Find Your Next Favorite Block! | X Marks the Spot
The X Marks the Spot quilt block is a beginner-friendly design that finishes at 10½ inches square and is made entirely from half square triangles. It’s an excellent project for learning how to create and work with HSTs, starting with fabric cut slightly larger than the finished size and pairing light, medium, dark, and white fabrics to build contrast. The block is assembled by creating one quarter of the design and repeating it four times, then rotating and stitching the sections together to form a bold X-shaped pattern that’s both simple to construct and visually striking.
I call this quilt block X Marks the Spot because, to me, it looks like a giant X. If you were on a scavenger hunt and wanted to lead someone straight to the treasure, this would be the block you’d lay right on top of it. This block finishes at 10½ inches square, and once it’s sewn into a quilt with other blocks, it will measure 10 inches square.
This is a very easy block to make and a great project for beginners who want to learn how to work with half square triangles, also known as HSTs. The entire block is made up of half square triangles, which makes it excellent practice for both creating and assembling them.
I started by cutting my fabric. When making half square triangles, you always need to begin with fabric that’s slightly larger than the finished size. I wanted my half square triangles to finish at 3 inches, so I started with fabric cut at 3½ inches square. All of the pieces you see here began at that size. I cut six squares from plain white fabric, then chose three additional colors: a light, a medium, and a dark. From each of those colors, I cut four squares.
Next comes pairing the fabrics to create the half square triangles. I paired a light fabric with a dark fabric to make half square triangles. When those two are sewn together and cut, you end up with a half square triangle that looks just right for this block. For the remaining pieces, I paired white fabric with the light, medium, and dark fabrics to create additional half square triangles. Pairing white with the light gives one version, white with the medium gives another, and pairing the light with the dark creates yet another. This step is simple, straightforward, and great practice.
Once the half square triangles are made, the rest of the block comes together easily. You only need to focus on building one quarter of the block. If you can make one quarter, you can simply repeat it four times to complete the entire block. Lay out your half square triangles in the correct order to form one quarter of the design. Once arranged, stitch the pieces together, first sewing them into pairs and then joining those pairs to complete the quarter section.
After you’ve made four identical quarters, rotate each one into place and sew them together. When the four sections come together, the X Marks the Spot design is complete.
I hope you’ll give this quilt block a try. Be sure to follow us on Facebook and subscribe to our YouTube channel for more tutorials and inspiration. As always, happy sewing.
