Guidelines for the "Bento Box" Block Exchange

PREPARE FABRICS

You need 1/2 yard of black fabric and 1/2 yard of a light Oriental fabric. This will make 24 Bento Box blocks for exchange - 12 in one color-way and 12 in the reverse color-way.

Pre-wash and press all fabrics. From each fabric, cut 1 - 3" strip and 6 - 2-1/4" strips.

Please select high-quality, 100% cotton, quilting fabrics you would be delighted to receive in return. Save your mega-store bargain for another project.

STRIPS SETS

Sew 1 strip set with 2 2-1/4" black strips on either side of one 3" light strip. Likewise, sew a reverse strip set with 2 2-1/4"" light strips on either side of one 3" black strip. Iron all seam allowances towards the black fabric.

IMPORTANT - Once sewn, these strips sets should measure 6-1/2" wide. If they aren't wide enough, re-sew your seams making sure you are sewing a scant 1/4" seam allowance.

From each strip set, cut 3" lengths for a total of 12 sections. Cut the remaining 2-1/4" black and light strips into 6-1/2" lengths.

ASSEMBLE BLOCKS

To construct one block, take one strip set section with a light square center and attach 2 2-1/4" x 6-1/2" black strips to the top and bottom creating a black 1-1/2" border (finished) around the 2-1/2" light (finished) center square. Assemble 12 blocks in this modified log-cabin fashion. Reverse the procedure and construct 12 blocks with a black fabric square center and a border of light fabric strips.

To get a better seam match, try to feed the strips into your sewing machine so that the top seam allowance is folded away from you, the bottom seam folded towards you. Since most machines push on the top fabric and pull on the bottom fabric, this pushes the top seam and pulls the bottom seam together, allowing the seams to "lock" together.
The seams should "lock" together - one seam facing in one direction, the other facing the opposite direction.

SQUARE 'EM and PAIR 'EM

Measure your completed blocks with a square and trim them to 6 1/2" x 6 1/2" square. If your blocks are too short, re-sew them (blocks that are too short are useless in the exchange).

Pair 'EM - One set is 1 "regular" block and 1 "reverse" block. Place one set into a small zip-lock bag for a total of 12 bags with 2 blocks in each bag. Label each bag with your name and phone number (address labels work good for this). Place all 12 sets into one large bag. Again, put your name on the bag. You'll use this larger bag to hold your exchanged blocks.

Blocks are exchanged at the guild meeting. All blocks must be finished and present to participate in the block exchange. If you can't attend the meeting, please send your blocks with someone who is.

If you have any questions, please contact Patty Merry.