Eddie

I've started working on a cathedral window (CW) quilt and was asked to do a tutorial on making it. So, here it is! I love doing CWs, they are fun and you can create a lot of different looks just based on the different materials you use. Previously, I had done a CW pillow in 1930s reproduction prints. For this quilt and tutorial, however, I'm using all batiks, so it will have a very different look.

I've got 36 steps to post, so be patient while I get them all posted here in this thread. So let's get started!

Moderator edit: pdf at post #377

Eddie

1. Here's a pic showing a row that I have already done to give you an idea of where we're going with this. For manageability, it's easiest to work on short rows, then join those rows to each other to form bigger blocks, then join the blocks together to form the quilt. So let's see how to start making these rows.

Eddie

2. The first thing you need to decide is how big you want your blocks to be. Roughly speaking, your finished CW block's side will be about half as big as your material you cut for it. So if you cut an 8" square of material, it will make a finished CW block that is about 4" square. So as you can guess, these do take a lot of fabric. But remember that these are a quilt-as-you-go project, meaning that you do not have to buy the backing material or the batting. The reason you don't need batting is that you are folding these raw squares into 4 layers of fabric plus the window fabric, so it will be plenty warm (and heavy) without the batting. I cut my raw squares in 8.75" squares, simply because that was the most I could get out of 44" wide yardage less the selvedge. So my finished blocks are slightly larger than 4" each. Below is my stack of 8.75" squares, ready to get started.

Eddie

3. Begin making the block by taking a square and folding it in half with right sides together. Then sew up both sides of it using a 1/4" seam.

Eddie

4. Now, fold the top of the two side together so that they meet. This will remind you of those paper game things we played with as kids, remember those?

Eddie

5. Bring those two sewn corners together so that they are square with each other.

Eddie

6. Here you can see that the corners are now aligned and square with each other.

Eddie

7. We are now going to start sewing about 1" from those corners towards the folded edge, away from the center of the block.

Eddie

8. Do the same on the other side so that you end up with a block that looks like this. You will now have a 2" slit in the middle of the block.

Eddie

9. Turn the block right side out through that 2" opening.