Hour #5

Now it's time to add the squares around the block. There are several ways to get this done.

• You could cut individual 2" squares. Seems like too much trouble to me!
• You could sew together 5 - 2" strips for the sides, and 7 - 2" strips for the top and bottom, then cut them into 2" segments. I have a hard time keeping seams perfect straight when I've added this many strips and all your sections of squares would be the same.

Each block requires 24 - 2" squares. If you're doing 20 blocks, you'll need 480 - 2" squares. If your fabric is 40" wide, that means you need a total of 24 - 2" strips.

Here's how I did mine:

• Cut 24 - 2" strips from a variety of fabric.
• Cut 4 of those strips into 2" squares. You should have 80.
• Cut the remaining 20 - 2" strips in half so that you have 40 strips that are approximately 2" x 20" in length.
• Randomly sew these together in groups of two.

• Cut these segments into 2" strips. You should get 200 of these 2" segments. Since these strips were randomly sewed together, you should have some variety.
• For the sides of the block, you need 5 - 2" squares so you would pick up 2 of the 2 block segments and add a 2" square. The square could be added in front, in between, or at the end of the segments -- if you're looking for randomness.
• For the top and bottom of the block, you need 7 - 2" squares so you would use 3 of the 2 block segments and add a 2" square somewhere along the way.

A whole lot of words to say something you probably don't need to know but that's how I did mine.

For Hour #5, you should be able to cut your strips, get them sewn together and pressed.