Potato Chip Block (Variation 2) Sew Along :: Making the Blocks

This post contains all of the directions for making ONE Potato Chip Block (Variation 2). The instructions to make the original Potato Chip Block can be found by clicking the following link: Original Potato Chip Block

I cut scraps for most of this quilt. All of the "chip" pieces are scraps. I did use a single fabric as my accent fabric, but you could just pick a color and use a variety of fabrics of the same color. If you want to use the same fabric for the accent as I did, you'll need 1 to 1 1/2 yards of it depending on the size of chips you use and whether or not you add sashing between your blocks.

Finished size of one block is 12" by 12" (12.5" by 12.5" unfinished)

What you need for ONE block:

(30) 2" by 3.5" rectangles (chips) from scrap fabrics 

(12) 2" by 2" squares and (1) 3.5" by 3.5" square from a single fabric (I'm using a white on white)

{Note: You can also use (30) 2.5" by 4.5" chips from scraps and (12) 2.5" by 2.5" and (1) 4.5" by 4.5". If you use the larger size chips then your blocks will finish at 16" by 16".}

Draw a diagonal line on the back of all twelve of your 2" squares {or 2.5" squares}.

Pick 12 chip pieces. We are going to do the stitch and flip method to add these 2" squares {2.5" squares} to your chip pieces. Be sure to look closely at the photo below so that you sew them on correctly. Half of them have the diagonal line running one direction, the other half have the diagonal line running the other direction. This is important! 

These units are not symmetric so you can't just flip it over and have it be correct. Sew directly on the drawn line. Then cut off the excess 1/4" away from the sewn line.

Press the seam. I just flipped the little white triangle over and pressed toward the white triangle. You can press the other way or press your seam open.

Using just four of these, two of each kind, sew them together in pairs along the short side like in the photo below.

Sew one chip piece to opposite sides of the 3.5" square {or 4.5" square}. Press away from the center or toward the center, whichever way makes most sense to you. Throughout, I pressed everything away from the center.

Now take the paired pieces and add them to the top and bottom of the center unit.

Using four chip pieces, sew them together in pairs along the short side.

Now add these units to the block using the image below as a guide.

Next you need four of the chips with added accent triangles, two each of both kinds, and two chip pieces. Notice the white arrows along the left hand side of the image below. These are pointing to what you need to make.

Then sew these to the block and it will look like the image below.

Now you need 6 chip pieces. Sew them together in a row of three along the short sides. In the image below the white arrows along the top are pointing to what you are making.

Then sew these to the sides of the block. It should look like the block in the image below.

Almost done! You should have four chip pieces with the attached accent triangle left, two of each kind. Sew a chip piece to each along the short side without the accent triangle. Then sew these together along the short side of the chip pieces making sure that you have one of each kind of accent triangle on the ends. White arrows along the left hand side are pointing to the units you are making in the image below.

Attach them to the center and the block is done.

Again, if you use 2" by 3.5" chip pieces like me, your blocks should measure 12.5" by 12.5" at this point. When the quilt is done they will measure 12" by 12". If you are using 2.5" by 4.5" chip pieces, your block should measure 16.5" by 16.5" at this point and will measure 16" by 16" when the quilt is done.

I am making 12 blocks. I'm going to give you a week to get as many blocks as you want to make done before giving you the finishing instructions. I will be adding sashing and corner stones to my blocks. 

As incentive for you to get some blocks made, at some point next Monday I will post a photo of the blocks I have completed. Hopefully it will be 12 blocks, but I might not get that far. In that post will be instructions as to how you can let me know how many blocks you have completed and a deadline for when you need to have done that. You will need to show me a photo of your completed blocks or bring them into the shop by the deadline. Don't worry, you'll have a couple days to do this.

Every completed block you make will get you one entry in the prize drawing. Depending on how many people participate I might draw more than one name. The prize will be a bag of scraps. Don't worry, there will be no tiny pieces. Scraps from my shop are no smaller than 2" with most being 3" or larger. These are leftovers from shop samples and end of bolt pieces that are smaller than 18". This is only for folks in the US. 

If you are not in the US you can still participate, but the prize will be a PDF pattern that I can just email to you as shipping is prohibitive for mailing scraps outside the country. If you win a bag of scraps, and live in the US, I will pay to ship them to you if you aren't local. If you are local, then you can just come pick it up at the shop.