V-blocks

While I was making the border for my Disappearing Shoofly QOV, one of the units that I needed to make is what's know as a V-block.  The V-block unit looks like this, and is a common unit in many quilt designs:

An important thing to know about a V-block is that the top of the  "V" does not go to the corner of the block.  It is inset slightly, about an eighth of an inch. (The sides of the block below have not yet been trimmed, so they appear wider.)

I have a special ruler just for making this type of block, and although it looks complicated with all the markings, it produces perfect V-blocks every time, and I think it is worth the effort to figure out how to use it.

    

The ruler makes 11 different sizes of V-blocks, and you can also you it for making 60-degree triangles.  The directions that come along with the ruler are well-written and have diagrams.  The cutting allows for slightly larger units than necessary because let's face it, no one sews perfect quarter-inch seams 100% of the time!  Your unit will be slightly larger to allow for those imperfections, and will trim to the exact size you need.

Basically, the ruler has 2 functions: Cutting the patches, and trimming the block.  Let's look at it:

The first thing is to cut strips of fabric for your units.  In the right part of the ruler, circled in yellow, it tells you what size strips to cut.  Basically, an inch larger than your finished unit.  I needed a 4" finished unit, so I had to cut a 5" strip.  This same yellow section is used to cut the sides of your V.  You need a left and a right side, (mirrored images) so if you fold or put your fabrics right sides together, you can cut both at the same time.  The part of the ruler circled in green is used to cut the center V of your V-block.  The very first V you cut on your strip will be cut on a fold using dark black line on the ruler shown by the blue arrow.  This is because WOF strips have straight edges, and we need a 60-degree angle.  So fold the fabric strip just enough that when you put the bold black line on the fold, you will be able to get both sides of the triangle with one cut.  After that, you just align the left edge of the 60-degree triangle in the green circle on the fabric and cut.  You will need to rotate the ruler from the top of your strip to the bottom after each cut. The part of the ruler circled in red is used for trimming you v-block unit after it is sewed.

I needed 4" finished V-blocks for my border.  You can see that there is about an eighth or a quarter inch "wiggle room" in the block to be trimmed off. The tip of the V fits into the "4-inch finished size V" on the ruler, you trim the right side and the top of the V-block.  Then  flip the v-block unit over, align the now-trimmed straight edges with the "4 1/2 inch cut size markings."  The point of the V fits perfectly in the X, and you can now trim the other two edges.

I know there are other rulers that do the same thing as this one, but I have used it in various projects over the course of the years and was always happy with the results. I know rulers can be expensive, and this one is no exception. But I think it is worth it.