Sailing Ships This block was first published in May of 2002, and I think it's time to add some new sailboats to the fleet. We'll start with the old block and add a new one at the bottom of the page. Sailing ships is a very easy block to make. For this sailboat block you will need two different blues, one for the sky and one for water, something colorful for the sails and another color for the boat.       You need to make the following cuts for the sailboat above       from the sky blue, cut two 3 7/8 inch squares, two 6 1/2 by 3 1/2 inch rectangles and two 3 1/2 inch squares,       from your water cut one 12 1/2 by 3 1/2 inch rectangle       from the boat color cut one 12 1/2 by 3 1/2 inch rectangle and       from your sails cut two 3 7/8 inch squares. You will need diagonal half squares for this block. First, mark your 3 7/8 inch background squares diagonally through the center. (This will be a cutting line when you are finished.) Place your sky blue square, right sides together, with the sail color. Sew on either side of the drawn line, exactly 1/4 inch from the first line. Cut this square in half on the cutting line. Trim off the corners, or dog ears as some people like to call them. You will now have two diagonal half-squares, which should measure exactly 3 1/2 inches. Repeat with the remaining 3 7/8 inch squares. You need a total of four diagonal half squares the first sailing ship. Sew all four squares together following the diagram below.             Add the sky blue rectangles to either side. Take the 3 1/2 inch squares of your sky blue, and draw a line diagonally from corner to corner. Place these squares on your boat rectangle, and sew on that drawn line.     Cut off the extra fabrics, leaving a 1/4 inch seam allowance of course. Assemble your sailboat block following the diagrams here. You can turn your sails to go in opposite directions to make your sailboats float different ways.                         Now for the new sailboat in the fleet. The directions are basically the same, the only difference is this sailboat only has one sail, making it a little bit easier. And as a bonus, you get two sails at a time, so you can make two sailboats and change them by making different color boats. You need to make the following cuts for the sailboat number two       from the sky blue, cut one 6 7/8 inch square, two 6 1/2 by 3 1/2 inch rectangles and two 3 1/2 inch squares,       from your water cut one 12 1/2 by 3 1/2 inch rectangle       from the boat color cut one 12 1/2 by 3 1/2 inch rectangle and       from your sails cut one 6 7/8 inch squares. Follow the same directions that you did for sailboat number one, except this time you will be using only one sail. Use the 6 7/8 inch sky and 6 7/8 inch sail fabrics and follow the same directions as above to make two diagonal half squares sails. Continue following the same as directions above. If you reverse the direction of the sail, and use a different color for the second boat, you will get two different sailboats completely. And here are two diagrams of a possible quilt with a variety of sailboats you can make! Have fun!             In 2012 I offered a variation of Sailing Ships quilts. I used all the same backgrounds, something colorful for the sails and other bright colors for the boats. You could make your boats all the same, or use up some scraps and make them a colorful flotilla. The sashing is cut 2 1/2 inches and the setting squares are 2 1/2 inches. You may use a different fabric for water or not, which ever you like.     Here are three of my sailing ships quilts before they were quilted. Sailing Ships © Delaware Quilts May 2002 The content on these pages, including text and images are the sole property of the Delaware Quilts and may not be used or reproduced in any manner without consent. All Rights Reserved. Updated June 10, 2020 |Home| Quilts| Blocks| Retreat| Email|