Hi sewing friends! A dear reader asked if I had a tutorial for my Bejeweled Churn Dash quilt. I am happy to oblige...

Bejeweled Churn Dash Quilt Block Tutorial

One finished block measures 12'' square.

For 1 block you'll need:

• white fabric
• 2 colored solids
• 2 colored prints

For 25 blocks you'll need:

• 5 solid Fat Quarters
• 5 print Fat Quarters
• 1 1/ 2yard ??? white fabric (not sure how much white I used)

From the white fabric:

• Cut 4 rectangles 2 1/2'' x 5''
• Cut 2 squares 5" x 5" then cut along the diagonal into 4 Half Square Triangles

From each of the 4 colored fabrics:

• Cut 1 rectangle 2 1/2'' x 5''
• Cut 1 square 5 1/2" x 5 1/2" then cut along both diagonals to create 4 Quarter Square Triangles (QSTs). You'll just need three of these for one block so set one little triangle aside.

Sewing the Bejeweled Churn Dash Quilt Block

Here is a visual of how everything is sewed together. Sew all seams with a scant quarter inch seam allowance. You basically make NINE 4 1/2'' squares and then sew them all together.

You can lay every block out and then assemble it square by square but I came up with a faster way to piece it all with out having to think too much about it. After you get the hang of it that is.  Here is the method I used to make sewing up 1 block go as fast as I could. When I sewed it up this way it took me about 15 minutes per block.and i didn't have to lay it all out first.

MY SPEED METHOD

First sew all the white rectangles to a colored rectangle keeping them together in a chain for speed.

Next grab your piles of small triangles and sew them up with right sides together in this order. See if you can follow me.

The first color mentioned goes on the top. 
Sew all the triangles so the "flags" go the same direction.

Print 1/Solid 1
Print 1/Solid 1
Solid 1/Print 2
Print 2/Solid 2
Print 2/Solid 2
Solid 2/Print 1

In Kindergarten terms, here's another way to see the pattern.

A/C
A/C
C/B
B/D
B/D
D/A

Here's a view with them all opened up so you can see the color pattern.

Next, press the triangles open.

You see how 2 set of QSTs are the same? Take one of each of these sets and sew them together to make the center block. Next, sew a white HST to each one of the remaining QST sets. Trim all blocks to 4 1/2 inches square. Then sew them together row by row.

Jeweled Layout

Once you make as many blocks as you'd like lay it all out and spread the color out evenly. In this formation I think it looks like each churn dash is sitting on a jewel.

Make a secondary pattern emerge with this layout.

It takes more thought and planning, but look at the cool pattern that emerges when you lay them out with the same colors touching each other. I discovered this after I sewed all my blocks and I only could make it work for 2 rows so I stuck with the random layout. I would love to sew up another quilt with this layout instead. Someday!

Let me know if you use my tutorial I'd love to see what you make!

And if you want to see pictures of my finished quilt click on over to this post:

Bejeweled Churn Dash Finished Quilt

 Happy Sewing!

More quilts I've made...

• Big Star Baby Quilt Tutorial -15 Minutes of Play Quilt
• Scrappy Herringbone Quilt Finish
• Best Friends Quilt