Spool and Bobbin Quilting Block

The Spool and Bobbin quilt block is 4-patch quilt block that has been further subdivided into 16 grids or patches. 

This block is a little more difficult to piece than some of the beginning 4 patch blocks.  Two of the patches in this blocks are just squares.  However the patches that are further subdivided have two small triangles that are pieced to a small square.  There are some shortcut methods do to this, but you can also do it by cutting triangles and attaching them to the sides of the small square.

I used this block to illustrate cutting single triangles and how to piece them to a square in a quilt block.  See Cutting Single Triangles for a full explanation of how to make this block.

Some of the blocks that I call 4-patches are technically actually 2-patch blocks.  However most quilters think of them as 4-patch blocks, and they work well with other 4-patch blocks.

This is a block that is often used in a sampler quilt.  It is a great block to practice working with triangles.