12 Inch Cactus Flower Quilt Block

If you are looking for a good size quilt block for a table topper, making four 12-inch cactus flower quilt blocks will give you a 24-inch square table topper.

24 Inch Cactus Table Topper

This is four blocks, I changed the way I added the colors on two of the blocks and really like the way they come together. I switched the colors on the last two rows of two of the blocks.

Yardage

I pulled fabrics from my stash but you should be able to make the table topper with the following yardage.

1 fat quarter or 1/4 yard white
1 fat quarter or 1/4 yard purple
1 fat quarter or 1/4 yard teal
1 fat quarter or 1/4 yard dark teal
Binding 1/4 yard
Backing 1 yard

4 Cactus Flower Quilt Blocks

Cutting for the Cactus Flower Table Topper. It takes 4 quilt blocks to make the table topper. Here is what you will need to cut to make 2 quilt blocks of each color for a total of 4 blocks.

4 white 3-½” x 3-½” squares
24 additional white 3-½” x 3-½” squares for the half square triangles
4 purple 3-½” squares x 3-½” squares for the half square triangles
4 purple 3-½” x 6-½” rectangles
2 teal 3-½” x 6-½” rectangles and 2 dark teal 3-½” x 6-½” rectangles
2 teal 3-½” x 9-½” rectangles and 2 dark teal 3-½” x 9-½” rectangles
2 darker teal 3-½” x 9-½” rectangles and 2 teal 3-½” x 9-½” rectangles
2 darker teal 3-½” x 12-½” rectangles and 2 teal 3-½” x 12-½” rectangles

Laying out the pieces for one quilt block

I thought I would share a photo of how I laid out the white 3-1/2 inch squares. You will cut (7) 3-1/2 inch squares and fold and press (6) of them in half diagonally. You can also draw a line diagonally on the blocks.

In the right top corner is a 3-1/2 inch square that is the starting block.

I did this because I kept sewing the HST going the wrong way and unfortunately trimmed off the back before I realized it. Thank goodness I had enough fabric.

One Quilt Block

Mark a diagonal line on one of the white 3-½” x 3-½” squares.
Place this square on top of a purple batik 3-½” x 3-½” square right sides together.
Stitch just a hair from the line toward the side you will be cutting off.
Fold back the white square and trim.
Add the rest of the white 3-1/2 inch squares to the rectangles the the same way.

Here are the quilt blocks pieces ready to be sewn together. Sew with a 1/4 inch seam allowance.

Blocks for table topper

Here you can see how I switched the fabrics to have 2 of each color combination.

24 Inch Quilt

Now I’m ready to quilt this.

Aurifil Thread

I used Aurifil thread to do the freemotion quilting using three different colors and my vintage 15-91 Singer sewing machine.

Freemotion Quilting

I really enjoy freemotion quilting and mainly just do a simple meandering design. I decided to do some freehand straight lines on the purple and swirls on the white background pieces.

Adding Binding

I did all of my sewing and quilting on my vintage 15-91 Singer sewing machine. This sewing machine was manufactured in 1951 and is a workhorse.

My binding was 2½” strips and I really like using tailor clappers, my Oliso iron, and Wonder Clips to hold my binding in place before I sew it down by machine.

Closeup of Quilting

Here is a closeup of the quilting.

Batik Backing

All of the fabrics were from my Island Batik stash. As an ambassador we receive fabrics to make our monthly challenges and many times there is plenty leftover.

This batik that I used for the back of my quilt was originally used in my Twirling Windmills quilt tutorial. Would you believe that was in 2017!

3 Sizes of Quilt Blocks

After I made the 12-inch quilt blocks, I decided to make a 8-inch and a 6-inch quilt block so you could see the difference in size.

Rusty

Here is sweet little Rusty, anymore he can’t wait to pose. Do you think it is because he gets a treat afterwards?

24 Inch Cactus Flower PDF

If you are already a subscriber to my website, you can find the free pdf in my library. I always provide the password in my newsletters.

Color Combinations

When I first went to make the 12-inch quilt blocks I used these fabrics. If I had used the darker peach in all of the blocks I think it would have looked better, the yellow just blends in too much.

24 Inch Cactus Flower Table Topper

This is a great size for a table.

Fall Cactus Flower Directions

You can find the complete directions to make the 8-inch Cactus Flower quilt block in this tutorial.

Cactus Flower Table Topper

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About Connie

Hi, I’m Connie Kresin Campbell, the quilter, writer, and photographer behind Freemotion By the River. I enjoy inspiring others with my quilt tutorials and patterns. You’ll also see my sweet adopted dogs from time to time.

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