Strictly Solids BOM May

April flew by and I hope you had fun sewing the block for the Strictly Solids BOM.

We are just venturing into May and the sun is finally shining in my part of England - I have just jinxed it by mentioning it though!

This month we are going to try something a bit more complex looking, but actually pretty simple!

We first start with a diamond. You can have a diamond of any size, but there is one here to download if you want:

After you have cut out the central diamond, you need to add strips to the edges. I cut mine 1.5" wide, but make sure the strips are longer than the sides of the diamonds so you can cut them accurately:

Sew with a 1/4" seam and press the seam towards the diamond:

Add a strip on the opposite side:

Trim away the excess fabric and strips on the other sides:

Keep adding strips to the shape in the same order as the first 4 strips. Keep checking the size of the diamond  placing the central diamond in the middle of the ruler.

Once the tips of the diamond have gone beyond the edge of the 12.5" ruler trim:

Keep adding strips to the edges in the same order:

Keep building the checking the size of the block:

Be sure to aligning the ruler up with the central diamond and trim the excess fabric.

Once the block measures 12.5" trim all the excess fabric away:

I needed to add a smaller pieces into the corner to finish the block, but it is a very effective use of solids!

Hope you enjoy trying it out and I can't wait to see your blocks!

You can put photos into the Strictly Solids BOM flickr group.