Topsy-Turvy Triangles

Inspired by "Balancing Act" from designers Bill Kerr and Weeks Ringle of FunQuilts

Quiltmaker: Laura Boehnke

• Scraps of assorted florals in black with turquoise, white, green, and pink (block centers)
• 10-1/4-yard pieces of tone-on-tones in pink, dark pink, turquoise, light green, green, gray, and blue (blocks)
• 1/4 yard black print (inner border)
• 3/4 yard multicolor floral (outer border, binding)
• 1-1/8 yards backing fabric
• 39x44" batting

Finished quilt: 33-1/8x37-1/2"

Quantities are for 44/45"-wide, 100% cotton fabrics. Measurements include 1/4" seam allowances. Sew with right sides together unless otherwise stated.

Cut pieces in the following order. Click on "Download This Project" to download the full-size patterns and make templates. Refer to Cutting Diagram for template placement.

From assorted florals, cut:

• 28 of Pattern A

From each tone-on-tone, cut:

• 2--2x42" strips, cutting them into 3 each of patterns B, C, and D

From black print, cut:

• 2--1-1/4x30" inner border strips
• 2--1-1/4x27-1/8" inner border strips

From multicolor floral, cut:

• 4--2-1/2x42" binding strips
• 2--3-1/2x33-1/8" outer border strips
• 2--3-1/2x31-1/2" outer border strips

1. For one pieced triangle, gather a set of matching B, C, and D trapezoids from one tone-on-tone and a floral A triangle.

2. Sew B trapezoid to A triangle to make an AB unit (Diagram 1). Press seams open.

3. Working in clockwise order, add C trapezoid to the AB unit to make an ABC unit (Diagram 2). Press seam open. In the same manner, sew a D trapezoid to ABC unit to make a pieced triangle (Diagram 3). Press as before.

4. Repeat steps 1-3 to make 28 pieced triangles total. You will have two sets of trapezoids left over.

1. Referring to Quilt Assembly Diagram, lay out pieced triangles in four rows of seven blocks each. When pleased with the arrangement, sew together pieced triangles in each row. Press seams open.

2. Fold each pieced triangle in half and make a small chalk mark at fold to indicate center of base. Aligning points of pieced triangles in one row with marked centers of pieced triangles in adjacent row, join rows (Diagram 4). Press seams open.

3. Trim side edges of joined rows 1/4" beyond points of pieced triangles to make quilt center (Diagram 5). The quilt center should be 25-5/8x30" including seam allowances.

1. Sew long inner border strips to long edges of quilt center. Join short inner border strips to remaining edges. Press seams toward inner border.

2. Sew short outer border strips to long edges of quilt center. Join long outer border strips to remaining edges to complete quilt top. Press seams toward outer border.

1. Layer quilt top, batting, and backing; baste. Quilt as desired.

2. Bind with multicolor floral binding strips.