02 | Create a block
Last updated
Last updated
02 | Create a custom Sawtooth Star block.
Objective | To create a quilt block from scratch. We call this a custom quilt block. We will be creating this Sawtooth Star block:
Did You Know | Custom quilt blocks are designed and created using the , a pop-up window in PreQuilt.
Click on the BLOCKS tab on the .
Click on the Make Custom Block button.
The window will open.
The Block Editor has some options in the left side control panel that will help us recreate (or reverse engineer) our desired block - The Sawtooth Star.
Click on the Block Info tab.
Rename the block name to Sawtooth Star.
Change both the horizontal and vertical gridlines to 4.
Note: The Sawtooth Star can be divided into 16 equal squares (4 columns and 4 rows). This information will help us know how many gridlines to set.
Ensure snapping is on - as a default it is turned on.
Note: If the circles are outlined, snapping is on. If the circles are not outlined, simply click on the buttons to turn snapping on.
Click on the Square on the Block Editor Canvas and while still holding down on the mouse button, move the square into the top left corner.
To resize the square to fill the space between gridlines, click on the bottom right box on the outside of your square and drag it to make the square bigger.
It should snap to fit the size of the grid unit perfectly.
On the left side control panel, click on the Link button next to Color Tag B.
This will change the color of our HST from beige to black.
Click on our black HST piece and while still holding down on the mouse button, move the HST to the right of the square.
To resize the HST piece to fill the space between gridlines, click on the bottom right box on the outside of your HST and drag it to make the HST bigger.
It should snap to fit the size of the grid unit perfectly.
Click on our Isosceles Triangle piece and while still holding down on the mouse button, move it to the grid box to right of the HST.
To resize the isosceles triangle piece to fill the space between gridlines, click on the top right box on the outside of your isosceles triangle and drag it to make it bigger.
It should snap to fit the size of the grid unit perfectly.
To change the shape (width) of the isosceles triangle piece to create the flying geese triangle, click on the middle right box on the outside of your isosceles triangle and drag it to the right to create the new triangle shape.
It should snap to fit the size expanding 2 grid units perfectly.
Move the flying geese triangle to the left so that it nests next to the black HST.
Note: It should snap seamlessly right up against the HST.
Now we have the three different shaped pieces that make the Sawtooth Star block. We can now clone (copy) each of these pieces until we have our completed block.
Click on the Square piece in the Block Editor Canvas.
Note: A second square will be added to the canvas area.
Move the second Square piece to the top right corner of the canvas.
Repeat Steps d.1-3 for the remaining squares, HSTs, and flying geese triangles until you have all the outside pieces of your Sawtooth Star block.
To create the last piece, the center square piece:
Clone one of the square pieces
Change the color of the square to black by clicking the Link button next to Color Tag B.
Move it to one of the center squares
Resize it by clicking on the bottom right box on the outside of the square and dragging it to make it bigger.
It should snap to fit the size of 4 grid units perfectly.
Ta da! We've now created the Sawtooth Star block and need to save it to the quilt we started.
Click on Save To Quilt.
The Block Editor will close and you will now see our new block in the BLOCKS tab.
Creating a quilt block in PreQuilt is much like piecing a block with fabric. To create our Sawtooth Star, we're going to use the different shapes beneath the to create the different pieces of the block - squares, half square triangles (HSTs), and flying geese triangles.
Click on the Square shape beneath the empty Block Editor Canvas (). Once you click on it, it will appear on the .
Click on the Half Square Triangle (HST) shape found beneath the empty Block Editor Canvas (). Once you click on it, it will appear on the .
Click on the Isosceles Triangle shape found beneath the empty Block Editor Canvas (). Once you click on it, it will appear on the .
Rotate the flying geese triangle by clicking on the Rotate button 4 times () on the vertical .
Click the Clone button ()on the vertical Toolbar.
Click on the Save button () in the top right corner of the Block Editor window.
