Cut It Up QAL: B04 – X Plus

Many of y’all seem ready for another Cut It Up quilt along block reveal! Since I’m trying to stay one step ahead of the rest of you, I better show off how I’ve been contributing to my own quilt lately. Around the time I started quilting, the X Plus quilt block was all the rage. As the story goes, a Japanese quilter used the block in her Tokyo Quilt Festival entry at which point the rest of the quilt world decided to take note. The original block dates back to the 1930s, and is attributed to Nancy Cabot. So there’s a bit of quilt history for you!

My first experience with the X Plus block was in June 2013, when I was partaking in one of my first quilt bees. The queen requested two, 10.5″ unfinished versions, makers choice of fabrics. The two I made are below, and I’ll be damned if they still don’t look as fresh now as they did then. This is a block that is super forgiving with regards to fabric choices. It almost seems like the more scrap busting the better, and clashier is definitely classier! You really can not go wrong, so I encourage you to go buck wild with those top shelf fabrics.

So far I’ve made six of these 10.5″ unfinished versions using a tutorial from Scissortail Quilting. However, there are oodles of tutorials out there on how to make this block, along with oodles more on how to make variations of this block. Some of them are more colour consistent, some scrappier, some have thinner pluses, and other thicker x’s. Whatever, just get into the realness, honey! And I promise, despite the name there’s not a whole lot of math going on here.

Click Here for X Plus Block Tutorial

The link above also takes you to a downloadable PDF that you can then print and use next to your sewing area. I heard your feedback, and I’ll try to accomodate for that in future. There are also really good tutorials from Badskirt and GnomeAngel (fellow Aussies!) which also includes some fussy cutting ideas!

While I’m here, I might as well give you the skinny on my current Cut It Up quilt layout. Reminder, we may not be making exactly the same quilt, as that is not the point of this QAL. So feel free to copy my layout exactly, or use it as an inspirational spring board for your own. Fair warning though, my layout may not even stay this way! It’s always changing, and I’m just constructing building blocks at the moment. That being said, I am loving a striped, row by row experience that utilises this back and forth of colour and neutrals. (Don’t you love my version of a neutral!?) Anyway, a row by row quilt will also allow an easy final layout for your quilt if the blocks designs are of varying sizes.

Can’t wait to see this block popping up again on all the socials because it’s just too good not to keep in high rotation! Remember to follow me on Instagram: molli_sparkles and join the Molli Sparkles & The Glitterati Facebook group for sharing and caring!