How to Make a Four Patch Quilt Block

Welcome to our series exploring quilting basics! We left off with a look at some strip piecing tips. Next time, we’ll be exploring ways to choose colors for your quilt borders. For an overview of the series, you can check out all of the posts here.

Hi friends!

In this Exploring the Basics blog post, we are going to talk about a quintessential quilt block:

The Four Patch Quilt Block!

The four patch quilt block is a basic, fairly simple block that can be the block for a quilt, or used in a block as one of the elements!

There are different ways to approach piecing a 4 patch. For a scrappy approach you could cut squares.

Sew the squares together into pairs and then sew the pairs together.

You could cut strip sets.

And then use them to make your four patch quilt block.

For more information on strip sets, check out this post.

My favorite way to press a four patch quilt block is to press the seams to one side and then rotate press the center seam.

For more information on rotate pressing, check out this post!

So, if the 4 patch is such a basic block, why post about it? First because all on it’s own, it is a great block and can add interest to a quilt. And, because you can make new designs simply by changing up what is in each patch! No one said a 4 patch block had to have 4 squares of fabric!

More Four Patch Quilt Block Units

One way to change up a basic 4 patch is to add mini 4 patch units to replace the squares of fabric.

If you replace all the squares with mini 4 patch blocks, it looks like a checkerboard!

Or you could replace just 2 squares.

Half Square Triangles

Another way to change up a basic 4 patch is to add HST units to replace the squares of fabric.

If you used 2 HSTs it could look like this.

Or this with 2 small four patch units and 2 HSTs.

How about this one?

If you add 4 HSTs it could look like this.

Or this.

Four Patch Quilt Block with Strips

What if each square was actually strips? You could make it 2 strips…

Use 3 strips…

Four Patch Quilt Block with Flying Geese

How about we make each square 2 Flying Geese units?

Or maybe each square has just 1 FG?

4 Patch Block with Quarter Square Triangles

The squares could be Quarter Square Triangles (QSTs)! And you could turn them this way:

Turn them another way:

Wow! There are so many different ways you can change up the look of the basic four patch quilt block. And these examples have just barely scratched the surface of options!

I hope this got you excited to come up with your own version of a 4 patch and really make a unique block! Click here to head on over to Tammy’s post to see what great information she has for you!

happy quilting,

Kate

My pattern Row House is a modern design that uses the basic 4 patch block! The pattern has both a modern quilt and a table runner.