Union Jack quilt block tutorial

I am queen bee of the Compass Quilters group in February, and I have chosen red, white and blue Union Jack blocks.

What says ‘queen bee’ more than the Queen herself? I cannot ask the group to make blocks inspired by stylish hats, corgis and lovely brooches (too much fiddly appliqué), but I can ask for a British flag block to represent Her Majesty.

Do not tell my dad about this. He would insist I ask everyone for Welsh dragons, but they are much too fiddly to sew!

I have liked the look of the many Union Jack quilts I have seen, but most of them stylised the flag’s design and did not get the dimensions of diagonal stripes quite right. Thanks to the powers of the Internet, I found an explanation of how to draw the flag in the correct proportions and set to work drawing myself a template that I could use for foundation paper piecing.

Normally, the Union Jack is red, white and blue, and I am staying with these colours as they are all favourites. However, I am asking group members to include light blue as well as dark blue and to mix up the placement of the reds and blues.

These are some of the fabrics I pulled from my stash to make the quilt. In addition to these, I am including tone-on-tone white prints and solid whites. I think I would also happily welcome royal blue into the mix.

I chose a range of red, white and blue fabrics, including light and dark blues, and bright reds. Of course, flowers feature heavily!

All of my friends know I love floral prints, stripes, checks and spots, like these red and blue blender fabrics.

I am asking my bee mates to avoid solids (except white) unless that is all they have in their stash. I am also asking my bee mates to avoid teal blues and wine reds in favour of the shades pictured if they can, and to avoid batiks and hand-dyed fabrics – as I dislike batiks and live in fear that hand-dyed colours will run.

The block

The finished Union Jack block is an unusual size for a quilt block to suit the correct proportions of the flag. It is:

• 15½ x 8 inches (cut)
• 15 x 7½ inches (finished).

I have sewn the block using foundation paper piecing techniques. I find this gives the most accurate finish. It is a lot easier than it looks, especially as there are no tricky points to line up. All you need is a basic familiarity with foundation paper piecing.

Start by printing the template, which is available in A4 and letter-size paper formats to ensure it prints correctly. Each block needs two copies of the template.

The blocks are red, white and blue, just not always in the way we are used to seeing Union Jacks!

Foundation paper piecing tips

• Check the measurements of your printed templates before sewing to ensure everything has printed at the correct size.
• When cutting, if in doubt, cut the fabric larger and trim off excess after sewing.
• Use a very short stitch length on your sewing machine. The extra perforations will help you to tear the paper away.
• Press each piece and trim away any excess seam allowance before sewing the next piece.
• Turn your iron’s steam off. Steam will make the paper wavy and soggy.
• Be very careful to check that you are cutting just the seam allowance when trimming with your rotary cutter. We have all accidentally folded the fabric the wrong way and sliced off the lovely fabric we just sewed in place instead of trimming the excess seam allowance.
• Keep your tweezers handy for picking out small bits of paper.
• I never pin or use glue when foundation paper piecing. Some people do. Do whatever works for you.

Cutting instructions

All measurements are given in inches, and the sizes listed include an allowance to make sure you have a bit of wriggle room for foundation piecing. Strips can be cut larger for extra margins for error.

I have listed the colours traditionally used for each section, even though I hope my bee mates will mix things up a bit. The numbers in the first column correspond to the numbers on the templates.

Colour X (red)

Cut two of each size for each flag block (one for each paper-pieced section).

	Piece A	Piece B
1	7½ x 1¼	6½ x 1¼
8	8 x 2¼	—

Cut one extra piece 2 x 8 inches for the flag centre. This is not paper pieced and needs to be cut accurately.

Colour Y (white)

Cut two of each size for each flag block (one for each paper-pieced section).

	Piece A	Piece B
2	6½ x 1½	8 x 1½
3	7 x 1	5½ x 1
6	7 x 1¼	7 x 1¼
7	4 x 1¼	4 x 1¼

Colour Z (blue)

Cut four rectangles, two in each of the following sizes:

• 7 x 3½
• 5½ x 2¾

Place the matching pairs right sides together and cut on the diagonal from point to point. Placing them with right sides facing before cutting on the diagonal is very important!

Cutting these pieces this way does not waste much fabric and makes sure that the grain direction of the fabric sits the right way in the finished block, which I find helps blocks stay in shape and not stretch. (It is not feasible to fuss about the grain direction of the diagonal stripes, but the grain direction of these triangles and the horizontal and vertical stripes can be easily managed.)

Cut two rectangles according to the measurements given, then place them right sides together and cut on the diagonal from point to point.

Piecing instructions

Each block is made up of five sections: a centre piece and two each of Piece A and Piece B. I have shown how Piece B is assembled. Piece A is essentially the same, with the addition of piece 8. If you are a confident paper piecer, you can skip this section and just sew the sections together by following the numbers on the template.

Start by placing pieces 1 and 2 face together on the unprinted side of the paper. Hold them up to the light to check the placement. The fabric of piece 1 should cover its area with at least a ¼-inch seam allowance all around. Piece 2 should line up with one long raw edge of piece 1 and be placed so when stitched and folded back it will cover its area. Stitch along the line between pieces 1 and 2.

Place two fabric pieces right sides together with the raw edges aligned.

Hold them and the paper up to the light to check placement.

Sew on the line between pieces 1 and 2.

It should look like this on the unprinted side.

Press the seam open.

Then add piece 3.

Place piece 3 face down.

Hold it up to the light and move it into position.

Sew on the line between pieces 1 and 3.

Fold back the paper and the piece you have just sewn, and trim the seam allowance to a neat ¼ inch.

Keep adding pieces.

Find the correct pieces 4 and 5.

Sew them in place, one at a time.

Press and trim each seam as you sew.

Piece 6 sits across the top.

Holding it up to the light will help ensure it is straight.

Piece 7 is added after piece 6.

Before trimming, Piece B looks like this.

When all the pieces are sewn and the block is pressed, turn it so the printed side faces up and trim it as shown. The finished measurements are written on the template so you can check all is well.

Line up a ruler so it is square with two sides and trim to the outermost dotted line.

Trim the opposite sides.

When it looks like this, you can tear away the paper and give it a good iron.

Make Piece A in a similar fashion.

Piece A only differs from Piece B in the direction of the stripes and the addition of piece 8.

If you are nervous of trimming seam allowances with your rotary cutter, use scissors and eyeball a ¼-inch seam allowance.

When you have the four paper sections assembled and trimmed, tear away all the backing paper and give them a good iron (with steam if you like, now the paper has gone).

Lay them out as pictured, and sew them together using a ¼-inch seam allowance.

Lay out the five pieces.

Sew each Piece A to one Piece B.

Press the seam towards the middle stripe.

Pin and sew the flag centre piece.

Mark to ensure the horizontal stripe lines up before pinning and sewing the other side in place.

Press the last two seams towards the centre piece, and you have finished your block!

The light blue makes me think of an air force ensign.

I like how some of my fabrics include red, white and blue in the one fabric.

If you use this free template and tutorial to make your own blocks, please let me know by sharing a photo on the Granny Maud’s Girl stuff Flickr group or on Instagram (@grannymaudsgirl). I love to see how others interpret the same idea differently.

I think a quilt of these blocks would look stylish in my electric blue Mini Cooper, and I was born in Britain, so it is not a strange quilt for an Australian to make. I am not really a flag-waving patriotic sort; I just like the shapes and patterns of the Union Jack. At the moment, I am thinking of making a pieced blue backing with the Southern Cross stars on it. We will see how I go at the end when the top is assembled.