Rainbow Sapphire – Block Four of the Rainbow Dreamcatcher Round the Year BOM Quilt

This “SAPPHIRE” is the fourth block in the Block of the Month quilt `Dreamcatcher Round the Year‘. I have made it only in the Rainbow colourway; the other – Dusk colourway – remains pending, as I am on enforced rest with an acute attack of sciatica.

But don’t worry, the templates and instructions files for Dusk are ready and are being published in a separate post. This is a very simple block to piece and I am sure even beginner paper piecers should be able to manage without step by step pictures.

Like the previous three blocks, this is also paper foundation pieced. The fabric requirements and Instructions for paper piecing and assembly for the RAINBOW colourway for this block can be downloaded as .pdf files from the link at the end of this post. Adobe Reader , which is required for .pdf files, is available for free download online. So here we go!

SAPPHIRE RAINBOW

Finished Block size: 18″ square with 15″ inset circle.

Fabric Requirement and Cutting Instructions

REMEMBER – The Master Template is a mirror image and shows the printed side of the paper templates. You can also use it to try out your own colour schemes; use colour pencils!

1. Take print outs of the Templates .pdf file with printer settings at 100% or actual size in portrait mode. You have the following templates:

• 8 wedge templates numbered A, D, E, H, I, L,M and P.
• 8 spoke templates B,C, F,G,J,K, N and O .
• 2 background templates Q and R for the outside square. Cut 4 of each, the additional fabric margin is kept on the straight long edge.

3. Cut the fabric according to the fabric requirement chart, using the colour code as guide. To summarise:

• 1 HST 5.5″
• 1 triangle half of 3″x 6″
• 1 rectangle 1.5″ x 6.5″

Each of the 8 spoke templates will be pieced with

• 4 HSTs 3.5″
• 1 triangle half of 2″ x 3.5″
• 1 QST 3.5″ ( or 1HST 2″ may be used instead)

4 . Pin the fabric pieces to the respective templates to avoid confusion when sewing.

Piecing Instructions

Assembly

Refer to the Master template as a guide when assembling the paper pieced templates. ( It is a mirror image, remember?)

So, you join A to B, C to D, E to F, G to H, I to J, K to L , M to N and O to P. There are markers on the templates to help you align the templates correctly.

Be careful you do not join 2 wedges together, or you will have y-seams to contend with! Like this!

At the end of this, you should have 8 wedges equal to 1/8 of the circle. I have assembled my circle in quarters, don’t let that confuse you.

Final Assembly

The easiest way to join to the background would be as follows:

• Join AB to X, CD to Q. EF to R, GH to S, IJ to T, KL to U, MN to V and OP to W.
• Join BAX to CDQ …etc to obtain 4 squares.
• Assemble the 4 squares; square up the block to 18.5″ . We are done!

You can BUY the paper piecing templates and instructions  (including fabric requirement) here.

1. Templates – For paper piecing Block Four SAPPHIRE RAINBOW of the Round the Year BOM Quilt.
2. Instructions – For Block Four SAPPHIRE RAINBOW of the Round the Year BOM Quilt.

Please note that the downloadable patterns and instruction files for the Dreamcatcher Round the Year quilt blocks are being migrated to my store MadsPatch and will not be available for download for free from 15th November 2020 onwards.

Author: Mads

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