Wedge Slabs

About a year ago I wrote a tutorial for Wedge Slabs as part of a giving quilt project for Seattle MQG. Our finished quilt, Play It Cool, is shown below. It measured 48” x 60”, with slabs created by many of our guild's members, and then I put the top together. To finish, it was quilted by Dionne Matthies-Buban and bound by Deborah Christiansen.

So I thought I'd bring the tutorial - short and sweet as it is - back to my own blog, where my followers can find it more easily. This tutorial creates a wedge slab 6 1/2″ tall, and you can make it as long as you want. The guild made slabs 18 1/2″ and 24 1/2″ long, though obviously your quilt plan could be easily adaptable to other sizes.

photo by Louise Wackerman

Start with two pieces of fabric approximately 8″ tall. I started with a length (navy shown) just to help keep the orientation straight, but it doesn’t really need to be that long. Layer one fabric on the other as shown, and cut at an angle on the left side of the ruler. Discard the excess bit.

Flip the top fabric over onto the left and line up the raw edges, sewing 1/4″ seam along that cut edge.

Press seam and position fabric with right-side up. I find it helpful to line up loosely with the corner of my cutting board. That way I can make sure my slab is relatively straight as I continue to add to it.

Repeat first step of layering, cutting, flipping, stitching, and pressing until you exceed your desired length slightly.

If you have a 6 1/2″ x 24 1/2″ ruler, it’s perfect for determining your upper and lower trimming cuts.

Next trim your block ends to bring your block to length.

You might remember I also asked for multicolor wedge slabs from Faith Circle not long ago.



The result was Jazzy. Each palette is its own wonderful mix, don't you agree? I'm thinking this might be a good way to work thru my solid scraps. Hmm....