- Background (muslin)
- Dark (indigo)
Block No. 103 · pictorial
Centennial Tree Quilt Block
Part of: Half Square Triangle Quilt BlocksTree Quilt BlocksTwo Color Quilt Blocks
Centennial Tree grows on the diagonal: rows of dark triangles make the branches, a solid four-patch forms the canopy center and two three-triangle units shape the trunk foot. It is mirror symmetric across its diagonal, so the two sides piece the same way.
Version note: Mirror symmetric about the bottom-left to top-right diagonal. Layout confidence: medium.
- Level
- Intermediate
- Grid
- 6 × 6
- Pieces
- 51
Chart
Cutting for a 12" block
6 × 6 grid. All cuts fall on 1/8" ruler marks. Unfinished block: 12 1/2".
| Fabric | Shape | Cut | Size | Then | Pieces used |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Background | Square | 2 | 4 1/2" square | Use as cut | 2 |
| Background | Square | 4 | 2 1/2" square | Use as cut | 4 |
| Background | Half-square triangle | 8 | 2 7/8" square | Cut once diagonally (2 triangles each) | 16 |
| Background | Quarter-square triangle | 1 | 3 1/4" square | Cut twice diagonally (4 triangles each) | 22 spare |
| Dark | Square | 1 | 4 1/2" square | Use as cut | 1 |
| Dark | Square | 2 | 2 1/2" square | Use as cut | 2 |
| Dark | Corner square | 2 | 2 1/2" square | Stitch and flip; trim seam allowance to 1/4 inch | 2 |
| Dark | Half-square triangle | 8 | 2 7/8" square | Cut once diagonally (2 triangles each) | 16 |
| Dark | Quarter-square triangle | 2 | 3 1/4" square | Cut twice diagonally (4 triangles each) | 62 spare |
Method
Piecing steps
Step 1: Cut every patch listed in the cutting chart for your size. Plain areas are cut as the larger squares and rectangles shown; do not subdivide them. Columns count from the left and rows from the top, starting at 1, in grid cells.
Step 2: Make the half-square triangles: cut each HST parent square once diagonally, sew contrasting triangles along the long edge, press toward the darker fabric and square up (16 at 2 1/2"). Keep each fabric pair and size in its own stack.
Step 3: Make 2 snowball units: draw a diagonal on each 2 1/2" corner square, place it right sides together on the marked corner of the 4 1/2" square, sew on the line, trim 1/4 inch beyond and press out. Each unit measures 4 1/2".
Step 4: Make 2 quarter-square triangle units: cut the QST parent squares twice diagonally, sew the triangles in pairs, then join the pairs. Square each unit to 2 1/2".
Step 5: Make the two trunk-foot units: QSTs with three dark triangles and one background triangle.
Step 6: Lay out the branch HSTs so every dark triangle points the same way along the tree's diagonal, then add the snowball units where background corners meet the canopy.
Step 7: Make section 1: sew the background square at column 1, row 1 and the background/dark HST at column 2, row 1 (background in the upper-left) side by side, left to right. Press and check it measures 4 1/2" wide by 2 1/2" high.
Step 8: Make section 2: sew the background/dark HST at column 1, row 2 (background in the upper-left) and the background/dark HST at column 2, row 2 (background in the upper-left) side by side, left to right. Press and check it measures 4 1/2" wide by 2 1/2" high.
Step 9: Make section 3: sew the QST at column 1, row 5 (top background, right dark, bottom dark, left dark) and the dark square at column 1, row 6 in a column, top to bottom. Press and check it measures 2 1/2" wide by 4 1/2" high.
Step 10: Make section 4: sew the dark square at column 2, row 5 and the QST at column 2, row 6 (top dark, right background, bottom dark, left dark) in a column, top to bottom. Press and check it measures 2 1/2" wide by 4 1/2" high.
Step 11: Make section 5: sew section 3 and section 4 side by side, left to right. Press and check it measures 4 1/2" wide by 4 1/2" high.
Step 12: Make section 6: sew section 1, section 2, the background snowball unit at column 1, row 3 and section 5 in a column, top to bottom. Press and check it measures 4 1/2" wide by 12 1/2" high.
Step 13: Make section 7: sew the background/dark HST at column 3, row 1 (background in the upper-left) and the background/dark HST at column 4, row 1 (background in the upper-left) side by side, left to right. Press and check it measures 4 1/2" wide by 2 1/2" high.
Step 14: Make section 8: sew the background/dark HST at column 3, row 2 (background in the upper-left) and the background/dark HST at column 4, row 2 (background in the upper-left) side by side, left to right. Press and check it measures 4 1/2" wide by 2 1/2" high.
Step 15: Make section 9: sew section 7, section 8, the dark square at column 3, row 3 and the background snowball unit at column 3, row 5 in a column, top to bottom. Press and check it measures 4 1/2" wide by 12 1/2" high.
Step 16: Make section 10: sew the background/dark HST at column 5, row 1 (background in the upper-left), the background square at column 5, row 2, the dark/background HST at column 5, row 3 (dark in the upper-left), the dark/background HST at column 5, row 4 (dark in the upper-left), the dark/background HST at column 5, row 5 (dark in the upper-left) and the dark/background HST at column 5, row 6 (dark in the upper-left) in a column, top to bottom. Press and check it measures 2 1/2" wide by 12 1/2" high.
Step 17: Make section 11: sew the background square at column 6, row 1, the dark/background HST at column 6, row 2 (dark in the upper-left), the dark/background HST at column 6, row 3 (dark in the upper-left), the dark/background HST at column 6, row 4 (dark in the upper-left), the dark/background HST at column 6, row 5 (dark in the upper-left) and the background square at column 6, row 6 in a column, top to bottom. Press and check it measures 2 1/2" wide by 12 1/2" high.
Step 18: Complete the block: sew section 6, section 9, section 10 and section 11 side by side, left to right. Press and check it measures 12 1/2" wide by 12 1/2" high.
Step 19: Press the finished block. Every join above runs edge to edge, with no set-in or Y-seams.