Kitchen Tile Quilt Block

Have you ever looked at the tiles in a kitchen or bathroom in someone else's house and thought "that would make a great quilt pattern"? I know I have, on more than one occasion.

Today I'm sharing one such design that came out of a kitchen tile I saw in one of those mockup kitchens they do at the stores. It's not exactly the same anymore, but that's where it started.

The Kitchen Tile quilt block is an abstract design, so there are lots of things you can do with it, from different colours to adding a few blocks together and playing with the secondary shapes that come out of that.

How to use the Kitchen Tile block

Here are some ideas for what to do with the Kitchen Tile block. I did my own example in just two colours, but don't feel limited by the cover image.

How about some inspiration drawn from my original Twisted Log Cabin block?

In a full quilt, you get a bit of a lace effect, but I especially love the secondary design that comes through thanks to the different shades of turquoise.

For a stab at urban geometric, let's try it out in black and white.

And here's what that looks like in a quilt. This one looks much more like a very clean cut lattice, with not much of a secondary design.

This pattern has a couple of pieces with what I'm going to call an optional piecing line. In the corners of the block, there's the option to make extra squares. Instead of having those dark grey squares below be the same medium grey colour as the pieces beside them, you can divide them up into two different colours. If you were using the same colour for both, you would just ignore that line and sew on one large piece of fabric to cover the entire part, but if you want to have a different effect, you can split them up like this.

Which then results in some pretty cool, different secondary designs.

Foundation paper piecing

The Kitchen Tile quilt block is a foundation paper pieced pattern that's suitable for beginners. The pattern contains the templates, and instructions for how to put them together, but it doesn't explain the technique. So if you're new to foundation paper piecing and want to give it a go, I wrote an FPP tutorial for the Clover blog to help you get started with this fun technique. It's a full photo tutorial and comes with a free, simple pine tree block to make.

If you've done FPP in the past but maybe just need to gain a little more quilty confidence, here are a few more patterns from the shop that make perfect starter blocks to warm up with before diving into some of the more complicated blocks. Check out the Twisted Log Cabin, Popsicle, and Ice Cream Bar blocks to dip your toes in, or the Festive Forest table runner.

Get the Kitchen Tile quilt block

The Kitchen Tile quilt block is now available in the pattern shop. 

*Quilt Block Mania blocks are free to download for the duration of the month they were designed for. After that, they are available in the pattern shop.

Don't forget to check out all the other Kitchen blocks this month and join us in the Facebook group!

Steaming Pot by Carolina Moore
Spatulas by Inquiring Quilter
Measuring Cup by Inflorescence
Economy Quilt Block by Scrapdash
Rolling Pin Applique by Patchwork Breeze
Hand Mixer by QuiltFabrication
Kitchen Tile by Penny Spool Quilts
Morning Mug by Crafty Staci
Sunny Side Up Diner
Tea Party
Whats For Dinner
Apron & Oven Mitts by Appliques Quilts and More
Broken Dishes by Epida Studio
Hello Cupcake by Colette Belt Designs
Canisters by Chickenscratch
Fish supper by Flowerdogandco
Stand Mixer by Oh Kaye Quilting
Let Them Eat Cake!

*Quilt Block Mania blocks are free to download for the duration of the month they were designed for. After that, they are available in the pattern shop.