Texas Teardrops Quilt Along ~ Squaring up the Blocks

Can you believe that we are almost finished with our quilts?  It’s true.  All that’s left is a little squaring up and sewing our blocks together.

You might be wondering why squaring up the blocks is necessary.  I like to give myself a little extra room when I applique in case the fabric pulls in {it almost always does when I applique}.  I hate it when my blocks end up being smaller than they are supposed to be.  I prevent that by starting with a bigger block and then trimming it down to the correct size.  It’s a little extra work but it keeps me from banging my head into brick walls.

Squaring up the blocks is pretty simple.  The most important part is finding the center of your block.  After all, you want the teardrop centered once the block is trimmed.  I used my ruler and measured from point to point.

My teardrops measured approximately 12.5″ from point to point.  That means the center of the teardrop would be at 6.25.”  I used a Frixion pen and marked the center.  Hopefully you can see the tiny pink dot in the picture.

Then all I had to do was line up that pink dot with the 5.5″ mark {we’re squaring up to an 11″ block} on the diagonal line of my square up ruler.

Then trim the right side and the top.  Rotate my block and trim the remaining two sides.  Sorry for the glare.  It’s incredibly hard to take pictures of a ruler.  Grrr.

I do have a very detailed tutorial on how to sqaure up blocks if you’ve never done it.  Remember, the measurements in the tutorial are not right for this project, but the process is exactly the same.  {Just substitute the correct measurements}

I hope it’s not too hard to see in the below picture but you should have between 1/2″ and 5/8″ from the teardrop to the edge of the background fabric {the area where the arrow is}.  This is true for all sides of the teardrop.

Don’t worry if they vary.  I had some blocks with 1/2″ and some with 5/8.”  Some blocks were a mix of 1/2″ and 5/8.”  It doesn’t affect the overall design and you won’t even notice when the quilt is finished.

That’s all there is to it!  I promise it’s not hard.  As always if you have questions feel free to track me down.  You know where to find me, quiltinglodge@gmail.com.

Don’t forget to upload pictures to the Flickr group.  We love seeing all the progress everyone is making!

Make sure to come back tomorrow.  It’s my day on the Between Heaven and Texas Blog Hop.  If you haven’t checked it out you’re missing out on some great star patterns!

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