Cathedral Windows
Also known as: Cathedral Windows, Church Windows, Stained Glass
A folded-fabric technique producing diamond-shaped windows of colorful fabric revealed through muslin frames, resembling stained glass.
Block Details
- Category
- Classic
- Difficulty
- advanced
- Grid Type
- folded
- Piece Count
- 17
- Tags
- folded-fabrichand-sewingdimensionalstained-glass
Block Details
- Category
- Classic
- Difficulty
- advanced
- Grid Type
- folded
- Piece Count
- 17
- Tags
- folded-fabrichand-sewingdimensionalstained-glass
Construction Tips
Cathedral Windows uses a fold-and-sew technique rather than standard patchwork. Start with a muslin or background square cut four times the finished window size. Fold the raw edges to the center and press, then fold the corners to the center again. Tack the center point. Join prepared squares by stitching folded edges together. Place a small square of colorful fabric over the seam and roll the folded edges over it, curving them into an arc shape. Hand-stitch the rolled edges down to frame the window. Work systematically row by row for best results.
Related Blocks
Bear's Paw
Four paws, each a large square with two half-square-triangle claws along each of its two outer sides and a small background square in the outer corner, separated by sashing strips around a centre square.
Log Cabin
A centre square wrapped in five rounds of logs that spiral around it, one log per side in turn; the logs on two adjacent sides are light and the other two are dark, so the block divides into light and dark halves along a diagonal.
Lone Star
An eight-pointed star of 45-degree diamonds, each point pieced from small diamonds in rings of colour that radiate from the centre, with set-in background corners and side triangles.
Ohio Star
A nine-patch star: plain corners, a centre square, and quarter-square-triangle side units whose triangles form eight points.
Alaska Homestead
Four large half-square triangle units in the corners with their inner halves framing a centre cross of five squares, the edge and centre squares in one fabric and the squares between them in another.
Anvil
Two large half-square triangles meet at the centre on one diagonal; the other two quarters each hold a square, a background square and two small triangles.