Drafting for the Creative Quilter

38 DRAFTINGFORTHECREATIVEQUILTER

8 squares per inch

Log Cabin and Pineapple Blocks

Log Cabin and Courthouse Steps Blocks

These two time-honored designs continue to be popular

today. The components of both a Log Cabin block and a

Courthouse Steps block are the same—a center square,

or “chimney,” with strips, or “logs,” added around the

chimney.

Log Cabin block Courthouse Steps block

The Log Cabin block is usually colored diagonally, with

light fabrics on one diagonal half and dark fabrics on the

other diagonal half. Any design you can create with half-

square triangles, you can create with Log Cabin blocks.

The logs are added to the chimney in either a clockwise

or a counterclockwise spiral fashion—just be consistent.

Half-square triangle unit

The Courthouse Steps block is colored in diagonal

quarters and can be used the same as any quarter-square

triangle unit. The logs are added to the top and bottom

of the chimney and then to the two sides repeatedly

until the block is complete.

Quarter-square triangle unit

Antique Log Cabin Quilt, 76 ̋ × 76 ̋, maker unknown.

When designing, you make all the choices. Keep in

mind that nothing is written in stone; you can always

make changes. If I’m in question about proportion, I

usually sketch a block on graph paper to see how it will

look before I begin a final draft.

You decide the following:

„ Block size

„ Center (chimney) size—When drafting from the

inside out, I usually make the center either the size of

the logs or twice the size of the logs. The center can

also be a pieced block or a rectangle or another shape

such as a diamond (45° or 60°) or hexagon. Changing

the shape of the center square alters the shape of the

block.