Contrary Wife quilt block
Five plain squares and four half-square triangles on a nine-patch grid. The triangles line up in two diagonal stripes across the block.
The Contrary Wife is pieced on a 3 × 3 grid, so a 12" block has 4" grid squares.
Cutting for 6", 7½", 9", 12" blocks
| Fabric | Pieces | Cut | 6" block | 7½" block | 9" block | 12" block |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| main | Squares | 5 | 2½" | 3" | 3½" | 4½" |
| background | Half-square triangles | 2 | 2⅞" | 3⅜" | 3⅞" | 4⅞" |
| accent | Half-square triangles | 2 | 2⅞" | 3⅜" | 3⅞" | 4⅞" |
Cut sizes include ¼" seam allowances.
How to sew a 12" Contrary Wife block
Make 4 half-square triangles, 4" finished. Pair a 4⅞" background square with a 4⅞" accent square right sides together. Draw a line corner to corner, sew ¼" on both sides of it, cut on the line and press. Each pair makes 2.
Lay out the units as drawn and sew them into 3 rows. Press the seams of each row the opposite way from the one before so they nest, then sew the rows together. The block measures 12" finished, 12½" with seam allowance.
Quilts made with the Contrary Wife block
Contrary Wife quilt patternTo paint it on a board, the Contrary Wife barn quilt pattern has the measurements for 2, 4 and 8 ft boards and the paint for each color.
Design a quilt with this block
Quiltspiration draws it in your own fabric and gives the cut list for any size.
