- Background (muslin)
- Dark (indigo)
Block No. 93 · five-patch
Missouri Puzzle Quilt Block
Part of: Five Patch Quilt BlocksHalf Square Triangle Quilt BlocksState Quilt BlocksTwo Color Quilt Blocks
Missouri Puzzle is a five-patch with real depth: big triangle corners outline a square on point, nine-patches sit at the four inner corners, and three-rail units link them around a plain center. On a 15-unit grid the small squares are one third of each unit, so it rewards careful cutting.
Version note: Five by five units, each three cells square. Both sources agree on the layout. The center square is background in Generations and dark in Quilter's Cache; this follows Generations. Two fabrics.
- Level
- Intermediate
- Grid
- 15 × 15
- Pieces
- 75
Chart
Cutting for a 11 1/4" block
15 × 15 grid. All cuts fall on 1/8" ruler marks. Unfinished block: 11 3/4".
| Fabric | Shape | Cut | Size | Then | Pieces used |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Background | Square | 16 | 1 1/4" square | Use as cut | 16 |
| Background | Rectangle | 1 | 2 3/4" × 4 1/4" | Use as cut | 1 |
| Background | Rectangle | 6 | 1 1/4" × 2 3/4" | Use as cut | 6 |
| Background | Half-square triangle | 6 | 3 1/8" square | Cut once diagonally (2 triangles each) | 12 |
| Dark | Square | 4 | 2 3/4" square | Use as cut | 4 |
| Dark | Square | 20 | 1 1/4" square | Use as cut | 20 |
| Dark | Rectangle | 4 | 1 1/4" × 2 3/4" | Use as cut | 4 |
| Dark | Half-square triangle | 6 | 3 1/8" square | Cut once diagonally (2 triangles each) | 12 |
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 (12 at 2 3/4"). Keep each fabric pair and size in its own stack.
Step 3: Make the twelve large HSTs first and square each to 2 3/4"; these are the big triangles around the edge.
Step 4: Make the four nine-patch units with dark corners and center and background edges, then the four three-rail units. Turn the rails so the dark stripe runs toward the center square.
Step 5: Make section 1: sew the large dark/background HST at column 1, row 1 (dark in the upper-left), the large dark/background HST at column 1, row 4 (dark in the upper-right), the dark square at column 1, row 7, the large background/dark HST at column 1, row 10 (background in the upper-left) and the large background/dark HST at column 1, row 13 (background in the upper-right) in a column, top to bottom. Press and check it measures 2 3/4" wide by 11 3/4" high.
Step 6: Make section 2: sew the dark square at column 4, row 4, the background square at column 5, row 4 and the dark square at column 6, row 4 side by side, left to right. Press and check it measures 2 3/4" wide by 1 1/4" high.
Step 7: Make section 3: sew the background square at column 4, row 5, the dark square at column 5, row 5 and the background square at column 6, row 5 side by side, left to right. Press and check it measures 2 3/4" wide by 1 1/4" high.
Step 8: Make section 4: sew the dark square at column 4, row 6, the background square at column 5, row 6 and the dark square at column 6, row 6 side by side, left to right. Press and check it measures 2 3/4" wide by 1 1/4" high.
Step 9: Make section 5: sew the background rectangle at column 4, row 7, the dark rectangle at column 5, row 7 and the background rectangle at column 6, row 7 side by side, left to right. Press and check it measures 2 3/4" wide by 2 3/4" high.
Step 10: Make section 6: sew the dark square at column 4, row 10, the background square at column 5, row 10 and the dark square at column 6, row 10 side by side, left to right. Press and check it measures 2 3/4" wide by 1 1/4" high.
Step 11: Make section 7: sew the background square at column 4, row 11, the dark square at column 5, row 11 and the background square at column 6, row 11 side by side, left to right. Press and check it measures 2 3/4" wide by 1 1/4" high.
Step 12: Make section 8: sew the dark square at column 4, row 12, the background square at column 5, row 12 and the dark square at column 6, row 12 side by side, left to right. Press and check it measures 2 3/4" wide by 1 1/4" high.
Step 13: Make section 9: sew the large background/dark HST at column 4, row 1 (background in the upper-right), section 2, section 3, section 4, section 5, section 6, section 7, section 8 and the large dark/background HST at column 4, row 13 (dark in the upper-left) in a column, top to bottom. Press and check it measures 2 3/4" wide by 11 3/4" high.
Step 14: Make section 10: sew the dark square at column 7, row 1, the background rectangle at column 7, row 4, the dark rectangle at column 7, row 5, the background rectangle at column 7, row 6, the dark rectangle at column 7, row 11, the background rectangle at column 7, row 12 and the dark square at column 7, row 13 in a column, top to bottom. Press and check it measures 2 3/4" wide by 11 3/4" high.
Step 15: Make section 11: sew the dark square at column 10, row 4, the background square at column 11, row 4 and the dark square at column 12, row 4 side by side, left to right. Press and check it measures 2 3/4" wide by 1 1/4" high.
Step 16: Make section 12: sew the background square at column 10, row 5, the dark square at column 11, row 5 and the background square at column 12, row 5 side by side, left to right. Press and check it measures 2 3/4" wide by 1 1/4" high.
Step 17: Make section 13: sew the dark square at column 10, row 6, the background square at column 11, row 6 and the dark square at column 12, row 6 side by side, left to right. Press and check it measures 2 3/4" wide by 1 1/4" high.
Step 18: Make section 14: sew the background rectangle at column 10, row 7, the dark rectangle at column 11, row 7 and the background rectangle at column 12, row 7 side by side, left to right. Press and check it measures 2 3/4" wide by 2 3/4" high.
Step 19: Make section 15: sew the dark square at column 10, row 10, the background square at column 11, row 10 and the dark square at column 12, row 10 side by side, left to right. Press and check it measures 2 3/4" wide by 1 1/4" high.
Step 20: Make section 16: sew the background square at column 10, row 11, the dark square at column 11, row 11 and the background square at column 12, row 11 side by side, left to right. Press and check it measures 2 3/4" wide by 1 1/4" high.
Step 21: Make section 17: sew the dark square at column 10, row 12, the background square at column 11, row 12 and the dark square at column 12, row 12 side by side, left to right. Press and check it measures 2 3/4" wide by 1 1/4" high.
Step 22: Make section 18: sew the large background/dark HST at column 10, row 1 (background in the upper-left), section 11, section 12, section 13, section 14, section 15, section 16, section 17 and the large dark/background HST at column 10, row 13 (dark in the upper-right) in a column, top to bottom. Press and check it measures 2 3/4" wide by 11 3/4" high.
Step 23: Make section 19: sew the large dark/background HST at column 13, row 1 (dark in the upper-right), the large dark/background HST at column 13, row 4 (dark in the upper-left), the dark square at column 13, row 7, the large background/dark HST at column 13, row 10 (background in the upper-right) and the large background/dark HST at column 13, row 13 (background in the upper-left) in a column, top to bottom. Press and check it measures 2 3/4" wide by 11 3/4" high.
Step 24: Complete the block: sew section 1, section 9, section 10, section 18 and section 19 side by side, left to right. Press and check it measures 11 3/4" wide by 11 3/4" high.
Step 25: Press the finished block. Every join above runs edge to edge, with no set-in or Y-seams.