How to Make a Shoo Fly Quilt Block – February Quilt Block of the Month

Today, I’m very excited to share with you the February Quilt Block of the Month. This month, we are making a fun 15-inch Shoo Fly Quilt Block! 

This is block #6 of 12 (yippee! We are halfway through). The Shoo Fly Block uses simple squares and four Half-Square Triangles to create a block with many possible fabric combinations.

Purchase a Print Ready Copy of the Series

UPDATE: You can now purchase a PDF with ALL of the block instructions for each month in one place!! Click here to PURCHASE

About the Shoo Fly Quilt Block

This month, we are using the basic “grid” pattern with a few half-square triangles (HST) to make a Shoo Fly Quilt Block. This block is really fun because you can use all the same fabric or three different fabrics on it. You can also do a monochromatic color scheme like I did or something more dramatic.

Before you start to cut, look at the blocks you’ve made so far and see if your colors are balanced.

Do you have too much of one color and maybe not enough of another? I know that this month, for the quilt for my teenage son, I need to pull some more Kelley green into my block. Since this is the halfway point in construction, it would be a good time to evaluate where you stand.

How to Make a 15-inch Shoo Fly Quilt Block

Cutting

4 pieces 5 1/2 x 5 1/2 of background fabric

2 pieces 6 x 6 of background fabric

1 piece 5 1/2 x 5 1/2 of Fabric A for the center of the block

2 pieces 6 x 6 of Fabric B for triangles (you can also use two different fabrics for this step as I did with my block; it’s up to you, but I would keep them both the same color if the print is different).

One: Create the Half Square Triangles

Begin by constructing 4 HST from your 6×6 pieces of fabric. Layer one 6×6 background fabric over one 6×6 print fabric, right sides facing.

Then, draw a line on the diagonal of one of the pieces. Stitch 1/4″ off each side of the line you drew. Cut the fabric in half along the line, press, and trim blocks to 5 1/2″ x 5 1/2″.

After your HSTs are trimmed, you can arrange your squares into three rows, as shown below.

Two: Lay out your Pieces and Construct your Quilt Block

Stitch the squares together in row 1, followed by row 2 and row 3.  Press all seams to one side, then stitch the rows together.

Give the block another pressing, trim and square up to 15 1/2″ x 15 1/2″.

Here, you can see the block mocked up in another color scheme.

I’m still working on the blocks for my Christmas Quilt & my Son’s quilt; I’ll be sure to share them with you in an update during March!

Just a quick reminder: This project along with ALL of the other projects on this blog are offered to you for free. The only thing that I ask is that you do not use them for any commercial purpose.  If you have a shop, this is not meant to be a program for you to use in your store. It’s meant to help build the online community of people who all LOVE quilting.  Please respect that so that I can go on sharing these projects for everyone.  

More Free Patterns for 15 inch Quilt Blocks

1. Plus Quilt Block Pattern
2. Pinwheel Quilt Block Pattern
3. Sawtooth Star Quilt Block Pattern
4. Half Square Triangle String Block Pattern
5. Turnstile Quilt Block Pattern
6. Shoofly Quilt Block Pattern
7. Keystone Quilt Block Pattern
8. Log Cabin Quilt Block Pattern
9. Friendship Star Quilt Block Pattern
10. Grandma’s Favorite Quilt Block Pattern
11. Ohio Star Quilt Block Pattern
12. Dresden Quilt Block Pattern

As a review, here are the blocks we’ve stitched so far:

1- Plus Quilt Block

2- Pinwheel Quilt Block

3- Star Quilt Block

4- Half Square Triangle Strips Block

5- Turnstile Quilt Block