Lattice Quilt Tutorial

I love the lattice design on a quilt, but really didn't want to paper piece such a simple block.  I considered my options for the best way to construct this quilt without paper piecing but still having perfect corners where the "X" meets, and I came up with this. The trick is square up the corners of the block just right.  This tutorial is for a 6.5" unfinished block.

Download Ruler Template from GoogleDocs.

1.  Cut your solid fabric into 6" squares.  Then slice along the diagonal to make two right triangles. 

2.  Cut lattice fabric 2.5" x 10".  Each 6.5" block requires two triangles and one lattice strip.

3. Sew solid triangles to lattice piece.  First attach the bottom triangle and then the top centering them with the lattice piece.  Just eyeball it when centering the triangles with the lattice piece and each other.

It saves time to chain piece the blocks.  First, sew one triangle on each of the lattice strips, then flip over and add the second triangle.  It makes for very quick piecing.  After piecing, press all blocks, seams toward the lattice strip.

The biggest challenge I ran into when making these blocks without paper piecing was lining everything up.  This is also the most critical part to making the quilt look good.  I modified my 6.5" square ruler for this step.  It's helpful to have a ruler this size or slightly larger for the trimming step.

4.  Line your ruler up with the 6.5" template with the bottom of the ruler facing up.  Tape to the paper to hold it in place. 

5.  Carefully place masking tape or painter's tape along the specified lines. Trim tape to the edge of the ruler.  (Painter's tape would have been the better option in my case considering the masking tape blends in with my white solid, but I couldn't find any.  It is most helpful to use the tape the contrasts with your background fabric.)

6.  Center your lattice strip between the taped lines.  Carefully trim all sides.  Notice there will be about 1/4" to 1/2" on each side to be trimmed.  This extra wiggle-room makes the piecing process much quicker because exactness isn't required.   

Done!  Trim all blocks; then arrange as desired and sew together.  Sew blocks together in rows and then sew each row together.  Pin at each seam to ensure everything meets up correctly.  I prefer to press seams open when sewing the finished blocks together.  

When deciding on the final design, remember to have an even number of blocks for the height and width.  This allows your design to remain consistent. You can lay out your quilt out as shown here or start with the "x" in the corners as on Film in the Fridge.

Size tips:
Baby Quilt:
--8 x 8 blocks
--48" x48" finished size
--64 lattice strips & 128 solid triangles

Large Throw:
--10 x 12 blocks
--60" x 72" finished size
--120 lattice strips & 240 solid triangles

Twin:
--12 x 14 blocks
--72" x 84" finished size
--168 lattice strips & 336 solid triangles

Full/Queen:
--14 x 16 blocks
--84" x 96" finished size
--224 lattice strips &448 solid triangles

One jelly roll will give you 160 lattice strips as most jelly rolls have 40 fabric strips.  
Fourteen lattice strips can be cut from one fat quarter.