I’m always on the hunt for unique quilting blocks that won’t take me forever to make. I had heard of an hourglass block, but the disappearing hourglass is in a league of its own.
Each block starts out as a simple hourglass block, made up of 4 large half square triangles. Then you slice it into 9 equal pieces. Rotate all of the pieces 180 degrees, except the center, rotating that 90.
Once you sew them back together, you have the coolest optical illusion.
Just a tip: whenever I work on blocks that have a lot of seams coming together, I press my seams open instead of to one side. When doing this I make my stitches smaller so that the seam will still be strong.
Smaller stitches also help when you are slicing across seams. You may also want to starch your fabric so that you have less stretching of the bias edges as you work.
All of these tips make the blocks flatter and easier to quilt.
Watch how Teresa DownUnder makes this fabulous quilt in her step by step tutorial. Then you can get busy making your disappearing hourglass quilt too!
What fabrics will you use for yours?