September 23, 2006

8" finished, 8.5" unfinished
Making this block the easy way!
April 2002

     The Bow Tie is a block pattern that has been around for hundreds of years.  Perhaps the reason for its endurance over the ages is because of its simplicity, its symmetry, or maybe because of the secondary geometric patterns that it creates.  Whatever the reason, this pattern is one that is not only an old favorite, but it proves to be a popular choice today, and with the selection of the right fabrics, can result in a very contemporary quilt.

     The traditional Bow Tie pattern included piecing together seams that are inset, sometimes called a "Y" seam.  These take more time to do and, if you've never done them before, it can also take some practice to get it right.  So, the object of the pattern on this page is to create the Bow Tie block as quickly as possible without the hassle of "Y" seams.  How are we going to do this?  By sewing smaller squares onto larger squares!  Easy!

     There are two color fabrics in this block.  Any two colors work, but you want to make sure that you have enough of a contrast between the two fabrics for the bow tie to stand out.  This block is also an excellent block in which to use up all of those scraps you have laying around.  Merely choose one color for the background and then use scraps for the bow ties.

     The possibilities of this versatile block are practically endless, so at the end of the instructions, you will find a few examples to help start creativity to flow.  Additionally, at the end of this page of instructions, you will find a chart that converts the size of this block to other sizes.

1. Using Fabric B, the background fabric, take a single 4.5" square and lay a single 2.5" Fabric A square on top of it, being careful to line it up perfectly in one corner, right sides together.  Refer to the illustration below to see how this should look:
   

2. Draw a line diagonally going from one outside corner of the smaller square to the opposite corner.  This becomes your sewing line.  Stitch on this line.  Do not stitch 1/4" on the side of it.  It is important to stitch on the line.  Refer to the illustration below to see how this works, noting that the sewing line is shown in red:
   

3. Carefully fold the inside triangular portion of the small square to the outside.  Finger press it in place.  Refer to the illustration in step 2 to see how this looks (by looking at the square on the right).  You will notice that where this triangle is in the corner, there are now three layers of fabric there.  If you hand-quilt, you may want to trim the back two triangles down to within 1/4" of the sewn line.  This reduces bulk, however, I find that if you leave the bottom layer and only trim away the middle layer, it seems to make the block more accurate in size.

4. Repeat steps 1 through 3 once again, so that you end up with two pieced squares, 4.5" x 4.5", that resemble the following:
   

5. Next, it is time to assemble the two rows.  Refer to the following illustration to see how to place these.  It is important to pay attention to the layout, else the "knot" portion of the bow tie isn't going to be in the right place.
   

6. Press the seam in one of the rows in one direction and press the seam in the other row in the opposite direction.  This helps the two pieces to "snug" together and "lock" in place when you sew them together in the next step,.

7. The final step is to assemble the block from the two rows you made in step 5.  Refer to the following illustration to see how to assemble this block:
   

8. Next, press the block flat, then trim the block to 8.5" square.

Congratulations, you've finished the block!

Would you like to make this block a different size? If so, use the following chart to calculate the measurements of the squares needed.