How to Make a Pinwheel Quilt Block ~ A Beginner Tutorial

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Our fourth block in our Sampler Quilt is going to be another classic quilt block and one of my favorites – the pinwheel! As I said in our Sampler Quilt Introductory post, this series is a beginning quilting series, designed as the perfect project for first-time quilters. However, just because this is meant for a beginning quilter, it doesn’t mean quilters of all skill levels can’t join in!

My plan in all of this is to build a library of free quilt tutorials with easy blocks, and next year, start another series with more difficult ones, so that we can all gain new skills.

Let’s Talk Pinwheels!

The pinwheel block looks complicated until you realize it’s just four half-square triangles arranged together to form a pinwheel design.

Really, it’s just another easy block to make, perfect for baby quilts, table runners, throw pillows, and all sorts of projects. It’s one of my favorite quilt blocks and pairs nicely with other blocks.

Combining a light background fabric with a darker fabric helps the pinwheels to stand out better. It’s also a great way to use up fabric squares like leftover charm packs and layer cake squares. 

If this is your first time making a pinwheel block I hope these step-by-step instructions will guide you in making this playful block and hopefully by the end of this beginner-friendly tutorial you will love the pinwheel quilt block as much as I do!

Ok, enough chatter, let’s get started on making an easy pinwheel quilt block!

Pinwheel Quilt Block Tutorial

Fabric Requirements for a Single Block – Twelve and a Half Inch Block Unfinished

Fabric

• background fabric
• one scrap of feature fabric

These are the fabrics I have chosen for this block:

Cutting Instructions

From the background fabric:

• Cut 2 (two) 7″ squares

From the scrap feature fabrics:

• Cut 2 (two) 7″ squares

for a total of 4 (four) squares:

Step 1

We are going to start by by making four half square triangles with our four background squares and “feature fabric” squares. For the sake of length of blog post, please go to THIS TUTORIAL for making (almost) perfect half square triangles (lol!) and follow Steps 1 – 6 and come back here!

If you’ve followed steps 1 – 6 from this blog post you will have four half square triangles like this:

Step 2

Now we are going to take the four half square triangles and arrange them to form a pinwheel:

Step 3

We are now going to sew the block together in the same way as we did the four-patch. Take the two top pairs, place them right sides together as shown in the picture below, and sew:

Bring it back to the cutting mat and set it back in place to make sure everything is in the right position:

Step 4

Now sew the bottom units together and then bring them back to the cutting board to place them in the correct position.

Step 5

Before we sew the two rows together, we need to take them to the ironing board. Again, we need to set the seams first…

… and then press seams in opposite directions.

This is what it will look like from the back:

Place them back in the right positions for the next step.

Step 6

Time to sew the rows together.

Flip the top row down on top of the bottom row. As we did with the first block, we are going to pin them, starting with matching up the centers. With the seams pressed in opposite directions, they should nest together nicely:

You can tell if you have “nested” them properly if you go over the join with your thumb and finger, and it is nice and smooth – no bumps!

Pin!

I like to pin on an angle with one half of the pin in the left seam and the other half in the right seam, like this:

Pin at each end and then add a few more in the middle…

Sew the rows together using a quarter-inch seam allowance.

Step 7

Now we need to take it back to the ironing board and set that center seam that we just sewed.

Press the seam towards towards the top of the block:

All Done

And here is the finished block on the design wall, all done!

The block should measure 12 1/2″.

Here it is with our first three blocks:

Printable Tutorial Style Pattern

You can purchase a printer-friendly and ad-free version of this tutorial for a small price here:

How to Make a Pinwheel Quilt Block ~ A Beginner Tutorial

Christmas Version

Here is a pic of the Christmas one I made on YouTube using Lori Holt’s Home Town Holiday Fabric from the Fat Quarter Shop:

And all four on the design wall:

YouTube Video

You can watch the video tutorial here if you like:

Let me know in the comments what your favorite quilt block is!

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