Heart Quilt Block — Cutting Chart by Finished Size
5 fabrics · Difficulty 4 of 5
Heart is a 4×4 block of 30 pieces. Cut sizes for 4″, 8″, 12″, 16″, 20″ are below; for any other size it divides into cleanly, type the size and the chart recomputes.
Accepted finished sizes must resolve to ruler-compatible cuts; unsupported sizes are refused with nearby clean sizes and are never silently rounded.
Set the finished sizeAt a glance
- Grid
- 4×4
- Pieces you cut
- 16 — subcutting turns them into the 30 in the sewn block
- Difficulty
- 4 of 5 — experienced How this is scored
Set the size
Nearest sizes that cut cleanly:
- Squares — Background
- 3½″
- Squares for half-square triangles — Fabric A
- 3⅞″
- Squares for half-square triangles — Background
- 3⅞″
- Squares for half-square triangles — Fabric D
- 3⅞″
- Squares for half-square triangles — Fabric B
- 3⅞″
- Squares for half-square triangles — Fabric C
- 3⅞″
Reading focusDiagonal seam directions define the silhouettehalf-square-triangle unit
- Construction lattice
- 4 modules wide × 4 modules high
- Unit mix
- half-square-triangle unit, square
- Piece count
- 16 to cut · 30 in the diagram
Cut these pieces
Column headings are the FINISHED block size — the size it will be once it is sewn. Every number in the table is the size to CUT, which includes ¼″ of seam allowance on each edge. Rows that are subcut on a diagonal are cut larger still, so the allowance survives the extra cuts.
| Patch | 4″ | 8″ | 12″ | 16″ | 20″ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Squares — BackgroundCut 2 | 1½″ | 2½″ | 3½″ | 4½″ | 5½″ |
| Squares for half-square triangles — Fabric ACut 3, cut once on the diagonal | 1⅞″ | 2⅞″ | 3⅞″ | 4⅞″ | 5⅞″ |
| Squares for half-square triangles — BackgroundCut 4, cut once on the diagonal | 1⅞″ | 2⅞″ | 3⅞″ | 4⅞″ | 5⅞″ |
| Squares for half-square triangles — Fabric DCut 2, cut once on the diagonal | 1⅞″ | 2⅞″ | 3⅞″ | 4⅞″ | 5⅞″ |
| Squares for half-square triangles — Fabric BCut 3, cut once on the diagonal | 1⅞″ | 2⅞″ | 3⅞″ | 4⅞″ | 5⅞″ |
| Squares for half-square triangles — Fabric CCut 2, cut once on the diagonal | 1⅞″ | 2⅞″ | 3⅞″ | 4⅞″ | 5⅞″ |
Scroll sideways to see every size.
Read the block
Match each fabric letter in the diagram to the same fabric name in the cutting table. The caption describes the generated geometry in text.
Fabrics in this block
- A — gold
- B — turkey red
- C — teal
- D — indigo
- BG — background
Which sizes divide cleanly
| Grid | Divides cleanly at | The first few sizes |
|---|---|---|
| 2×2 | every 1″ | 1″, 2″, 3″, 4″, 5″, 6″ … |
| 3×3 | every 1½″ | 1½″, 3″, 4½″, 6″, 7½″, 9″ … |
| 4×4this block | every 2″ | 2″, 4″, 6″, 8″, 10″, 12″ … |
| 5×5 | every 2½″ | 2½″, 5″, 7½″, 10″, 12½″, 15″ … |
| 7×7 | every 3½″ | 3½″, 7″, 10½″, 14″, 17½″, 21″ |
Scroll sideways to see every column.
- A 5-patch block at 12″ would need 2.4″ units, which is not a mark on any ruler. Try 10″ or 12½″ instead — Sister's Choice is the 5-patch block on this site.
- A 7-patch block at 12″ would need 1.714…″ units, which is not a mark on any ruler. Try 10½″ or 14″ instead — Bear's Paw is the 7-patch block on this site.
More about the sizes that do not divide cleanly
The sizes in between
Every whole-inch Heart size from 4″ to 20″ can be cut accurately on its 4×4 grid.
These sizes divide cleanly but sit between the main chart's columns — the same computed cuts, published here so they exist on paper too. Any other clean size still computes in the size input above.
Column headings are the FINISHED block size — the size it will be once it is sewn. Every number in the table is the size to CUT, which includes ¼″ of seam allowance on each edge. Rows that are subcut on a diagonal are cut larger still, so the allowance survives the extra cuts.
| Patch | 6″ | 10″ | 14″ | 18″ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Squares — BackgroundCut 2 | 2″ | 3″ | 4″ | 5″ |
| Squares for half-square triangles — Fabric ACut 3, cut once on the diagonal | 2⅜″ | 3⅜″ | 4⅜″ | 5⅜″ |
| Squares for half-square triangles — BackgroundCut 4, cut once on the diagonal | 2⅜″ | 3⅜″ | 4⅜″ | 5⅜″ |
| Squares for half-square triangles — Fabric DCut 2, cut once on the diagonal | 2⅜″ | 3⅜″ | 4⅜″ | 5⅜″ |
| Squares for half-square triangles — Fabric BCut 3, cut once on the diagonal | 2⅜″ | 3⅜″ | 4⅜″ | 5⅜″ |
| Squares for half-square triangles — Fabric CCut 2, cut once on the diagonal | 2⅜″ | 3⅜″ | 4⅜″ | 5⅜″ |
Scroll sideways to see every size.
About this block
- Pieces in the finished block
- 30
- Unit types
- half-square-triangle unit, square
- Divides cleanly at
- 2″, 4″, 6″, 8″, 10″, 12″, 14″, 16″, 18″ and 20″ finished.
- Fabric for one 12″ block
- This is a conservative buying estimate for one cut size at a time: ¾ yd total, assuming 40″ of usable width of fabric; different cut sizes are not co-packed, and purchase length is rounded up to the next eighth yard.
Triangle units shape the lobes, sides and bottom point; the only plain squares are background corners beside the point. Build the silhouette row by row and check every diagonal against the diagram before joining the rows, because reversing one changes the outline as well as the feature-fabric flow.
Piecing order
Make the 14 half-square-triangle units.
Lay out row 1 of 4 and sew its pieces together, left to right.
Lay out row 2 of 4 and sew its pieces together, left to right.
Lay out row 3 of 4 and sew its pieces together, left to right.
Lay out row 4 of 4 and sew its pieces together, left to right.
Join the 4 rows, matching the seams.
Cutting oversize
The chart gives the standard cut sizes, nothing padded. Some quilters cut this block's triangle units a little oversize and trim back — published allowances genuinely disagree on how much, so the range with its sources is on how to square up a quilt block.
History
This site's Heart is a modern grid-pieced construction based on the patchwork-heart topology Barbara Brackman showed when she devised a woven-heart representation and found a similar published patchwork idea. The statement is about this construction, not an exhaustive claim about every pieced heart or traditional index.
Sources: Barbara Brackman — Pieced/Woven Heart.
Common questions
What size can I make Heart?
Any size it divides cleanly: 2″, 4″, 6″, 8″, 10″, 12″, 14″, 16″, 18″ and 20″ finished. The chart above carries 4″, 8″, 12″, 16″, 20″ ready-worked, and the size input computes any other clean size without you doing arithmetic — every value computed by Quilt Block Atlas, none transcribed.
How many pieces are in a Heart block?
30 pieces make up the sewn block, but you cut 16. The difference is method: triangle units are cut as squares and subcut, so the chart's quantities are what your rotary cutter produces, not what you count in the diagram.
What sizes does a 4×4 block divide into cleanly?
2″, 4″, 6″, 8″, 10″, 12″, 14″, 16″, 18″ and 20″ finished. The step is half the grid this block's cutting sizes are computed on, and the clean-size table above marks this block's row with the other families beside it.
Is Heart good for a beginner?
Not as a first block — it scores 4 of 5, experienced, on this site's computed scale: 30 pieces, with the half-square-triangle unit as its hardest unit. The scoring rule, and every block ranked by it, is on the difficulty page linked above.
How do finished size, sewn unfinished/trim size, and starting cut size differ?
Finished size is 12″ after the block is sewn into surrounding seams. Its sewn unfinished/trim size is 12½″ before those outer seams, derived with the plain-square allowance. Starting cut size is the method-specific input listed in the chart. Starting cut size equals the unfinished outer target only for a plain square or rectangle workflow; it is not generally the same for pieced triangle units.
Keep going
Where this block appears
Calculators for this block
- Quilt block grid calculator
- Half square triangle calculator
- Quilt top size calculator
- Fabric yardage calculator
Reference
Before you print
Measure this square before you cut. It must be exactly 1 inch. If it isn't, your printer scaled the page — reprint at 100% or "Actual size", not "Fit to page".