Eight strips around a center square, always turning the same way. The oldest block in American quilting and still the easiest way to use up scraps.
Supplies
- One 2½″ square for the center
- 1½″-wide strips: light and dark (scraps work)
- Rotary cutter, mat and ruler
- Sewing machine with a ¼″ foot and an iron
Quilting terms
| RST | right sides together |
| SA | seam allowance (¼″) |
| HST | half-square triangle |
| FQ | fat quarter (18″ × 22″) |
| WOF | width of fabric |
| Press | iron up and down, no sliding |
Instructions
Tick each step when you finish it: the page remembers where you stopped.
- Cut Cut the 2½″ center square. From 1½″ strips cut: light logs of 2½″, 3½″, 4½″, 5½″ and dark logs of 3½″, 4½″, 5½″, 6½″.
- Logs 1 and 2 Sew the 2½″ light log to the right side of the center, RST, ¼″ SA. Press away from the center. Sew the 3½″ light log across the top and press.
- Logs 3 and 4 Turn the same direction: sew the 3½″ dark log down the left side, then the 4½″ dark log across the bottom. Press away from the center each time.
- Logs 5 and 6 Back to light: 4½″ log on the right, 5½″ log across the top.
- Logs 7 and 8 Dark again: 5½″ log on the left, 6½″ log across the bottom.
- Check The block should measure 6½″ unfinished (6″ once sewn into a quilt). Square it up if needed.
Tip: Always add the next log to the side you just finished. Turning the same way every time is what makes the spiral.
