Garret Window Quilt Block

By Rose Smith

The Garret Window quilt block is a nine patch Nancy Cabot quilt block and the reason that it really appealed to me was the white square in the middle. 

This would make it ideal for a friendship quilt or a leaving gift because you could put signatures or short messages from different people in that square. 

You could also vary it by putting different patchwork squares in the middle, making it a lovely versatile quilt block.

To make the half square triangle units you will need two 3.7/8” cream squares and one 3.7/8” square each of light brown and dark brown. 

Lay a cream square on top of each brown square with right sides together. 

Mark a line along the diagonal and sew a ¼” seam either side of the marked line. 

Cut along the line to give two half square triangle units from each pair of squares.  Press these and trim the points of the triangles to reduce bulk in the seams.

Cut two 3.1/2” cream squares, two light brown 3.1/2” squares and one white 3.1/2” square. 

Lay them out as shown and sew the squares together across each row.

Sew the rows together and that completes the Garret Window quilt block in its original form. 

Using the stated size of squares you will have a 9” (finished size) square quilt block.

Where it becomes interesting as a quilt block is all the alternative squares that you could use in place of the white square. 

You could use a photo if you wanted to make a memory quilt.  You could use a small pinwheel or any other design – maybe a star – and make a sampler quilt.  You could showcase particular fabrics, fussy cutting them for maximum effect, as I have done with the Celtic knotwork in the right hand photo.

The Garret Window block is very simple but it provides an interesting way of focussing attention on the central square.

Rose Smith is passionate about quilting and likes to share her quilting ideas through tutorials and free quilt patterns on her website: Learn How to Quilt

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