Skull Quilt Block Tutorial

I’ve got a free Halloween skull quilt block pattern for you! 

It’s October – so it’s time to sew up all the spooooky projects you’ll no doubt find popping up all over Pinterest.

This pattern is for a 9″ x 11″ (finished) patchwork skull block. It would look great in a quartet for a cushion, or en masse in a Halloween lap quilt.

I’ve made mine with an Anna Maria Horner floral background (no one does florals quite like her) to give it a bit of a Day of Dead vibe.

This block is a good little scrap buster too. You can use up a fat-eighth in the background and a 10″ square for the bones.

If you’d like a PDF copy of these skull quilt block instructions you can find it here in my shop for $3.

General Instructions

The completed patchwork skull block measures 9½” x 11½”.

When sew together (finished), these blocks will measure 9″ x 11″.

A fat-eighth (F8) = 20″ x 9″.

All seams are a quarter inch.

Arrows on diagrams indicate seam pressing direction.

Read all instructions before you start.

Fabric Requirements

1 F8 for the block background and one 10” square for the skull.

Cutting Instructions

From 1 F8 cut the following units for the background:

From the 10″ square cut the following units for the skull:

Stitch and Flip Blocks

Take a 3½” background square and a 2½” skull square (A). With a pencil, mark a diagonal on the back of the 2½” square and place it RST on the background square, aligning the corners (B). Sew a seam on the diagonal line (C). Trim to give a quarter inch seam (D). Press the flap outwards (E). Make 2 square stitch-and-flip blocks.

Take a 3½” x 2½” background rectangle and a 1½” skull square (A). With a pencil, mark a diagonal on the back of the 1½” square and place it RST on the background square, aligning with the top right corner (B). Sew a seam on the diagonal line (C). Trim to give a quarter inch seam (D). Press the flap outwards (E).

Repeat to make another block, instead this time align the skull square with the top left corner of the background square.

Sew Strip Sets

Take the 5″ x 2½” skull rectangle and the 5″ x 1½” background rectangle and sew together along their long edges (A). Press toward the skull fabric. Subcut the strip set to give 3 units 1½” x 3½” (B).

Take the 5½” x 2½” background rectangle and the 5½” x 1½” skull rectangle and sew together along their long edges (A). Press toward the skull fabric. Subcut the strip set to give 2 units 2½” x 3½” (B).

Sew the Skull Quilt Block

Sew a 3½” x 1½” background rectangle to a 3½” x 2½” skull rectangle (A). Next sew a 1½” background square to each end of the 7½” x 1½” skull rectangle (B).

Sew the 2 units you just made together with the 2 square stitch-and-flip units to give the top of the skull (press seams as preferred):

Take all the strip set units and sew together as seen below, pressing seams as preferred (A). Sew a 2½” x 1½” background rectangle to either end of a 3½” x 1½” skull rectangle (B).

Sew these two units together, as seen below (A). Next sew a 1½” x 4½” background rectangle to either side to give the eye section (B).

Sew two 1½” skull squares to two 2½” x 1½” background rectangles and one 3½” x 1½” background rectangle (A). Sew a 3½” x 1½” skull rectangle to a 3½” x 1½” background rectangle (B).

Take these 2 units and sew them together with the 2 stitch-and-flip rectangle units to give the jaw bone.

Sew the top of the skull to the top of the eye section, then sew the jaw bone section to the bottom of the eye section. You now have a Halloween skull quilt block!

What will you do with your skull quilt block? A wall hanging or perhaps a table topper. Maybe sew up a quartet and make a cushion?

If you’d prefer these block instructions in a PDF, you can find it for $3 in my shop.

And you’ll want to check out my post on my favourite Halloween quilt patterns – plenty of Halloween quilting ideas and quilt pattern mock-ups for you there.

Wishing you a Happy Halloween and tons of sewing time,

Kirsty

Share or Pin for later: