While everyone is cheering on the Olympic athletes as they strive for Gold medals in Paris, my thoughts turned to diamonds. Let me present Double D, the August block for the Little Bit Different collection.

The block finishes at 6″ x 9″, and it uses a variety of half-rectangle triangles.

The Double D quilt block

The Double D is a nine-patch block with two background pieces and seven HRTs. I chose two different shades of blue for my sample fabric. One of the HRTs uses both colors, while the others pair a colored fabric with background.

It is important to keep in mind that the diamond shape uses two uphill HRTs and two downhill HRTs. becuase of the variations in color combinations, we end up with some leftover units. This may be incentive to make additional blocks to incorporate all the pieces!

Complete instructions for the Double D block here.

HRTs turn into a Diamond

Half-rectangle triangles are a directional unit, which means we have to pay close attention to their placement in our quilt block to create the diamond shape.

Here are my tips for working with HRTs:

• Start with oversize pieces of fabric and trim to size. The Little Bit Different Ruler can help ensure accuracy!
• Check the pattern instructions and block diagram for guidance on uphill and downhill triangles.
• Look for the mountain peaks when you are sewing.

• Press seams open to reduce bulk.

In this video, I share several methods for making half-rectangle triangle units of any size.

Full quilt with Double D

There are twelve different quilt layouts in the Little Bit Different collection, so you can mix and match any of the 6″ x 9″ blocks for your finished quilt.

I played with the Double D block in EQ8 and came up with two additional layouts. Let me know in the comments which one you like best!

First, I arranged the diamonds to form the classic notation for hugs and kisses.

Then I spread out the Double D blocks in a chevron pattern and chose a rainbow palette.

Please note that in order to make the diamonds slant in the other direction, you need to change the number of uphill and downhill HRTs in the layout. Have fun!