Drawing a Block

Here is basic information on how to draw a block. For a complete lesson in drawing a block, please refer to the User's Guide.

You can draw a block anywhere on the Design Wall. The Block Wizard  will help you set up Patch Guidelines that will create a grid for you to draw your block on. Please note that you can draw a block without the patch guidelines.

Drawing a block consists of drawing individual patches with the drawing tools and then fitting them together as you would fit together fabric patches in a real quilt block. To draw a simple block with triangles and squares, simply draw the triangles in place on the block and then draw the squares. Use the Snap to Grid Tool to make the patches line up snugly against each other.

You can also use the Rotary Cutting Tool to draw a patches and then cut them into smaller patches. For example, you can draw a square and cut it in half diagonally to form two triangles.

Tips for Drawing Blocks

• Don’t leave any holes within the boundaries of the Patch Guidelines. If you can see the grid, there is no patch and your block is not complete. Just as you would not leave a hole in a real block, don’t leave a hole in your Perfect Quilt block.

• Don’t stack patches on top of each other. It’s tempting to draw one large square and put other patches on top of it. However, you’ll have trouble painting the patches and your rotary charts & templates will not be accurate.

• Don’t make two triangles by drawing a square and then draw a diagonal line. You will not have two triangles, only a square with a line. Use the Rotary Cutter Tool instead.

• Use the Snap to Grid tool to make patches "snap" to each other. The Snap to Grid tool will ensure accuracy. It's like have a magic "super straight seam" setting on your sewing machine!