- Background (muslin)
- Medium (goldenrod)
- Dark (indigo)
Block No. 89 · four-patch
Kansas Troubles Quilt Block
Also known as Kansas Trouble
Part of: Four Patch Quilt BlocksHalf Square Triangle Quilt BlocksState Quilt Blocks
Kansas Troubles turns one quadrant four times around the center: a large plain background triangle, a medium triangle set into the pieced half opposite it, and a sawtooth row of small dark points marching along two edges. The sawtooth makes the pinwheel feel restless, which is how the block came by its name.
Version note: Drawn from Quilter's Cache: each 4x4 quadrant has a large background triangle (legs four units), a medium triangle (legs two units) and a sawtooth of six small HSTs plus one medium square along two edges. BellaOnline's 16-inch pattern has the same unit counts but suggests a slightly different split of the large triangle, so this layout is medium confidence. The pieced half of each quadrant is joined to the plain background triangle along one straight diagonal seam. Layout confidence: medium.
- Level
- Intermediate
- Grid
- 8 × 8
- Pieces
- 52
Chart
Cutting for a 12" block
8 × 8 grid. All cuts fall on 1/8" ruler marks. Unfinished block: 12 1/2".
| Fabric | Shape | Cut | Size | Then | Pieces used |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Background | Half-square triangle | 2 | 6 7/8" square | Cut once diagonally (2 triangles each) | 4 |
| Background | Half-square triangle | 8 | 2 3/8" square | Cut once diagonally (2 triangles each) | 16 |
| Medium | Square | 4 | 2" square | Use as cut | 4 |
| Medium | Half-square triangle | 2 | 3 7/8" square | Cut once diagonally (2 triangles each) | 4 |
| Dark | Half-square triangle | 12 | 2 3/8" square | Cut once diagonally (2 triangles each) | 24 |
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: Cut the parent squares from the chart: the large background triangles come from 6" + 7/8 inch squares cut once diagonally, the medium triangles from 3" + 7/8 inch squares, and the small dark corner triangles from 1 1/2" + 7/8 inch squares, each cut once diagonally. Rows and columns below are counted within the upper-left quadrant; the other three quadrants are the same unit turned.
Step 3: Make 24 small HSTs (dark/background) and square each to 2". In the upper-left quadrant the two top-row HSTs have background in the upper-left, and the two right-column HSTs have dark in the upper-left.
Step 4: Top strip: sew a small dark triangle (its right angle at the top right), two HSTs and a medium 2" square left to right. The triangle's short side joins the first HST, so the strip has one slanted end that lies on the quadrant diagonal.
Step 5: Side strip: sew two HSTs in a column, then add a small dark triangle below them with its right angle at the top right. The bottom end slants along the quadrant diagonal.
Step 6: Sew the side strip to the vertical leg of the medium triangle, matching the square corner of the triangle to the top of the strip. Then sew the top strip across the top edge of this unit. The result is one pieced triangle whose long edge is a single straight diagonal.
Step 7: Sew the pieced triangle to a large background triangle along that full diagonal, matching the ends and the point where the medium triangle tip meets the seam. Press toward the background and square the quadrant to 6 1/2".
Step 8: Make four quadrants. Turn each a quarter turn clockwise from the last so the medium triangles spin around the center, and sew them as a four-patch, nesting the center seams. Press the finished block; every seam runs straight edge to edge, and the diagonal join is a straight seam, not a Y-seam.
Step 9: Press the finished block. Every join above runs edge to edge, with no set-in or Y-seams.