The Endless Stairs quilt block is a four-patch pattern perfect for beginner quilters. It can be made with 2, 3 or 4 fabrics. It is sometimes referred to as London Stairs or Winding Stairway.
How to Make the Endless Stairs Quilt Block
The Endless Stairs quilt block is a simple four-patch quilt block, perfect for beginners. It is sometimes referred to as the London Stairs quilt block or the Winding Stairs quilt block.
Materials
- Eight (8) pieces of fabric cut to 4-1/2 inches by 2-1/2 inches; I used two fabrics, so four from each fabric. To be able to have the 'stairs' show in the final quilt, it is important to have different values of fabrics.
- Thread
Tools
- Sewing machine
- Iron
- Pressing surface
- Rotary cutter
- Cutting mat
- Quilter's ruler
Instructions
- Start by cutting your fabrics. I used a rotary cutter, mat and quilter's ruler.
- Layer one of each color of fabric with the right sides together and sew along one of the long edges with a 1/4-inch seam allowance. Use a 1/4-inch foot on your machine for more accurate seam allowances.
- I like to chain stitch this step, sewing them one after another, leaving a small bit of thread between each set. This makes it quicker and easier.
- Press the seams to the darker fabric. Lay out the squares in this format. I like to do this close to my machine so that I don't mix up which piece goes where. 🙂
- Sew the the top two squares together, right sides together with a 1/4-inch seam. Sew the bottom two squares together. This shows the top row sewing together, with the upper left square layered on top of the upper right square.
- Press these seams to the solid color. Now we sew the final seam. We layer the right sides together and nest the seams we just pressed. This means to butt the seam bump so that they just nestle into each other. Here is a close up.
- Sew this seam with a 1/4-inch seam allowance. When you get close to that center point where you have nested your seams, you can make very minor adjustments to make sure they are nesting perfectly.
- I like to press this seam open. For more about pressing seams in quilting, read our article. Now you have your finished quilt block!
Recommended Products
As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.
This post may contain links to Amazon or other partners. Your purchases via these links may benefit Create Whimsy. Read more about our affiliate linking policy.
Put the quilt square together and you see how the endless stairs show up in the design! This is a simple pattern that ends up looking like a very complex design. It can be made from fabric scraps – the key is to use two different values of fabrics – darks and lights.
A similar quilt block to Endless Stairs quilt block, but using a nine-patch format, is the Virginia Worm quilt block.
