Churn Dash Quilt Block Tutorial
Churn Dash is a traditional quilt block that is easy to make and can be used in many different quilt designs. There are hundreds of quilt options that use only this block, but it also plays well with others.
This block is also known as a Monkey Wrench block, so if you see that term in a pattern you know it is the same.
For ideas on how to use this block in a quilt, check out the Churn Dash Quilt Inspiration Workbook. It has measurements for making the block in other sizes, sample quilt diagrams and colouring pages so you can design your own.
This tutorial is for a block that will finish at 12″ in a quilt.
Fabric Requirements
The sample block uses scrappy fabrics – a light for the background and a variety of fabrics for the feature fabric. If your quilt pattern requires different colour variations, you will need to substitute the fabrics.
- four 2-1/2″ x 4-1/2″ pieces of background fabric
- four 2-1/2″ x 4-1/2″ pieces of feature fabric
- one 4-1/2″ square background fabric
- four 4-1/2″ half-square triangle units with both fabrics **
** The half-square triangle units can be made with any construction method. For this block, I recommend the Most Popular Method for making half-square triangles, but feel free to use your favourite.
Block Assembly
Make the rectangle units
Join the rectangle pieces in pairs with a 1/4″ seam allowance – one light and one dark.
Press so that the seam goes under the dark fabric.
These units should be 4-1/2″ square. If they are not, you should adjust your seam allowance. Double checking the measurement here will make the block go together more easily.
Layout the pieces
Layout the pieces according to the image. You will notice that it is now like a basic nine patch block – three squares across and three down.
The dark rectangles and half square triangles surround the centre background square.
Laying out the pieces close to your sewing machine will help you keep them in the right orientation for sewing.
Sew into rows
Join the pieces into three rows with a 1/4″ seam.
The top and bottom row should have the seams pressed to the inner square and the middle row should have the seams press away from the middle square. This will make it easier to join the rows together.
Sew the rows together
Sew the rows together and press the seams towards the middle.
The block should be 12-1/2″ square. This is a standard size for a lot of quilts.
Using the block in quilts
This block is very versatile and can make great quilts all by itself.
Check out this post for churn dash quilt variations.
It is also a great block to use in sampler quilts with other blocks.
Nine Patch Sampler Quilt
The nine patch sampler quilt is made up of six different nine-patch style blocks. It is a great introduction to traditional quilting.
Here are some different colourways of this quilt. If you would like to make your own, check out Making a Nine Patch Sampler Quilt.
Click on the image of each quilt for more information.
Row by Row Sampler Quilt
This quilt was made with 6″ blocks instead of 12″ blocks.
The blocks are offset to give movement to the rows.
Making a negative churn dash block
Negative quilt blocks are blocks in which the two sides are negative reflections of each other. They lend themselves to a lot of fun quilt designs.
The churn dash block is a great choice for this technique.
Check out how to make a negative churn dash block HERE.