How to Make a Twisting Rail Fence Quilt Block

Sometimes it’s fun to take a simple quilt block and give it a twist. I’ve done this with majestic mountain blocks with great results. Today I’m exploring the rail fence quilt block. I’ve explored this block before. My Gradation quilt was a result of that play, as way Picnic in the Park. But today’s play splits the rails. Making one half of the rail a print and the other half of the rail a background. While sewing the split rails at a 45* angle.

Then sewing the rails in sets of two. Then like a traditional rail fence turning the blocks. I had visited this idea before. I even cut one out with my Accuquilt Go. Well, I cut out rectangles and then sewed them at a 45* angle. What I forgot to take into account was the seam allowance. So my blocks didn’t turn out square. A little frustrating. My quilting angels turned the cut pieces into a Quilty Hug. So it wasn’t a total loss. Sadly I can’t find a picture of it. But here is the picture I found that birthed the idea.

I put the idea back on the shelf. But I’ve really wanted to explore this idea. Mostly because I like the alternate pattern this block can make. This time I sketched out a block to figure out the size I needed to cut things. Once I got the kinks worked out. I create a tutorial. Here it is.