There are many variations of blocks that can be created as a 16 patch using half square triangle units. The Yankee Puzzle Variation found at Delaware Quilts is a great example. This block uses 3 fabric groups with a factor of 4 for unit sizes.
When ever I begin choosing fabric for a quilt, I begin by deciding whether it will be scrappy or not. Mostly I consider any quilt to be scrappy when using multiple fabrics in a fabric group. For example, the Yankee Puzzle Variation has 3 fabric groups and I want to use more than one fabric for the light color group, I consider it scrappy. However, if I was just going to add a fabric group, lets say for example, have all the corner half square triangle units be a different fabric than the other light half square triangle units, then I would not consider that scrappy.
As a general rule of thumb for me, if there are more than about 12 or so fabrics used in a quilts, quilt blocks, I generally don’t spend a lot of time making sure each fabric “works” with each of the other fabrics. And the more fabrics, the less I even look at all. With a large number of fabrics I would just choose fabric groups either by hue (color) or lightness and darkness (value) or small, medium and large print (scale) or some combination of all three.
Here is a quick reference for making your own Yankee Puzzle Variation quilt block.
| Factor | 4 | ||||||
| Fabrics | 3 | ||||||
| Unit Method | Special Ruler | ||||||
| Strip Width by Finished Block Size | |||||||
| Fabric | Piece | Quantity | 4 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 12 |
| Light | HST | 8 | 1.5 | 2 | 2.5 | 3 | 3.5 |
| Medium | Sq | 4 | 1.5 | 2 | 2.5 | 3 | 3.5 |
| Medium | HST | 4 | 1.5 | 2 | 2.5 | 3 | 3.5 |
| Dark | HST | 12 | 1.5 | 2 | 2.5 | 3 | 3.5 |
The method used to calculate the half square triangle units strip width uses a half square triangle ruler, a.k.a. a side right triangle ruler, to cut from the same strip with as you would squares. See the half square triangle instructions for details of how to make this unit.
Happy Quilting,
Jeanne