- Background (muslin)
- Medium (goldenrod)
Block No. 108 · other
Lost Ship Quilt Block
Also known as Lost Ships
Part of: Half Square Triangle Quilt BlocksEasy Quilt BlocksQuilt Blocks For BeginnersSailboat Quilt BlocksTwo Color Quilt Blocks
Lost Ship is one big triangle and five small ones: the small triangles line two sides like a sawtooth wave, and the big triangle sails in the corner. It is quick, graphic and works well in a two-color quilt.
Version note: Brackman, cited by Momoe's Cupboard, gives Ladies Art Company #318, 1898, with examples from the 1870s and 1880s. Two fabrics.
- Level
- Beginner
- Grid
- 3 × 3
- Pieces
- 12
Chart
Cutting for a 12" block
3 × 3 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 | 1 | 8 7/8" square | Cut once diagonally (2 triangles each) | 11 spare |
| Background | Half-square triangle | 3 | 4 7/8" square | Cut once diagonally (2 triangles each) | 51 spare |
| Medium | Half-square triangle | 1 | 8 7/8" square | Cut once diagonally (2 triangles each) | 11 spare |
| Medium | Half-square triangle | 3 | 4 7/8" square | Cut once diagonally (2 triangles each) | 51 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 (1 at 8 1/2", 5 at 4 1/2"). Keep each fabric pair and size in its own stack.
Step 3: Make the large HST and trim it to 8 1/2", then make five small HSTs and trim them to 4 1/2".
Step 4: Sew the large HST next to the two small HSTs on its right, then add the top row of three.
Step 5: Make section 1: sew the background/medium HST at column 1, row 1 (background in the upper-right) and the background/medium HST at column 2, row 1 (background in the upper-right) side by side, left to right. Press and check it measures 8 1/2" wide by 4 1/2" high.
Step 6: Make section 2: sew section 1 and the large medium/background HST at column 1, row 2 (medium in the upper-right) in a column, top to bottom. Press and check it measures 8 1/2" wide by 12 1/2" high.
Step 7: Make section 3: sew the background/medium HST at column 3, row 1 (background in the upper-right), the background/medium HST at column 3, row 2 (background in the upper-right) and the background/medium HST at column 3, row 3 (background in the upper-right) in a column, top to bottom. Press and check it measures 4 1/2" wide by 12 1/2" high.
Step 8: Complete the block: sew section 2 and section 3 side by side, left to right. Press and check it measures 12 1/2" wide by 12 1/2" high.
Step 9: Press the finished block. Every join above runs edge to edge, with no set-in or Y-seams.