The Disappearing 16 Patch

Hello fellow Stash Manicure enthusiasts!!  I'm Melissa from Happy Quilting and  I am so excited to get to share with you today a new little quilting tid-bit I made up :)  Now we have all heard about the Disappearing 9 patch, right?  It has tons of ways to arrange and makes for a fast and fun quilt.  So that got me to thinking, if you can make a Disappearing 9 patch why not a Disappearing 16 Patch.  And I started playing around and oh my goodness, was I happy with the results.  So Happy, that I turned it into a Quilt-A-Long that is currently   going over at Happy Quiting.  So I figured, I would share with you all what I came up with :)

Start by making some 16 patch blocks.  (If you have never made a 16 patch block there are excellent instructions on how to make them  here. )  You can make your blocks any size as long as they are all the same.  In the example we are using 5" blocks but I have also made it in 3 and 4 before and they all look great.  You will be able to get 2 Disappearing 9 patch blocks out of each 16 patch block.

Grab your first 16 patch block that you made in the last step.  Lay it out on your mat.  Don't worry to much about lining it up, it doesn't matter.  Now, if you have a yard stick it will probally be easier to use.  Unfortunately, I don't own one.  Crazy, I know.  If you don't have a yard stick use your long ruler and another ruler lined up together.  Lay your ruler diagonally across your entire block.  You want to try and make sure that your ruler is intersecting each of the corners.  Make sure to really smooth your corners out, they will want to creep in on you :)  Once you are all lined up, go ahead and cut along the diagonal.  

Now don't move your fabric.  Go ahead and pick up your rulers or yardstick and align them along the opposite diagonal.  Once again, make sure to intersect all of your points and to smooth out your corners.  Honestly, a lot of times your points will be all lined up and then you will find the edge doesn't line up.  Most often it just needs to be smoothed out.  Once you are all lined up go ahead and slice along the diagonal. 

Now you can go ahead and pull your 4 parts apart.  You will end up with 1 - 2 of these little scrap pieces hanging out either under your square or poking out.  Go ahead and cut them off.  This will help to reduce bulk making them easier to piece in future steps.

So out of each 16 Patch Block you will end up with 4 wonderful, adorable, easy to make, triangles :) 

Continue this process until all of your 16 patch blocks have been cut.  You will have a fun little pile of triangles.

Now, back to more random piecing fun!!!  Go ahead and grab 2 triangles and line them up as follows.  Once again, you are trying to keep it random so don't stress to much about what lines up where.  Just try to avoid having the exact same blocks across from each other :) 

Lay your top triangle onto your bottom triangle with right sides together.  Once again we are going to pin just like you did your 16 patch blocks.  Pin your seams first, making sure they match up.  Then pin your edges.  If you have any bubbles smooth them out with your finger and then put in a vertical pin :)  Continue to pin your blocks until you have done the required amount of sets.  (Once again, remember, if you are required to have an odd number of blocks you will have 2 leftover triangles)

Now it is on to sewing.  Once again, sew a 1/4" seam along your pinned edge.  Make sure to remove pins as you go and to double check your seams that they are laying flat by running your finger underneath the seam right before you sew across it.  Continue to chain stitch all of your Disappearing 16 Patch Blocks.

Go ahead and clip your threads between your sets.  Now, just like before, we are going to press the new center seam open.  Yes, you will have some little overhangs at the edges, we will deal with them shortly :)

Now, this step is not necessary but only takes a second and I like to do it to reduce bulk. Along the corners of the inner squares there will be a small triangle that is "hanging out".  (The little red plaid one)  I like to clip these out in all four of the corners.  Once again, not necessary, it just reduces bulk.

Lastly, turn over your block over.  You will have 4 little triangles sticking out from the center seam.  Go ahead and clip them even with the block.  Repeat for all 4 edges. 

And there you have it.  A stack of adorable Disappearing 16 Patch Block.  So now what can you do with these cute little guys, the possibilities are endless!!

You can start by simply turning the blocks on their sides and sewing them together in rows to give this look.

Or, You can add some straight sashing cut on an angle and sew the blocks in rows to give this look.

Or, You can add some corner triangles with a “goose in the corner” to give this look.  This is the pattern we are doing for the Quilt-A-Long.  If you would like to join us there is still time :)  At the end of the Quilt-A-Long everyone who has finished their top will have a chance to win a $25.00 gift certificate to Burgundy Buttons.

We'll I hope you have all enjoyed learning a new trick to make a fun block that has endless possibilities for quilt tops.  And thank you so much to Madame Samm for having me here at Stash Manicure.  It is always a treat to get to share something here!

Oh, and lastly, I don't have a giveaway today (sorry) but I should be having one in the near future.  Happy Quilting is 40 followers away from 500 followers!!!  And boy, oh boy, are we going to have a big ol' giveaway when we reach 500!!  So take a second and pop on over to Happy Quilting and click Follow up in the top :)  Who knows, That 500 follower giveaway could be right around the corner :)