The Helen QAL Week 4 - Block Construction
Welcome to Week 4 of the Helen Quiltalong! This is one of the most exciting parts of the process — it’s time to start sewing your blocks together and watch your quilt really start to take shape. All of that work making flying geese is going to pay off!
If you’re still working on cutting or finishing up your flying geese, no worries at all — you can catch up at your own pace. But if you’re ready, now’s the time to start laying things out and building your blocks.
🧵 A Quick Progress Note
I know that some of your flying geese are not going to be perfect (mine aren't either) — especially with those small blocks. Do your best to make your blocks work and make sure you are using that scant 1/4" seam allowance to get your blocks the correct size. Some cut off points or mismatched seams aren't going to be very noticeable in the grand scheme of your finished quilt.
✨ Block Construction Tips
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Double check your layout before you start sewing! These blocks are straightforward, but it’s easy to flip a piece the wrong way. Try to mix up color and value in each block.
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Pressing matters — I like to press my seams open. After the blocks are constructed, I put a big square ruler on top with a heavy object and leave them overnight. It really helps flatten those flying geese.
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Stay organized — especially if you’re making a scrappy version, keeping each block’s pieces grouped together can save time.
📹 This Week’s Video
In this week’s video, I’m sewing up a few blocks from my own quilt and walking through some tips for getting nice points and match seams. If you’re a visual learner or just want to sew along with me, you can watch the video down below.
📣 Share Your Blocks!
I cannot wait to see your blocks coming together!
Post your progress photos on Instagram, tag @kitchentablequilting, and use #thehelenqal so I can see and share your work.
🗓️ Instagram Live Reminder
Join me Tuesday at 1pm PT for Instagram Live — I’ll be chatting about block construction and answering your questions. If you can’t make it live, the replay will be available on my feed afterward.
Next week we’ll start assembling everything — it’s going to start feeling like a real quilt very soon!