Welcome to SewVeryEasy, my name is Laura. And the Attic Window quilt block is a popular block and it's been around for a long long time. And, there's more than one way to make that block. I'm going to share with you today six different ways to make the blocks, all while we're going to make a small wall hanging. So when you're done, it's going to be like an encyclopedia of Attic Windows. For the wall hanging you can use any fabric you want. I'm going to use this really cute bug fabric from Susiebee. That way I can cut out some of the bugs. The window pane is going to be with a dark and a light, and by using a dark and a light it gives the window a lot of dimension. I'm going to put some sashing to join those windows together. So I'm going to use that coordinating orange. So five of the blocks are going to be used with just measurements. The sixth block is going to be used with a template. And this is an Attic Window template so you're going to be able to have a ruler that will make the window and it's very very quick and easy. To start with I'm going to want to make a little template. Now you might have something already in your sewing notions that will do this, but if not, I want to make something with a quarter-inch little cutout window. You can make it with just a piece of cardboard or paper or some template plastic. I'm going to show you on this cardboard. It'll be easier for you to see then for me to use that clear template plastic. But I do have it already cut in the template plastic because I do use this quite often. So what I've done is I've taken and I've drawn a seam a quarter inch on both sides. Now use the quarter inch that your sewing machine likes. So this line should match the quarter-inch seam that is on your machine. And that's the only corner you're going to need. What you need to do is cut out that little corner piece. And when I cut this out, I cut it out on the other side of that drawn line because I'm going to be using this as a template. And I'm going to be drawing this corner on my fabric and that will give me the spot for the line. This is going to be a great template to use whenever you need to have a corner that is a quarter-inch seam. The first map that I'm going to do is the traditional mitered corner. The techniques are all going to work out the same, so it doesn't matter what size you use; it's whatever size you're going to want to use. If you're going to follow along, this square here is going to start at 11½". My sills are going to be a cut 3" strip. So I have a 3" by 15" and that's going to be the bottom part of the window. Along the side of the window, I'm going to have this green. It's also cut at 3" by 15". And you can always make it a little bit longer because we're going to concentrate on this mitered corner and we can trim those corners down. So you can have your corners on any corner you want and it's always going to give it a different appearance. I'm going to keep them all the same. I'm going to have the lighter green on the one side and the darker on the bottom, and that way it's going to look like the sun is shining in on this side, and that's considered the shadow. This is the corner here that I'm going to need to mark with that little template piece. So I'm going to turn it so I can see it from the back, and I'm going to place my template right over that corner, so those edges are matching up, and I'm going to draw that little square. So that's that little square. So what that has done is marked my quarter inch on this edge and on this edge. Those markings are stopping and starting lines. I'm going to put the darkest one on first, and I want to make sure I have lots of room here. So if you take that and you fold it, as long as you have extra space here you know you're going to have enough room. So I can have a little bit little hanging over there and I know I'm still going to have enough to do that mitered corner. And I'm going to be able to sew it from the backside and you can either stop or start right at that line depending on what angle you're going to be going at, but always stitch with this big part up at the top, so you can see. So I've stitched all the way, stopping right at that point and you can see that you have that space there. Now I'm going to be able to move this fabric out of the way and add the green onto the other side. The second one the measurement you need to just make sure it's at least this long, and I like to have just a little bit of extra, and of course enough to go right to the top. This edge is going to be stitched right along here, and when you turn it over you're going to be able to stitch that quarter inch all the way down, stopping right at that quarter-inch mark. So you're not stitching onto the black and you're not stitching anywhere onto that little square corner. So I'm going to start and put my needle right in that hole and stitch up. So I've had no stitching into that little corner. I'm going to take this edge and this edge and match them up. Just match up those ends and those two edges are going to match right up. You have this straight line and those long edges match up. I'm not concerned about matching up this edge or the end. I'm going to have both the seam allowances going up to the top just by matching up that bottom edge and having both of those seams up to the top. This is going to want to lay flat. If it doesn't, you're going to see that you're off. Just by moving it with your hand you can straighten that up. You will see when you're not straight. This just holds that seam allowance out of the way for me. The next thing I want to do is continue this seam here as a straight line coming down, but I'm not going to use this edge. I'm going to use this edge as a measurement. We're going to need something to give us a 45° angle. You can use the ruler or you can use a true square. A square is going to work fine because I know that this is a straight line; this is my 45°. But I'll show you on both rulers. And I'm going to put my marking pencil right there where my last stitch stops and starts. And I'm going to take this ruler and I'm going to slide it so that that straight edge is matching the bottom. And I can just draw that line all the way down. So I still have this part pinned the same way with the seam allowances out. I'm just going to take that 45° mark on my ruler. I'm going to have it go along the bottom, I'm still going to start with my pen right in that hole where I came out and my stitching stopped and started, and I can slide this ruler until it lines up along that bottom. Now I'm going to be able to continue, I can draw that line right off to the bottom. I'm going to put my needle right in that hole and sew, coming right off that line. The next five blocks I'm going to do are going to be smaller. This is a 4" square, and I'm going to have a dark bottom and a light side. I'm going to put a half-square triangle right there in that corner, so you're going to need to make a half-square triangle, so make a size that's an inch bigger than this. So if this is 3" you're going to want to make it 4". You're going to be able to trim it down. You're going to be able to stitch two lines a quarter inch each from that drawn line. Once it's stitched you're going to be able to cut it apart and press that open. Now trim this to be a 3" square, which is matching that 3" border. So now when that half‑square triangle is added on it's going to give you that mitered look. Sew one side on and then before you sew this border on you're going to sew these two together. Now you can stitch this side on. You now have method two done. Method three. I have my 3" by the same size as my block, which is 4". Then I'm going to have a long black one. On the end of the black one I'm going to sew an equal-size square. Now I'm going to sew from one corner all the way down to the other corner. With that seam stitched, you're going to be able to trim off this underside. Sew the green one, or the side one, on first. With that seam stitched on you're now going to be able to open that up; you're going to have that mitered corner. This method is very similar to that half‑square triangle, but you're only doing one side of the half‑square triangle. Method three is now done. Method 4. I'm going to start with that 4" square again, 3" by 7". Match up the edges and stitch down a quarter inch. I'm going to take a second piece and you're going to sew it right along this edge. When you turn the fabric over, pull that seam allowance out of the way. Put your needle right there at that seam and stitch down the quarter inch. Or you can stitch from this angle, coming up and stopping right at that seam. So you're not sewing into that seam allowance. You're going to be able to take this piece and fold it right on that 45° angle. You're going to be able to use the sides of this green to match up the sides of that black. And press them. When it's pressed you can do two things here: You can do a row of topstitching along the black and trim off the underside, or you can put a row of seam tape and glue that down. Method 4 is now done. Method 5: We're going to start with a 4" square. Our strips are 3" by 7", or 3" by 8". Iron over a quarter-inch seam allowance on the strips. Match up the strips with that folded edge up at the top. You can either finger- press a line or mark a 45° angle. You're going to be able to stitch along that press line, stitching right through that folded seam up at the top. And press that open and flat. That will now fit over the top. You can pin these together, turn it over, and topstitch it or use an adhesive. So far we have block 1, blocks 2, 3, 4, and 5. The last block we're going to make is with the template from the Attic Window. The template makes sizes 2¼" to 3½" windows, and that's what the window is considered. This is a fun tool to use. The booklet has lots of directions. What's really interesting with this ruler, we're going to be able to fussy cut with it, just the same as we can with the squares. The fussy cut is going to fit within these measurements here, so if your window is going to be 2½", you're going to want to have that picture right in that area so that that seam allowance is still there. So you're going to be able to take your fabric and fussy cut in that window. So I'm going to have the four friends together within that 3½" window mark. The first thing I'm going to do is cut the two sides. So if I was only going to do a 2¼", I'm still just going to fit it into that window, but I will still cut those two sides. When the two edges are going to be cut, you're going to be able to move this ruler. Whatever measurement you've decided you're going to have that window, you're going to follow that outside line. So if I'm doing the 2¼" I'm going to follow that 2¼" line and I would move it right up until that dotted line is on that first line that I cut. I'm going to be able to cut along here. I chose the largest one at 3½" so in this case I'm going to be able to use the ruler just as it is. So I've cut my first two edges. I'm going to be able to cut that one last edge. This piece is now going to turn into this piece here. The window frame or the outside shape is going to be made with a square cut in half or a triangle if you're only making one piece. So there's a measurement you can actually use or there's a chart online that I'll put a link in the description so you're going to be able to go right to it to see. If you're going to want the block to be a finished size, you're going to need to add the measurement of ⅞", which is really 1" minus one of those little notches. So if you're going to have a 6" block, you're going to have 6⅞". But there'll be a chart you're going to be able to use. I want my folded attic window the same as the block, and right now it's measuring 6½" so it'll be a 6" finished block, so I need to do a 6⅞" square. Then when you cut that square in half you're going to have the right size measurement. So this triangle is going to turn into this edge, this triangle is going to turn into this edge. And it might be handy if you keep the block that you want to duplicate right beside. We now have this larger triangle that we cut and that is the area that I fussy cut. All you need to do is just fold it in half, just match up the edges. You're going to have a fold and two raw edges. This triangular piece is going to match right along that edge. Now we're going to be able to fold this on top of this one just as if we were making a half-square triangle. We can match up those edges and stitch right down that edge. You don't want to stitch the edge where you have that little dog ear. Once that quarter-inch seam has been sewn you're going to be able to open it up. You can see that you still have that mitered corner, but this corner here is going to open up and match that top corner. When it's pressed it looks identical to a traditional attic window. The difference is it is going to be dimensional. It does take more fabric, but it will make it a stronger quilt. This is block six, and this is how we can put them together to make a wall hanging. I'm going to lay out the quilt in this manner: The first thing I'm going to do is add sashing in-between some of the blocks. So I'm going to be able to add a piece of sashing between these two blocks and then add another piece of sashing so you have one row. On this side you're going to add the sashing just between the two blocks here. The little sashing strips are going to be 2" wide. And with that sashing on, these two pieces will equal this size of square. I'm going to add another row of sashing along this side at 2". With that sashing done you can add another row of sashing, 2", to join the two of these together. Let's continue it by adding a 2" border all the way around. We now have a 24½" square. Each one has been sewn in a different way but we've achieved the same look. Here's that folded dimensional one with the ruler. It has that little pocket in it. I want to add on two more borders, but not two borders all the way around. I want to duplicate this look. I'm cutting it at 4½". And miter this corner. And you can keep adding borders on. You could put another dark on that side, add the black on the top. The wall hanging is done. No matter how you make it it is a fun block to make. Now you can have embroidery in each one of those windows; fussy-cut every window, and the window ledges the light and the dark can be any size at all. The sashing can be any size; it basically could be any size you want. It's a fun block to make. I do hope you give it a try, and if you do it this way, well, you'll have that in a encyclopedia of all your attic windows. Thank you for joining me today on SewVeryEasy. Feel free to subscribe and, as always, come on back. Let's see what we're sewing next time
in the sewing room. Bye for now!
