Crazy Quilting Block Tutorial - Accuquilt

Do you like the look of crazy quilting but don't want to piece the blocks in the traditional random fashion?  The Accuquilt Crazy Quilt Block-on-Board (BOB) die will be your helper!

This die has the look of crazy quilting patterns but is easy to cut and assemble.  Perfect for using up some of those scrap fabrics, you can easily make a scrappy crazy quilt using this Accquilt Crazy Quilt die.

Rotating the block into different orientations will make a truly crazy quilt. 

To learn more about traditional crazy quilting or to find crazy quilting pattern ideas, click the links.

Learn more about the Accuquilt Crazy Quilt Die and how to assemble the block by watching our video or keep reading this article.

WHAT YOU NEED to Make the Crazy Quilt Block

Find links at the end of this tutorial for links to supplies and the current Accuquilt coupons and discounts!

• Accuquilt Go! Cutter
• Accuquilt Crazy Quilt Block on Board Die - Take note of which die will work with your cutter.
• 10 fabrics or fabric scraps 
• Flower Head Pins with Letters & Numbers written on them.
• Sewing Machine
• Thread
• Scissors, Iron and Ironing Board

About the Accuquilt Crazy Quilt Die

This demonstration will be cutting the pieces for the crazy quilt block with an Accuquilt Go! Big cutter and the 10” crazy quilt die.  This die is very large and will only work with the Accuquilt Go! Big and Studio 2 cutters.

Accuquilt also has a 6” Crazy Quilt die that will work with the Go!, Go! Big and Studio 2.

Since this die is very large, make sure to have an appropriately sized mat, 14” x 16”.  Of course, I didn’t realize this die was larger than my other dies so I had to order and wait for the new mats to arrive before I could use my die.

Both the 6” and 10” finished size blocks are assembled in the same way, so these instructions will work if you have either size die.

The Accuquilt crazy quilt die comes with letters printed on the foam.  These letters help with the assembly of the block.

Accuquilt provides a PDF document to help with the assembly of this block.  It’s important to assemble this block in the correct order.  A link to this PDF is included at the end of this article.

Block Assembly Order

The block is assembled counterclockwise first and then back clockwise. Start by assembling four units together A-B-C, D-E, F-G, H-I.  So, notice that the block is assembled in a counter-clockwise circle around the center I piece. 

Then, go back around the block clockwise adding the previously sewn units into the final block.  Start by sewing J onto the H-I unit.  Then add the units, F-G, D-E, and finally A-B-C.

It looks complicated, but once you make a block you will find it’s easy because the die cuts off the dog ears and this makes it easy to align sides and edges of the pieces.

Making the Crazy Quilt Block Using Scraps

Since this is a crazy quilt block, it’s meant to be scrappy. This is a perfect block to use up some of those fabric scraps.  I sorted my scraps by colors and/or themes to start.  Iron the scraps to make sure they will lay flat.

I had some leftover dog-themed fabric in my scrap pile from a previous project.  Mixing those fabrics with some other brown, tan, and black scraps will make some cute scrappy blocks.

Take the scraps and lay them across the sections of the die.  They can overlap a bit and some may be big enough to go across more than one section.  Be sure your fabric covers the entire light grey portion of the die so the whole piece will be cut. Once you have fabrics across the block, place the mat and send it through the cutter.

Remove the excess fabric and partially cut pieces and stack the fabrics into piles.  Continue to cut the scrap fabrics until you have enough for several blocks.

In the photo below, I have cut up some fall-themed fabrics.  I have them stacked up and fanned out so I can see the different fabrics.  

Swap the fabrics around in each stack so that you won't have duplicate fabrics in the same block.  

It's okay to have one or even two duplicated fabrics, but try to keep them separate from one another.

INSTRUCTIONS to cut and assemble the crazy quilt block

The remainder of this tutorial will show how to make crazy patchwork blocks with no duplicate fabrics on the blocks.  It will also give you some assembly tips!

Step 1: Prepare and cut Fabrics

There are ten sections to the crazy quilt block die. The simplest way to create blocks with no duplicate fabrics is to make blocks with ten different fabrics.

If your quilt will have more than 10 blocks you may want to use more than ten fabrics. 

I'm using the 10" Crazy Quilt die, so I cut 13.5” x 13.5” blocks from the ten fabrics.  Stack five fabrics on top of one another and place them on the die completely covering the light gray foam. Place the mat over the fabrics and send it through the Go! Big cutter.  Accuquilt recommends only cutting 5 layers at once with this die.

To get the best cutting results, position the fabric on the lengthwise grain as it’s going under the roller.

Move the fabrics in the same orientation from the die over to a work surface. Keep the cut pieces facing the same way as they are on the die.

Cut the second set of five fabrics in the same way. Stack the second set on top of the first set.  You will now have all of the pieces cut to assemble ten crazy quilt blocks.

Step 2: Shuffle Fabrics

At this point, you have stacks of 10 fabrics for each of the 10 sections of the crazy quilt block.  We need to shuffle the fabrics to make sure there are no duplicate fabrics on any of the 10 assembled blocks.

To make sure there are no duplicate fabrics on each block, we will shuffle them by taking fabrics off the top of each stack and placing them underneath the stack.

Shuffle each stack as follows.  The letters refer to the letters printed on the crazy quilt die. The center or "I" block will not be shuffled.

Remember, the "I" stack is not shuffled. Now, there will be no duplicate fabrics on any of the 10 blocks. 

Using more than 10 fabrics?

If you are using more than 10 fabrics in your project, cut the next set of blocks from the additional 10 fabrics.  Keep these stacks separate from the first 10 blocks for now.  Shuffle the second set of fabric stacks as described above.

Once you have the two sets of fabrics shuffled, you can further shuffle the fabrics.  Swap some of the stacks between the two sets of 10 blocks.  I recommend swapping 4 – 5 stacks between the sets of blocks.

Using only 10 fabrics?

If you are using the same ten fabrics to create more blocks, change how you shuffle the fabrics for each set of 10 blocks.  

So for the second set of blocks, maybe start with shuffling the "B" section first and include "I" in the shuffling and don't shuffle "A".  This way you will have blocks with fabrics in different locations for your additional sets of blocks.

The fastest way to assemble the blocks is to chain piece the sections together.

Step 3: Label block sections and layers

Before assembling the blocks, we need to label them. I found out the hard way when assembling the first blocks from this crazy quilt die.  Notice there are several duplicated fabrics in each of the blocks?

When chain piecing the sections together, I didn’t pay attention closely to how the chains were cut apart and how I stacked the pieces to make sure they stayed in the same original order.

So, the blocks ended up with more duplicate fabrics than intended. This is why I suggest that you label the sections and number the blocks before starting to assemble them together.

To label and number, I use flower pins with letters and numbers on them.  I use these when for machine embroidery projects and they will work well for this also.

Using the letter pins from A - I, put one into the top fabric of each stack.  Label them with the letters printed on the crazy quilt die. This first fabric with the letter is the number 1 block.

Next, take the numbered pins 2 - 10 and put one pin in each fabric in the "A" stack. 

Continue to place the numbered pins, 2 - 10 in the stacks for pieces "D", "F", and "I".  I picked these pieces since they are the larger pieces in each section.  Orient the pin heads so they won’t be in the way when sewing the seams. 

Only number one piece from each of the four units (A-B-C, D-E, F-G, H-I) that will be sewn together.

If you don’t have flower pins, you can purchase some through the link at the end of this page.  I purchased flower pins and wrote letters and numbers on them using a Sharpie or permanent marker.

Alternatively, you can write letters and numbers on pieces of tape and stick them to the pieces.

Now we are ready to chain piece the blocks.

Step 4: Show Block

Below is a photo of the sections of the block showing how they will be assembled.

First, piece together the A-B-C unit starting with A-B and then adding the C.

Then the D-E unit, F-G unit and H-I unit are pieced together.

After the four units are assembled, then they are put together into the block by adding the J to the H-I unit.

Then F-G is added to the H-I-J unit.  After that, add the D-E unit to the block. Finally, the A-B-C unit is added to complete the block.

Step 5: Assemble the A-B-C unit

Thread the sewing machine with a neutral thread.  If you are sewing all dark fabrics together, you may want to use a dark thread.  I usually use white or cream thread to piece my blocks and use a matching bobbin thread.

Use a quarter-inch foot and have the machine set for a straight stitch at the standard length.  Sew all seams with a 1/4" seam allowance.

Starting with the A-B, sew the pieces of each block together matching the edges and corners.  The Crazy quilt die makes matching the edges and corners easy because it cuts off the dog ears (or points) of the fabrics.

Chain piece all of the A-B units together.

When finished, the pieces will be connected through the "chain" between each piece.

Go back to the first unit in the chain and start to sew the "C" onto the other side of the "B" piece.  This will finish the A-B-C unit.

I found it was easier to leave the chain connected together when sewing on the "C" piece.  You can also separate them before adding "C" but if you separate them, be sure to stack them in number order.

Blade Saver Cutter

I have this handy Blade Saver Thread Cutter that holds an old rotary cutter blade and makes cutting apart chain-pieced blocks quick and easy. 

Step 6: Assemble the Remaining units

Sew the D-E pieces together into a unit using the chain piecing method.

Then sew the F-G into a unit.

And finally, the H-I into a unit.

After you are finished sewing these units together, cut them apart and stack them in order.

Step 7: Iron the units

Go to the ironing board and iron the seams to one side or open.  There are no interlocking seams for this block, so it doesn’t matter which way you press the seams.

Be careful and don't iron over the heads of the flower pins.  I have found that they will melt slightly to the fabric and the printing may come off onto the fabric.

Step 8: Show the block

The units are all sewn together and ironed.  Next, work back around the block putting the units together into the finished block.  We will work back around the block clockwise after adding the J onto the H-I unit.

Make sure your stacks are in the correct number order before assembling the sections of the block together.

Step 9: Finish Assembling the Block sections together

Start assembling the units of the block together by sewing the "J" onto the H-I unit.  Match the edges and corners of the pieces.

Next, take the F-G unit and sew it to the H-I-J unit.

Below the photo shows the progress in assembling the block.  The F-G-H-I-J have been assembled together.  I begin to remove the extra pins from the layers as I'm assembling the block together.  Always leave at least one set of pins to indicate the numbered layers of each section.

Add the D-E unit to the F-G-H-I-J unit.

Align the sides and edges before sewing.  Use chain piecing when adding each section to the blocks.

The photo below shows the block assembly progress.  There is only one unit, A-B-C, remaining to add to the block.

Add the A-B-C unit to the block aligning the edges and corners.

The Crazy Quilt Block is complete!

Iron the seams open or to one side. Now the blocks are ready to be used in a quilt, table runner, or another project.

Below are samples of crazy quilt blocks I assembled.  The first three are a few of the 10 blocks from this tutorial using patriotic fabrics.

This is a fall-themed block created from scrap fabrics.

And finally a science-themed block from scrap fabrics.

I think I'm going to have a lot of fun assembling crazy quilt blocks from my scrap fabrics.  I wonder what I'll make!  Subscribe to our newsletter and you may find out!

Other Accquilt Go! Block Tutorials:

• Clay's Choice Quilt Block with Accuquilt Go! - Learn to make a Clay's Choice quilt block.
• Double Four Patch Block with Accuquilt Go! - Make a double four patch with our tutorial.
• Accuquilt Go! Propeller Quilt Block Tutorial - This block can be made with any Go! Qube.
• Accuquilt Hunter's Star Quilt Block Tutorial - Have you wanted to make a Hunter's star quilt but it intimidated you?  Don't be!  This Hunter's Star Block on Board die makes it easy to get matching points.  Read our tutorial for many tips on assembling these blocks.
• Windy Pinwheel Block Tutorial - use your Accquilt Qube or traditional methods to make this block. We have instructions for both methods.
• Learn Two Ways to Machine Applique with Accuqilt Shape Dies  

Some other quilt tutorials made with Accuquilt Go! Blocks:

• Hunter's Star Quilt Tutorial
• Pinwheel Quilt
• Hunter's Star Table Runner Pattern
• Sweet Bees Baby Quilt