered how you made the stars.
I love this design and I can’t wait to make it
I am so happy to see this post! I’ve been dying to make one of these quilts and now I’ve got the perfect tutorial!
It took me a little longer to get this week’s block done. I decided to do all of my strips the same width so it is a little less wonky but I just love points that line up nice and crisp. Here is where you can check it out!
http://wearecorrys.blogspot.com/2010/04/slightly-late-spider-web.html
thank you for posting this! I have been searching for something to do with all of my scraps, I am very excited to give this a try.
Just what I need – start another project! But I have this fabric and was going to make something as this is for my sewing room. Perfect for project for the weekend. Thanks.
Awesome tutorial! Thanks Elizabeth for sharing! Love your color choices.
true quilting: true beauty
Thank you everyone!
Nancy, Just let your machine’s feed dogs do the work of pulling pieces through the machine and press, rather than ironing your pieces. The fabric foundation will also do a lot to make piecing on the bias easier.
Rebecca, Why don’t you just follow the above directions for making the block foundation, but use paper instead of fabric? Then, you could just cut out the kite piece and use it as a template.
Great color combo. You’re very talented. Thanks for sharing.
I have similar fabrics and can’t wait to make this with them. Great color layout.
I love this so much! I think I have the perfect fabrics to make it too.
Love the tutorial. I have already started on my sew along.
I will have to try this! I love how the blocks look.
Those blocks are super-cool! Thanks for the tutorial.
love it! it is a fun quilt pattern to do;}
Great way to make a spider web block.
This looks like a fun project to work on!
First you show Rita’s quilt and now Elizabeth has directions…is that a sign that spiderweb quilt is in my near future?? I’ve already got strips cut for a string quilt, I guess I could just switch the foundation from a square to a triangle. Hmmm… THANKS!!! 😉
Excited to try this. Love the color choices!!!
Fabulous spiderweb tutorial. They are so much fun and this is a great tutorial in a fun and easy format!
oh my gosh, this makes me want to run home and try it right now! And i’m loving the black, white and green combination!
Love the color combo!
Love to try this! thanks!
Oh dear, I’ll never get to that point, although it’s just wonderful to see this spidernet quilt!!!
Kind regards from Claudia
I love these stars, what a way to use my scraps…
I love these quilts and I am a major, super major fan of the Oh Fransson! blog. Her talent goes in every direction, color, pattern. I can’t wait to try this pattern!
What a lovely design! I’d love to give this a try. Thanks for the tutorial.
Lovely! I like the high contrast in this block. It really plays it up and pops.
Can’t wait to try this at home–thanks for the great detail and fabulous photos!
I love spiderweb quilts! I must try making some of these soon!
Those explanations make it seem so easy. I will have to try this… To the list it goes!
I love the fabric choices!
this is just great, thanks so much for the tutorial and the inspiration!!
claudia
I love the colours in this!
What a great tutorial. I am going to have to try this one.
Great tutorial! something for me to try this weekend…Thanks Elizabeth!
love this way of using all those strips of fabric leftover from various projects
I was just telling my mother yesterday that I wanted to do a spiderweb quilt with a fabric foundation! Thanks!
That is so cool!! Amazing!! I will have to try this soon!!
What a great little quilt. Thanks for the tutorial.
Thanks for the instructions — awesome block — wish that could have purchased one of the bundles before they were sold out so could sew along
Nice. Can’t wait to try it. Both tutorials have given me lots of ideas. Thanks.
It’s very beautiful, Thanks for the tutorial.
The prints are just beautiful, and the final product is amazing!
I love this! It looks tricksy-but I want to try anyway 🙂
This block is so interesting! Thanks for breaking it down, it looked so difficult!
Thanks for the tutorial. I can’t wait to try the Spiderweb block.
Ooo, this is nice and going on my list of things to try!
This looks like so much fun!!
Oh! yeah! This has been my favourite block! Elizabeth’s tute is awesome.
This would be a great block for a doll quilt.
Looks simple enough…. must be the great instructions!
I’ve seen so many lovely spiderweb quilts around lately and this tutorial makes me so inspired to try one of my own, I wonder what my scrap basket holds…
Super tutorial – I must keep this in mind if I get asked to do a talk at the guild again – well if I do ok with my first talk in June, they might ask me back (foolish people)
Thats fantastic! Love your blog too Elizabeth.
These colors are great. I wish I could find these prints here.
Here’s another one to add to my ever growing “I wanna make this” list!! So dern cute!
So great!! I may nhave to declare Mondays “sewing day” for myself! wouldn’t that be nice & fun!!
That is so pretty. I’m only just learning to quilt (literally, taking a class every Tuesday night) but I have a feeling this is only the beginning for me!
Great tutorial and a fun way to use scraps!
Looking at the picture I thought…oh this is way out of my league! But after reading the tutorial….I think I can do this! Thanks.
Fun! Great way to use up some scraps!
Beautiful color combintion
soo love this – I’m off to the sewing machine now!
I knew there was a reason I was saving all of those scraps that seemed too small to be useful. 🙂
Thanks for the tutorial!
Great tutorial! Hope to make a large spiderweb quilt soon – Thanks~
I have been wanting to try this for forever! Thanks for the fantastic tutorial!
This is so helpful! Thanks! I will definitely try it out now 🙂
This is an awesome tutorial! Now I just need to finish the crazy nine patch baby quilt I’m doing with Elizabeth at Domestic Modern, so I can give this a try!
A great tutorial and a really nice scrap buster of a quilt too!
Thanks Sharonj.
I LOVE the fabric choices!
THANK YOU for all the modern quilting tutorials–you rock!
Okay, Elizabeth has put ANOTHER thing on my to do list now :).
Elizabeth writes such clear instructions! These four blocks make a stunning little quilt.
this is great! thanks for the tutorial.
That looks hard until i read what you did… of course, i will wait until i try it to say for certain!
thanks, Elizabeth!
I just completed a spiderweb quilt. I wasn’t quilting along but just finished it this weekend and I came here and saw this! Here is my link: http://duringquiettime.blogspot.com/2010/04/christmas-string-spiderweb.html
Looks like a great idea! I’ll have to try that someday.
thanks for the tutorial, bye bye,
taced
This tutorial makes it look so easy! Thanks!
ive wondered how this was done so pretty!
Very cool… and easy! Must try this.
I’m loving this – you look at the finished product and think OMG! thats so complex but then when you see it broken down into the individual triangle suddenly it makes sense. Brilliant!
I like how all that worked together to make a beautiful piece: )
What an interesting way to construct these blocks. When I first saw it I thought it was made of strippy triangles joined into octagons.
this block is so beautiful. gotta figure this out…
WOW they look great, what an easy way to do these blocks, I love the colours
Thanks for the fabulous tutorial!
I can’t wait to start, I just finished 2 triangle ones that my girls took for doll blankets. Thanks for sharing.
So simple and looks great!
I love this! I can’t wait to try this one out!
Wow, when you look at the little quarter piece, it’s hard to imagine what an awesome final product you get from it!
I’ve been wanting to try this every since I saw Jacquie’s spiderweb selvage quilt. If I don’t want to do the foundation piecing on the plain fabric, do you know where I can find a template for the “kite” shaped piece?
I love the way the whole thing comes together to make those octagons.
Cool tutorial!
I love the look of this block. Thanks for another great tutorial.
Oh, so that’s how it’s done. I’ve always admired these kinds of quilts, but since I’m just a beginner I thought it would be way too complicated. This makes it look like maybe I could handle it!
I’ve never seen this block before. Stunning!
As always, Elizabeth has such a great way of showing how to do things and has such great ideas! Thanks for featuring these things!
I’ll have to make a mini quilt just to try this out. Thanks for the tutorial!
This is a very complex looking block, but the instructions look fairly easy. Any tips for not stretching the biases?
Thanks for the details. I’m a newbie so I have to read things twice! ha! The pictures help tremendously! Love the colors and pattern.
What a fun block!
I love those colors! I have done one before and made a (freezer paper) paper pieced pattern for ease
At first this looked very complex…
but the tutorial & method are great…
this is very doable…thanks !
That’s so pretty! I’m very inspired to try one now.
I am so happy you posted this tutorial. Trying it out today!
Oh, this would make a great baby quilt! Maybe just simple enough to try as my first ‘quilt’!
Thanks for the tutorial and the little mini quilt is lovely.
oh i so want to try this technique..soon very soon
You make it look so easy!
I absolutely love using scraps… and a fun new way to do it!
Woohoo! The spiderweb is something that’s been on my list to try – thanks for the inspiration Elizabeth!
Love these spiderwebs that I see everywhere. I like the idea of trying it out on a small quilt first!
oh, this looks like fun….and what a great idea to use the foundation as part of the block…clever…
Love this pattern, thanks for the tutorial!
OMG – what a great tutorial. At first when you look at the finished piece, it’s so intimidating, but then when you break it down, YAAAHHHH!! I cannot wait to try this out!!
that makes it look so easy! thanks for a great tutorial!
Yay for quilt alongs!
I loved the colour scheme!
This block looks so intimidating, but your tutorial makes it seem do-able! Once I finish up my WIP I may have to start something like this!
Wow! You make it sound so easy.
Thanks so much for making a complicated looking block so easy to follow – definitely one for my to-do project pile! 🙂
Elizabeth’s work is always so stunning, and she shares so regularly – thank you! If I wasn’t in the middle of three other projects I’d drop them all to make this – the spiderweb will have to wait a little bit I think!
so wonderful!
I love how this tutorial shows how to make the “kite”-shaped center without having to cut them all out. Am definitely more inclined to make a spiderweb block now that I can do them this way Thanks so much!
How easy! I have a pattern that looks similar, but is hand pieced with individual pieces- WOW! I really like this. Thanks.
Lovely, thank you for the excellent tutorial, now to get started.
I always wondered how these blocks came together! Great tutorial and a beautiful little mini quilt! 🙂
What a pretty color combination!
I’ve been wanting to start some spiderweb blocks. This tutorials is so helpful!
Oh how pretty. Love this block. I don’t think I’ve seen one similar in the past. Thank you so much.
I never thought about making the blocks in that way I have to try this technique.
I can’t wait to try this!
Wow! That looks pretty painless. 🙂 And lovely to boot!
Spiderwebs simplified…love it. Great colors as usual.
That’s such a good idea! Cutting fabric triangles first. Brilliant. Wish I had thought of that when I did my spiderweb quilt. I can’t get over how smart this is. I may have to make another one.
Another fab tutorial! Love the way the fabrics work together in this block!
Really like this block and the method to minimize bulk at the points.
Very neat!
I love this block! Thanks.
Can’t wait to try this but I’m still working on last week’s project!
So nice! I need to comb through the scraps now!
oh, thank you for this tutorial! I am really going to have to try making some of these.
so simple! what an awesome tutorial!
Great one!
Thanks for the tutorial! I have looked at this block before, but never made one. So now there are no more excuses since your tutorial describes it as clear as it can get. Thanks!
love, love, love. ohfransson is probably my favorite blog. really need to make some spiderweb squares.
Great tutorial as usual. I’ve seen so many of these lately – I’m really getting an itch to make one!
Beautiful!
Ooooh. I definitely want to give this a try. Goodness knows I’ve got plenty of scraps to choose from.
Oh, that I had those very colors in my scraps. *sigh*
I love the look of spiderweb quilts! Great tutorial!
I’ve never tried doing a quilt like that before. I have plenty of scraps that’s for sure.
Gotta love a great tutorial that helps me use my scraps and teaches a new technique!
I will save this link in my “I would love to make this…” folder!
🙂
So many wonderful ideas that I’m collecting this month!
Thank you, Elizabeth and SMS.
thanks for the tutorial on this one! will do!
I’m inspired to clear out my scrap bin now! Thanks for the great tutorial!
Elizabeth’s instructions are wonderful,as usual
I love how Elizabeth always makes these really complicated designs look easy. I can’t wait to try this.
This is awesome! I’m definitely going to give it a try.
That is so beautiful! I have wall space begging for something like that. And I’m pretty sure I have enough scraps!
I would love to try this.
I’ve been looking for a selvage project and thinking about this block. Thanks for a great tutorial. Perhaps the push I need to start another set of blocks!
Wow, when you see the quilt it looks very difficult, but the way Elizabeth shows us, it looks like a great project to make! Thank you, Elizabeth!!!
LOVE THIS QUILT…..! The colors, the pattern, everything…I am going to have to do this one day.
This is an extremley helpful tutorial. Thanks a lot!! I’m plucking the courage to try one
What an amazing project. I already know exactly what fabrics I”m going to use to make some of the Spiderweb blocks!!!! I can’t wait to see how they turn out 🙂
Awesome tutorial and I love your choice of fabrics too. Wish my LQS carried fabrics like you’ve used…
I am so excited to start block 2. I have always wanted to make one of these spiderweb blocks.
This is gorgeous! Can’t wait to finish my current quilt and try this one!
Wow. Thank you. I was wondering how this was pieced. I’d really like to give this a try, but there just aren’t enough minutes in the day!
I can’t wait to play with this block. I’ve seen so many beautiful spiderweb quilts of late…
I’ve always wanted to try the spiderweb block, great tutorial! Thanks!
This has to be the best tutorial for Spiderweb quilts that I’ve seen. And the trick for the corners, to reduce the bulk is just wonderful. Thanks so much!
Wow, I love this! I love seeing how these spider webs come together. Can’t wait to try this with the Daisy Chain fabrics I’m working with. Thanks for sharing.
this seemed advanced at first – thanks for breaking it down and making it look do-able!
Great tutorial!
Oh how I love the color combination. Thank you for the design 🙂
Wow, I really like the blacks and greens in this block. Thanks for the inspiration!
I have to catch up so I can start on this sew along. Beautiful.
I’m going to put my kids to work today sorting my scraps so we can try and do this as a family project. 🙂