Great Granny Tutorial

My method for making a Great Granny block is basically no different from many others that can be found on the internet, but I did devise a couple of stream-lining tricks that you may or may not find useful.

I  made 30 blocks for my quilt, and made each block individually. I suspect that chain-piecing could have been done to speed up the process, but I wanted each block to be different and while somewhat haphazard, when all blocks are sewn together, my quilt top would look planned and harmonious. I determined early on that my dominant colors would be pink and dark blue, so that helped with the "planned and harmonious" part.

I began with lots and lots of 2.5" squares. I had a good supply in my scrap stash, so I pulled from there as much as possible. Each Great Granny block has the same basic requirement:

        1 center square

        4 second row squares

        8 third row squares

        12 fourth row squares

        16 outer row squares

From this "recipe" I laid each block out on the cutting table like you see below.

Rather than deal with all the white outer row squares, I just kept a stack of them by the sewing machine and added them when I took this part to the machine. Taking a block from table to machine required me to create a habit that I would use time after time. I didn't want to lose my place and waste time recreating. So I learned to do it by stacking from bottom to top.
 

The two outside squares are single blocks; the next 2 in have three blocks in the stack; the next 2 have 5 blocks in the stack, and the center stack has 7 squares. The shape of these stacks resembles the shape of the top of the block in the previous picture - albeit, somewhat smooshed together and overlapped. This is so that I can easily carry them to the sewing machine.

At the machine, I added the white squares to the top and bottom of each stack, spread the stacks out in the correct order, and the two white squares in the center will be the outermost squares of the finished block.

To clarify all that mumbo-jumbo, I added numerals to indicate how many squares are in each stack. Now I am ready to sew. I begin with the two stacks of three, chain piece so I am not stopping to cut after each seam. When I have the three squares together, I add the two white squares. This prevents small, unattached parts from going missing. 

Then I begin the next two stacks - the ones marked with 5s above. I chain piece and press after every addition. The handy little iron and wool mat next to my machine makes it easy and fast.
 

I lay the finished rows out in order, and move on to the next row or rows.

All the rows are complete in the picture above. The top 4 rows have an identical row stacked under it - these will be the bottom half of the block. From this point, I work from the long middle row out to complete the block. Perhaps the picture below will illustrate what I mean. I take the single long row, which is the center row of the Gr. Granny, and add the rows to both sides.

Press! After every seam, I press. It's so much easier to do as I go rather than to do it all at the end, and it's neater this way, too.

Continue adding the next two rows, and finally that small outside unit on each side. The finished block looks like this. From here, I head back over to the cutting table and take my big square ruler to cut off the outer parts of the white squares, ideally the finished square measures 12". I admit that mine varied by as much as half an inch, but they still all went together just fine.

Below is a different block with the squaring up completed. In my squaring up efforts, I tried mostly to assure that I had a quarter-inch on each outer print square to (hopefully) maintain my points when adding the sashing strips. I  was mostly successful with this. A few points were lost, but overall, I am satisfied.

I didn't give instructions for pressing, but if you work it right, all intersections will nest just perfectly, which means you can stitch without too much pinning. That is a time saver, and as I made more blocks I became more consistent in my method of pressing. You will, too, I'm sure.

Did you notice that I have pieces some 2.5" squares? If I found I was just 1 square short of having enough to do a "round," I went digging for scraps and made a square that would work. I also have a couple of blocks in which I did "almost" matches. For example, that pink round above has one square with orange constellations, while all the others are white. Does anyone notice this in a finished quilt? 

Absolutely not!

Here's another block with "almost" matches. See if you can spot them.

I began my Great Granny quilt with the intent to use only my scraps, but as I went along, I kept enlarging the quilt, so I ended up buying a few more fabrics to fit my "look" and I am super happy with the results. I will hopefully have a completed flimsy to show you by the end of the week.

Here's the quilt laid out with the sashing strips but no border. This will have to suffice for now. Border production is in the works.

Let me know if there are any parts of this tutorial that confuses you. I'll be happy to clarify.

Happy Quilting, Friends!