My Nine-Patch Method To Make A Card Trick Quilt Block

The Card Trick quilt block is considered a modern block. It was designed back in the 70’s by Jeff Gutcheon and was featured in McCall’s Needlework and Crafts magazine. I was first exposed to it on PBS’s Sewing With Nancy back in the early 2000s. I have been a fan of this block ever since. There are at least two methods to create this block. The other method has a four-patch center surrounded by rectangular and square blocks.

There’s a total of twelve square and rectangular blocks that require accurate quarter-inch seams. The large number of blocks to cut and the multitude of seams make this method less appealing. My nine-patch block method is easier, faster and has stress-free accuracy.

My method is built on three blocks, each with a specific color combination. The three different blocks combined create the nine-patch Card Trick quilt block. The blocks are: One Hourglass Block, four Tri-color Blocks and four Half Square Triangle Blocks. That’s it.

Be prepared for this project. See “Supplies and Tools”, “Fabric” and “Getting Ready To Sew”.

These are the tools and supplies that I used to make the Card Trick Quilt Block.

• Applique presser foot (with center needle mark)
• Quarter-Inch Quilting Foot With Guide 
• Coordinating cotton threads 
• Thread snips, wool pressing mat
• Rotary cutter, 6 x 24 inch ruler, 6-inch square ruler, rotating cutting mat and a quarter-inch patchwork ruler
• Square patchwork templates: 5.5-inch and 4.5-inch
• Sewing stiletto and long flower pins
• Heat-erasable fabric marking pens

You’ll need one piece of black fabric for the background and four pieces of contrasting fabric for the cards.

Tip: I recommend using solid fabrics. This will make it easier to position the cards.

Feel free to use your leftover fabric scraps for this block.

Note: The 5.5-inch measurement has little to no fabric for you to cut at the 5-inch square trim. It might even be an eighth of an inch short! Don’t worry, this is such a forgiving block that it will not affect the finished Card Trick Block. The most important trim is the 4.5-inch square trim. You’ll have enough fabric to easily achieve an accurate 4.5-inch trim. Ask me how I know this!

• Cut (four) 5.5-inch squares of black fabric
• Cut (three) 5.5-inch squares of light purple fabric
• Cut (three) 5.5-inch squares of dark purple fabric
• Cut (three) 5.5-inch squares of yellow fabric
• Cut (three) 5.5-inch squares of gold fabric

Tool Tip: A template makes cutting multiple fabrics faster and easier.

📍🧵-ˋˏ✄┈┈┈┈

As previously mentioned, you will be assembling multiple blocks at once. This will save you a lot of time and you’ll have blocks left over for another project. This method requires you to make three different types of blocks. Once they are made and properly positioned, the Card Trick quilt block is finished.

This method produces two Hourglass Blocks at the same time. Save the extra blocks for making a Card Trick quilt or for another project. The Hourglass Block appears in the center of the nine-patch Card Trick block.

Take a 5.5-inch square for each of the four colors.

You will need one 5.5-inch square of gold, yellow, light purple and dark purple – not the black background color.

The Two-At-A-Time Half Square Triangle Method.

This method is a very useful addition to your skill set because Half Square Triangles are hugely popular. Quilt designers use them to create bold and complicated quilt patterns. In this blog, the Two-At-A-Time Half Square Triangle Method is used in very specific ways to create the three types of blocks needed to create the nine-patch Card Trick quilt block.

The Two-At-A-Times Half Square Triangle method Is Five Actions: Pair, Draw, Stitch, Separate and Trim.

Pair the squares. Draw a diagonal center line. Stitch on each side of the diagonal line. Separate the squares by cutting them along the diagonal line. Press the block flat and trim it to the desired size.

Two pairs of Half Square Triangles make an Hourglass block. Let’s use the Two-At-A-Time Half Square Triangle Method. We are at the first action, pairing the squares. The first pair will be gold and dark purple. The second pair will be light purple and yellow.

Grab one gold and one dark purple square and place them together. They should be right sides together. This is paired squares #1.

Grab one light purple and yellow square and place them right sides together. This is paired squares #2.

Place paired squares #1 in your work area. The wrong side of the orange square should be facing you. Check that all the edges are aligned.

Next, you will apply the Two-At-A-Time Half Square Triangles method to these squares by drawing the diagonal center line. That’s the second action.

I prefer a heat-erasable pen to draw a diagonal line down the center of the dark purple square. It draws a thin line that disappears when heat is applied to it.

Tool Tip: Aff heat-erasable marking pen is the easiest way to make highly visible lines wherever you need them. The lines are thin, so it won’t distort the measurement and best of all, the marks disappear when pressed with a hot iron. This set of four (red, blue, black and white) pens was my first introduction to Madam Sew. I won’t do my projects without them.

I use the quarter-inch ruler to draw the diagonal center line. And if you place the center line of ruler on the diagonal line, you can draw a dotted line for the stitching line. This is a great aid to improved stitching accuracy.

Tip Tool: The quarter-inch patchwork ruler is ideal for drawing or measuring an accurate quarter-inch. In addition to being the perfect tool for creating the special blocks used in the Card Trick block, you’ll find that it is an easy way to check a quarter-inch seam allowance and it is essential for foundation piecing too.

Sewing is the third action in the Two-At-A-Time Half Square Triangles Method. Pin to keep the squares in alignment as you sew. I am sewing on the quarter-inch dotted lines.

The fourth action in the Two-At-A-Time Half Square Triangles Method is separating the squares. Cut along the drawn diagonal line. It will make two separate gold and dark purple Half-Square-Triangles.

Tool Tip: A large ruler works best for cutting small squares. The ruler's weight and length help keep the block stable while you cut. My preferred larger ruler is the 6 x 24-inch ruler.

Trimming is the fifth action in the Two-At-A-Time Half Square Triangles method. Press with a hot iron towards the darker fabric. Then trim the Half-Square-Triangles to 5-inches square. If your ruler does not have a diagonal line down the center, just use tape to make a diagonal center line on it.

Tip: If you don’t have a 5-inch square ruler, then use what you have. I used a 6-inch square ruler and shifted it to align with the 5-inch measurement. Painter’s tape at the 5-inch measurement also helps. It’s an old trick that works every time!

Place the gold and dark purple Half Square Triangles near your work area. You’ll use them shortly to assemble the Hourglass block.

Apply the Two-At-A-Time Half Square Triangle Method to squares #2. Have the wrong side of the yellow square facing you when you draw the diagonal center line. After you complete the method, you’ll have two yellow and light purple Half Square Triangles.

Here’s the fun part! Take one gold and dark purple Half Square Triangle and one yellow and light purple Half Square Triangle and place them together. They must be right sides together. Make sure that the seams are aligned.

Take a peek at the resulting hourglass square by folding back half of the square. Rotate the squares to match the Hourglass center square in picture 7.

Draw a diagonal center line opposite the seam. You can use the quarter-inch ruler to draw the center diagonal line and dotted stitching lines.

Stitch a quarter-inch on each side of the drawn diagonal center line

Tip: Try a quarter-inch presser foot with a seam guide to stitch a quarter-inch on each side of the drawn diagonal line. By positioning the seam guide on the drawn diagonal line, you can achieve stress-free stitches at a consistent quarter-inch distance.

Cut on the diagonal line. This will result in two hourglass squares.

Tip: Pinwheel, which is to twist and flatten the seams that meet in the center of the block. This will avoid a lump in the middle of the block.

Press the block with a hot iron. Then trim the block to 4.5-inches square. Use a 4.5-inch template if available. Place tape on the diagonal to get the diagonal center line. If there is a hole in the center of the template, use it to align it with the center of the Hourglass block

Tool Tip: A rotating cutting mat makes trimming so much easier and safer. No more awkward angles while using a rotary cutter. Rotate the mat to the angle that is comfortable for you.

Great job! Your Hourglass block is finished! Place the trimmed Hourglass block to the side of your workspace

Now get ready to make four Half Square Triangles. Again, you’ll use the Two-At-A-Time Method of making two Half Square Triangles. You’ll need four Half Square Triangles because the nine-patch Card Trick block has one Half Square Triangle at each corner.

Get four 5.5-inch squares of black fabric.

Get one 5.5-inch square of each of the four colors (yellow, light purple, gold and dark purple)

Make Two-At-A-Time Half Square Triangles using one square of black fabric and one square of a contrasting fabric.

Mark the diagonal center line on the wrong side of the lighter fabric square.

Use the quarter-inch ruler to draw the diagonal center line and sew a quarter-inch on each side of the line. Then cut each square along the drawn diagonal. Press the seam towards the black background fabric.

Tool Tip: The wool pressing mat and a hot iron are the perfect combination for speed and efficiency. The wool absorbs the heat of the iron and reflects that heat back into the fabric. The wool surface prevents the fabric from distorting by gripping and stabilizing it as you press.

You will have a pair of Half Square Triangles for each color combination: black and gold, black and yellow, black and light purple, and black and dark purple. And you will use all the Half Square Triangles that you produce.

Take one complete set of black and one color Half Square Triangle blocks. Trim each block 5-inches square. Label the set 5-inches square. Place this set to the left of your workspace. Labeling the blocks will prevent confusion when you make the Tri-Color Squares. Ask me how I know this!

Take the remaining set of black and one color Half Square Triangles. Trim each 4.5-inches square. Label the set 4.5-inches. Place this set to the right of your workspace. These 4.5-inch squares are now blocks and they will become the corner blocks of the nine-patch Card Trick block.

Take the unused set of four contrasting color squares. These squares are still at the original size of 5.5-inches square size. You must trim them to 5-inches square to match the size of the 5-inch square Half Square Triangles.

To make the Tri-color Square, take one 5-inch square combination black and one color Half Square Triangle and match it with one 5-inch square of solid color.

Color placement is critical. I will explain how to arrange each color step-by-step.

Let’s take a closer look at the four Tri-color Squares. The Tri-color Squares surround the Hourglass Square.

See Tri-color square #1 in the layout. Half the block is yellow and the other half is a combination of black and dark purple.

Place a yellow 5-inch square on top of a Half Square Triangle combination square of black and dark purple. Then place the pair to one side.

See Tri-color square #2 in the layout. Half the block is gold and the other half is a combination of black and light purple.

Place a gold 5-inch square on top of a Half Square Triangle combination of black and light purple. Then place the pair to one side.

See Tri-color square # 3. Half of the block is light purple and the other half is a combination of black and yellow.

Place a light purple 5-inch square on top of a Half Square Triangle combination of black and yellow. Then place the pair to one side.

See square #4. Half of the block is dark purple and the other half is a combination of black and gold.

Place a dark purple 5-inch square on top of a Half Square Triangle combination of black and gold. Then place the pair to one side.

Now that each pair is arranged by its color combination, you can grab a pair and follow the process of making four Tri-Color Squares.

The method is actually the Half Square Triangle method, but with special attention to color placement. I will walk you through the process to ensure your color positioning is perfect.

Pick up the pair for square #1 and place it in your workspace. The wrong side of the solid yellow square should be facing you. Double-check the colors by referring to the visual for Tri-color square #1. Keep this visual near in your workspace.

Now, flip the pair over. It is important that you can see the seam. Use the quarter-inch ruler to draw a diagonal center line opposite the seam on the wrong side of the black and dark purple square. [Optional: Then draw the quarter-inch stitching lines on each side of the diagonal center line.]

Sew a quarter-inch on each side of the drawn diagonal line. Then cut the square along the diagonal line. This will make two Tri-color squares. Choose the Tri-color square that matches the nine-patch layout. Label it #1.

Place the extra Tri-color square outside of your work area. It can make a great ready-made addition to a future project.

Pick up the pair for square #2 and place it in your workspace. The wrong side of the solid gold square should be facing you.

Now, flip the pair over so you can see the seam. Use the quarter-inch ruler to draw a diagonal centerline opposite the seam on the wrong side of the black and light purple square. You can also draw a dotted line for the quarter-inch stitching lines on each side of the diagonal center line if you like.

Sew a quarter-inch on each side of the drawn diagonal line. Then cut the square along the diagonal line. This will make two Tri-color squares. Choose the Tri-color square that matches square #2. Label it #2 and place it to the side of your work area.

Place the extra Tri-color square outside of your work area for use in another project.

Pick up the pair for square #3 and place it in your workspace. The wrong side of the solid light-purple square should face you.

Now, flip the pair over to view the seam. Use the quarter-inch ruler to draw a diagonal center line opposite the seam on the wrong side of the black and yellow Half Square Triangle. Optional: Draw quarter-inch dotted lines on both sides of the diagonal center line for the stitching line.

Sew a quarter-inch on each side of the drawn diagonal line. Then cut the square along the diagonal line. This will make two Tri-color squares. Use the Tri-color square that matches the nine-patch layout and label it #3.

Store the extra Tri-color square for a future project.

Pick up the pair for square #4 and place it in your workspace. The wrong side of the dark purple square should be facing you.

Now, flip the pair over so you can see the seam. Use the quarter-inch patchwork ruler to draw a diagonal center line opposite the seam on the wrong side of the black and gold square. Then draw a quarter-inch stitching lines on both sides of the diagonal center line if you like.

Sew a quarter-inch on each side of the drawn diagonal line. Then cut the square along the diagonal line. This will make two Tri-color squares. Choose the Tri-color square that matches square #4. Label it #4.

Store the extra Tri-color square for a future project. Great Work! The nine blocks of the nine-patch block have been created. Now let’s finish this project by assembling the nine-patch Card Trick block.

Use the nine patch Card Trick Quilt Block Layout to assemble the nine-patch block.

Here’s the sequence for Row #1: Sew a yellow and black Half-Square-Triangle to a yellow, black and dark purple Tri-color block. Then sew the Tri-color block to a dark purple and black Half-Square Triangle. Label this Row #1.

Tip: Remember to nest your seam for perfect points. The points of the Card Trick Block are the secret to its optical illusion.

Here’s the sequence for Row #2: Sew a black, yellow and light purple Tri-color block to the Hourglass center block. Then sew the Hourglass center block to a dark purple, gold and black Tri-color block. Label this Row #2.

And the sequence for Row #3: Sew a light purple and black Half Square Triangle to a light purple, gold and black Tri-color block. Then sew the Tri-color block to an gold and black Half Square Triangle. Label this Row #3.

This nine-patch Card Trick Block is almost finished. Now that the rows are created, you can simply sew the rows together to finish the block. But first you must turn the rows 90-degrees. Use the rows layout as a reference.

Next sew row #1 to row #2 and row #2 to row #3. Take your time and get the best points possible by nesting your seams. Repress the direction of seams if you have to. You’ll be very pleased with the results.

Tool Tip: The Quarter-Inch Quilting Foot With Seam Guide is the perfect presser for accurate quarter-inch seams. The seam guide makes it easier to align the presser foot with fabric’s edge. An accurate seam allowance means less time spent with the dreaded seam ripper.

Press the nine-patch block flat with a hot iron. Trim the block to 12.25-inches square. That quarter inch will prevent the points of the cards from disappearing into the quarter-inch seam allowance when this block is sewn to other blocks. The Card Trick Block is finished. Fantastic Job!

This Card Trick Quilt Block will impress your friends and family. Add it to your quilt block library today.

This Card Trick Quilt Block will impress your friends and family. Add it to your quilt block library today.

Expand your skills further: Now that you've mastered the Card Trick Quilt Block, why not use your extra blocks in these fun and easy quilt projects:

• Accent Pillow
• Mug Rug
• Baby Toy Fabric Blocks
• Gift Bag
• Pot Holder

I'd love to see your finished Card Trick Quilt Block! Share your creations with the quilting community and inspire others to try this easy method.

May your quilting always bring you joy!

Ernie Grant
Guest Blogger For Madam Sew

Ernestine “Ernie” Grant is an avid quilter with over 18 years of experience and is the owner of the custom baby quilt business kalibabyquilts.com