Playing with Block Size & Proportion in EQ7

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by Jenny Novinsky for The Electric Quilt Company

Simple changes to the block size or proportion can make a big difference in the look of the quilt. These changes are easy to make on the Layout tab of the Quilt Worktable!


Elizabeth Dackson’s quilt, Light Waves (Quiltmaker, March/April 2015), uses blocks that are 6” x 12”. The finished quilt size is 60” x 72”.

Let’s try making the blocks 12” square.

1.     Click the Layout tab.

2.     Under Finished size of blocks, change the Width to 12.

3.     At the bottom of the screen, you’ll see the change in block size has made the quilt 120” x 72”.  So, under Number of blocks, change Horizontal to 5.

4.     Notice at the bottom of the screen that the quilt size is back to 60” x 72”. Click the Layer 1 tab and you’ll see how the change in block proportion has changed the look of the zigzags.

Try out these settings for more zigzag options:

Block Size: 12” wide x 6” tall
Number of Blocks: Horizontal- 5, Vertical- 12

Block Size: 4” wide x 12” tall
Number of Blocks: Horizontal- 15, Vertical- 6

Appeared in:

Quiltmaker March/April ’15

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