02b | Create a Custom Block

Module 02b | Create a Custom Quilt Block

Now that we understand how to breakdown and analyze a quilt block, we can now recreate it in PreQuilt as a custom block.

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YouTube Video

Module 2b: Create a Custom Block

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Exercise 02

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:

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Help Guide

Please Note: The order is slightly different in this Help Guide than it is in the video. Not an issue at all though, since the result is the same in the end.

01 | Create a New Custom Block

1. Click on the BLOCKS tab on the left side control panel.

   

   Left Side Control Panel tabs
2. Click on the Make Custom Block button.

   
3. The Block Editor window will open.

   

   The Block Editor window

02 | Changing the Block Settings

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.

1. Click on the Block Info tab.

   
2. Rename the block name to Sawtooth Star.

   

   To stay organized, name your block
3. 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.

   
4. 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.

   

03 | Create Quilt Block Pieces

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 Block Editor Canvas to create the different pieces of the block - squares, half square triangles (HSTs), and flying geese triangles.

a | Create a Square Piece

1. Click on the Square shape beneath the empty Block Editor Canvas (). Once you click on it, it will appear on the Block Editor Canvas.

   

   New square is placed in the center of the Block Editor Canvas
2. 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.

   

   Originally placed square

   

   Moved square
3. 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.

   

   Smaller square

   

   Resized bigger square - fills space between gridlines

b | Create a Half Square Triangle (HST) Piece

1. 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 Block Editor Canvas.

   

   Newly added HST piece
2. 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.

   

   To change a piece's color, link a different color tag.
3. Click on our black HST piece and while still holding down on the mouse button, move the HST to the right of the square.

   

   Color Tag B linked to HST piece

   

   HST piece moved
4. 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.

   

   HST piece small

   

   HST piece resized to fit between gridlines

c | Create a Flying Geese Triangle Piece

1. Click on the Isosceles Triangle shape found beneath the empty Block Editor Canvas (). Once you click on it, it will appear on the Block Editor Canvas.
2. 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.

   

   Newly added isosceles triangle piece

   

   Moved isosceles triangle piece
3. 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.

   

   Small isosceles triangle

   

   Isosceles triangle piece resized to fit between gridlines
4. 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.

   

   Isosceles triangle piece before reshaping

   

   Isosceles triangle piece reshaped into a flying geese triangle
5. Rotate the flying geese triangle by clicking on the Rotate button 4 times () on the vertical Toolbar.

   

   

   Rotated flying geese triangle
6. 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.

   

   Moved flying geese triangle

04 | Clone Pieces to Create Sawtooth Star Block

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.

1. Click on the Square piece in the Block Editor Canvas.

2. Click the Clone button ()on the vertical Toolbar.

   • Note: A second square will be added to the canvas area.

   

   

   Selected first square piece

   

   Cloned square piece - now there are 2
3. Move the second Square piece to the top right corner of the canvas.

   

   Moved second (cloned) square piece
4. 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.

   

   Outside pieces of the Sawtooth Star Block
5. To create the last piece, the center square piece:

   1. Clone one of the square pieces

   2. Change the color of the square to black by clicking the Link button next to Color Tag B.

      

      Cloned square piece

      

      Cloned square piece - now black using Color Tag B
   3. Move it to one of the center squares

   4. 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.

   

   Moved square piece

   

   Resized square piece

05 | Save the Block

Ta da! We've now created the Sawtooth Star block and need to save it to the quilt we started.

1. Click on the Save button () in the top right corner of the Block Editor window.

   
2. Click on Save To Quilt.

   
3. The Block Editor will close and you will now see our new block in the BLOCKS tab.

   

   Blocks saved in this quilt

06 | Save the Quilt

Alert: Periodically save your progress while working on your quilt. Or turn on AutoSave if you're forgetful (like me).

Now it's time to save your quilt! This will save all the work done so far on your quilt - blocks, fabric links, and overall quilt dimensions.

1. Click on the Save button () in the central Toolbar.

   
2. Click on Save to save and continue working on your quilt.

   • Optional: You can also turn on AutoSave by toggling the button to On.