{"id":66899,"date":"2025-07-06T07:04:42","date_gmt":"2025-07-06T14:04:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/artquiltmaker.com\/blog\/?p=66899"},"modified":"2025-09-10T11:19:42","modified_gmt":"2025-09-10T18:19:42","slug":"sidewalk-tutorial","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/artquiltmaker.com\/blog\/2025\/07\/sidewalk-tutorial\/","title":{"rendered":"Sidewalk Tutorial"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_66803\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-66803\" style=\"width: 295px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"https:\/\/artquiltmaker.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/20250612_181559_wm-sm.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-66803\" src=\"https:\/\/artquiltmaker.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/20250612_181559_wm-sm-295x300.jpg\" alt=\"Sidewalk top: done\" width=\"295\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/artquiltmaker.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/20250612_181559_wm-sm-295x300.jpg 295w, https:\/\/artquiltmaker.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/20250612_181559_wm-sm-768x781.jpg 768w, https:\/\/artquiltmaker.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/20250612_181559_wm-sm.jpg 802w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 295px) 85vw, 295px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-66803\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Sidewalk top: done<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>I am well into my second Sidewalk quilt. I got such good feedback on it at the guild meeting last month that I decided to write a tutorial for it. I want to encourage people to make donation quilts using the 16 patch blocks the guild makes tons of. This tutorial will enable you to make one of your own.<\/p>\n<p>I saw the original quilt at the <a href=\"https:\/\/artquiltmaker.com\/blog\/2025\/04\/new-donation-quilt-idea\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Sonoma County Fair<\/a>. There was no attribution. If I find that someone has written a pattern for the quilt, I will add a link here.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Supplies<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none;\">\n<ul>\n<li>Sewing machine<\/li>\n<li>Background fabric<\/li>\n<li>Random scraps<\/li>\n<li>Basic sewing kit<\/li>\n<li>Thread<\/li>\n<li>Iron&nbsp;<\/li>\n<li>Pressing surface<\/li>\n<li>Graph paper&nbsp;<\/li>\n<li>Pencil<\/li>\n<li><em>Optional:<\/em> Colored pencils<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Draw<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>1. Draw out the design on graph paper<\/p>\n<p>2 Mark the pieces that will be background. You could do this with colored pencils<\/p>\n<p>3. Mark, or color in, the pieces that will be your foreground<\/p>\n<p>4. Count up the pieces on your design and confirm my math is correct.<\/p>\n<p>This gives you a map to work from.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Cut<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><em>Nota bene<\/em>: Cutting directions are duplicated below. I have included cutting here in case you want to cut the background in advance.<\/p>\n<p>Cut 25 4.5 in. x 4.5 in. background patches (B blocks)<\/p>\n<p>Cut 16 8.5 in. x 8.5 in. background patches (C blocks)<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none;\">\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none;\">\n<ul>\n<li>I used one full yard to cut these 8.5 inch blocks out.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Sew<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>1. Create 40 8.5 in. x 4.5 in. patchwork blocks, unfinished. (A blocks) There are several ways to do this:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none;\">\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none;\">\n<ul>\n<li>half 16 patch using 2.5 in. squares<\/li>\n<li>scraps, e.g. <a href=\"https:\/\/artquiltmaker.com\/blog\/2025\/06\/blue-strips\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">blue strip<\/a> blocks<\/li>\n<li>improv piecing similar to my improv donation quilts \/ made fabric<\/li>\n<li>one solid piece of fabric cut at 4.5 in. by 8.5 in.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>2. Cut 25 4.5 in. x 4.5 in. background patches (B blocks)<\/p>\n<p>3. Sew 24 4.5 in. x 4.5 in. background squares (B blocks) to 24 patchwork pieces (A blocks). This creates an A+B block.<\/p>\n<p>3A. Keep back 8 A+B blocks for the &#8216;border&#8217; or outside edge<\/p>\n<p>4. Press to the background squares (B blocks), because there is less bulk. If you are using white, there might be a shadow.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>5. Cut 16 8.5 in. x 8.5 in. background squares (C blocks)<\/p>\n<p>6. Sew 16 8.5 in. x 8.5 in. background squares (C blocks) to 16 patchwork pieces (A blocks). This creates an A+C block<\/p>\n<p>7. Press to the background squares (C blocks)<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_66943\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-66943\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"https:\/\/artquiltmaker.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/20250627_173738_wm-sm.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-66943\" src=\"https:\/\/artquiltmaker.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/20250627_173738_wm-sm-300x300.jpg\" alt=\"Sidewalk #2, block 1\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/artquiltmaker.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/20250627_173738_wm-sm-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/artquiltmaker.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/20250627_173738_wm-sm-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/artquiltmaker.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/20250627_173738_wm-sm-768x768.jpg 768w, https:\/\/artquiltmaker.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/20250627_173738_wm-sm.jpg 802w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 85vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-66943\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Sidewalk #2, block 1<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>8. Sew 1 4.5 in. background + patchwork combination block (A+B block) to 1 A+C block )8.5 in. background + patchwork combination block).<\/p>\n<p>You will end up with a block like the one shown on the left.<\/p>\n<p>You need a total of 16 of these blocks, so go ahead and sew them.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_66978\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-66978\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"https:\/\/artquiltmaker.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/20250630_210817_wm-sm.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-66978\" src=\"https:\/\/artquiltmaker.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/20250630_210817_wm-sm-300x292.jpg\" alt=\"Blue Strip Sidewalk blocks\" width=\"300\" height=\"292\" srcset=\"https:\/\/artquiltmaker.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/20250630_210817_wm-sm-300x292.jpg 300w, https:\/\/artquiltmaker.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/20250630_210817_wm-sm-768x748.jpg 768w, https:\/\/artquiltmaker.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/20250630_210817_wm-sm.jpg 823w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 85vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-66978\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Blue Strip Sidewalk blocks<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>9. Put all of your blocks on the design wall.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>10. Rearrange them until you like the design.<\/p>\n<p>As I was looking at these blocks on the design wall, I realized that I had focused on putting like blues together rather than mixing them up, so in this arrangement there are big blobs of dark blues that I will need to mix up before I sew the blocks together.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>11. Find the 8 A+B blocks for the &#8216;border&#8217; or outside edge that you set aside in step 3A. Position them along the right side and the top.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>12. Add your last B block to the corner.<\/p>\n<p>13. <a href=\"https:\/\/artquiltmaker.com\/blog\/aq-projects-tutorials\/aq-tutorials\/chunking\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Chunk<\/a> your blocks together.<\/p>\n<p>14. Make a back<\/p>\n<p>15. Make a binding<\/p>\n<p>16. Take to your longarmer or quilt as desired.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>I am having a fun time trying different things with this pattern and I hope you will as well.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/artquiltmaker.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Sidewalk-improv-packet.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Pattern<\/a> for improv version.<\/p>\n<p>I&#8217;ll make updates if needed. Remember: this is a free tutorial that I created in my spare time. Thank you!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I am well into my second Sidewalk quilt. I got such good feedback on it at the guild meeting last month that I decided to write a tutorial for it. I want to encourage people to make donation quilts using the 16 patch blocks the guild makes tons of. This tutorial will enable you to &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/artquiltmaker.com\/blog\/2025\/07\/sidewalk-tutorial\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;Sidewalk Tutorial&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[538],"tags":[552,359],"class_list":["post-66899","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-538","tag-sidewalk","tag-tutorial"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/artquiltmaker.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66899","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/artquiltmaker.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/artquiltmaker.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artquiltmaker.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artquiltmaker.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=66899"}],"version-history":[{"count":19,"href":"https:\/\/artquiltmaker.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66899\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":67847,"href":"https:\/\/artquiltmaker.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66899\/revisions\/67847"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/artquiltmaker.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=66899"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artquiltmaker.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=66899"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artquiltmaker.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=66899"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}