Sew a disappearing four patch block

1 Cut two 17cm squares from plain cream fabric and two from different prints. Pair each plain with a printed piece and stitch together down one edge. Place the long edges of the rectangles together, making sure the plains it in opposite corners, and stitch to make a square.

2 Press the block and place on a cutting mat. Use a quilter’s rule to measure 3.5cm from either side of the vertical seam and cut with a rotary cutter [1]. Leaving the piece where it is, turn the cutting mat 90° without disturbing the fabric. Repeat by cutting in the opposite direction, 3.5cm on either side of the seam. This should create nine panels of fabric – four large squares, four strips and one small central square [2].

3 Rotate the centre square 90° clockwise, then turn each strip 180° so that each section of print has a piece of plain against it [3]. Pin the pieces together in strips and stitch. Pin the strips together, carefully matching the seams, and stitch into a block. Press and trim the sides if necessary.

Make a quilt

1 Make sixteen blocks, using the fabrics in a repeating order to use the fat quarters up equally. Arrange the blocks in this same order, checking that the same prints are not adjacent to one another.

2 Sew the arrangement into four strips, then stitch together to make a square quilt top. Take care to match up the seam lines each time for a perfect finish. Press.

3 Lay a 1.4m square of backing fabric on a flat surface with wadding on top. Lay the quilt top centrally over the stack and pin all three layers together at 10cm intervals.

4 Quilt in the ditch along the seam lines of the design. Trim the wadding to the same size as the quilt top. Double fold the backing fabric over the edge of the quilt to make a 1cm wide border and topstitch in place, 1mm from the inner edge, mitring the corners neatly.