Churn Dash Quilt Block — Cutting Chart for Any Size
2 fabrics · Difficulty 3 of 5
Churn Dash is a 3×3 block of 17 pieces. Cut sizes for 6″, 9″, 12″, 15″, 18″ are below; for any other size it divides into cleanly, type the size and the chart recomputes.
Set the finished sizeAt a glance
- Grid
- 3×3
- Pieces you cut
- 13 — subcutting turns them into the 17 in the sewn block
- Difficulty
- 3 of 5 — confident beginner How this is scored
Set the size
Nearest sizes that cut cleanly:
- Rectangles — Fabric A
- 4½ × 2½″
- Rectangles — Background
- 4½ × 2½″
- Squares — Background
- 4½″
- Squares for half-square triangles — Fabric A
- 4⅞″
- Squares for half-square triangles — Background
- 4⅞″
Reading focusRectangles form the dash; triangle units hold the cornersrectangle + half-square-triangle unit
- Construction lattice
- 6 modules wide × 6 modules high
- Unit mix
- half-square-triangle unit, rectangle, square
- Piece count
- 13 to cut · 17 in the diagram
Cut these pieces
Column headings are the FINISHED block size — the size it will be once it is sewn. Every number in the table is the size to CUT, which includes ¼″ of seam allowance on each edge. Rows that are subcut on a diagonal are cut larger still, so the allowance survives the extra cuts.
Scroll sideways to see every size.
| Patch | 6″ | 9″ | 12″ | 15″ | 18″ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rectangles — Fabric ACut 4 | 2½ × 1½″ | 3½ × 2″ | 4½ × 2½″ | 5½ × 3″ | 6½ × 3½″ |
| Rectangles — BackgroundCut 4 | 2½ × 1½″ | 3½ × 2″ | 4½ × 2½″ | 5½ × 3″ | 6½ × 3½″ |
| Squares — BackgroundCut 1 | 2½″ | 3½″ | 4½″ | 5½″ | 6½″ |
| Squares for half-square triangles — Fabric ACut 2, cut once on the diagonal | 2⅞″ | 3⅞″ | 4⅞″ | 5⅞″ | 6⅞″ |
| Squares for half-square triangles — BackgroundCut 2, cut once on the diagonal | 2⅞″ | 3⅞″ | 4⅞″ | 5⅞″ | 6⅞″ |
Read the block
Match each fabric letter in the diagram to the same fabric name in the cutting table. The caption describes the generated geometry in text.
Fabrics in this block
- A — gold
- BG — background
Which sizes divide cleanly
Scroll sideways to see every column.
| Grid | Divides cleanly at | The first few sizes |
|---|---|---|
| 2×2 | every 1″ | 1″, 2″, 3″, 4″, 5″, 6″ … |
| 3×3 | every 1½″ | 1½″, 3″, 4½″, 6″, 7½″, 9″ … |
| 4×4 | every 2″ | 2″, 4″, 6″, 8″, 10″, 12″ … |
| 5×5 | every 2½″ | 2½″, 5″, 7½″, 10″, 12½″, 15″ … |
| 6×6this block | every 3″ | 3″, 6″, 9″, 12″, 15″, 18″ … |
| 7×7 | every 3½″ | 3½″, 7″, 10½″, 14″, 17½″, 21″ |
Churn Dash is published as a 3×3 block. This site models it on a 6×6 module lattice, because that is the smallest grid its patches actually sit on — and the lattice, not the published family, is what its cutting sizes are computed from.
- A 5-patch block at 12″ would need 2.4″ units, which is not a mark on any ruler. Try 10″ or 12½″ instead — Sister's Choice is the 5-patch block on this site.
- A 7-patch block at 12″ would need 1.714…″ units, which is not a mark on any ruler. Try 10½″ or 14″ instead — Bear's Paw is the 7-patch block on this site.
More about the sizes that do not divide cleanly
The sizes in between
A 10″ Churn Dash cannot be cut accurately on its 6×6 grid. Use 9″ or 12″ instead; both cutting charts are on this page, computed by Quilt Block Atlas.
Both columns are FINISHED block sizes — the size a block will be once it is sewn, never a size to cut. Look the clean size up in the charts on this page for its cutting numbers.
Scroll sideways if the table is wider than your screen.
| Size you want | Nearest sizes that cut cleanly |
|---|---|
| 4″ | 3″ or 6″ |
| 5″ | 3″ or 6″ |
| 7″ | 6″ or 9″ |
| 8″ | 6″ or 9″ |
| 10″ | 9″ or 12″ |
| 11″ | 9″ or 12″ |
| 13″ | 12″ or 15″ |
| 14″ | 12″ or 15″ |
| 16″ | 15″ or 18″ |
| 17″ | 15″ or 18″ |
| 19″ | 18″ or 21″ |
| 20″ | 18″ or 21″ |
About this block
- Pieces in the finished block
- 17
- Unit types
- half-square-triangle unit, rectangle, square
- Divides cleanly at
- 3″, 6″, 9″, 12″, 15″, 18″ and 21″ finished.
- Also known as
- Hole in the Barn Door, Double Monkey Wrench, Sherman's March, Lincoln's Platform, Wrench
- Brackman number
- #1646a
- Fabric for one 12″ block
- ⅞ yd total, rounded up to the nearest ⅛ yard, assuming 40″ of usable width.
Both halves of each bar are rectangles seamed along their long sides, so the frame goes together on straight grain. Diagonal seams appear only in the corner units. Assemble bars, corners and centre like a plain patch grid, nesting the crossings so the frame sits flat against the unpieced centre.
Piecing order
Make the 4 half-square-triangle units.
Lay out section 1 of 3 and sew it together.
Lay out section 2 of 3 and sew it together.
Lay out section 3 of 3 and sew it together.
Join the 3 sections, matching the seams.
How this site models this block
- Churn Dash is published as a nine-patch and appears here as one. Internally this site draws it on a 6×6 grid, because each side bar is two rectangles that cannot share one 3×3 cell — which is why its clean sizes step by 3″ rather than 1½″.
Cutting oversize
The chart gives the standard cut sizes, nothing padded. Some quilters cut this block's triangle units a little oversize and trim back — published allowances genuinely disagree on how much, so the range with its sources is on how to square up a quilt block.
History
The block reads as a butter churn seen from above: the triangle-and-rectangle frame is the churn body, the centre square its dash. It carries one of the widest name families on record — Brackman's encyclopedia lists some twenty, from Hole in the Barn Door to Sherman's March — and Brackman notes the Civil-War-flavoured names were commemorations coined between 1890 and 1940, not wartime coinage.
Sources: Chester Criswell — A Churn Dash by Any Other Name; Barbara Brackman — Quilts: Sherman's March.
Common questions
What size can I make Churn Dash?
Any size it divides cleanly: 3″, 6″, 9″, 12″, 15″, 18″ and 21″ finished. The chart above carries 6″, 9″, 12″, 15″, 18″ ready-worked, and the size input computes any other clean size without you doing arithmetic — every value computed by Quilt Block Atlas, none transcribed.
How many pieces are in a Churn Dash block?
17 pieces make up the sewn block, but you cut 13. The difference is method: triangle units are cut as squares and subcut, so the chart's quantities are what your rotary cutter produces, not what you count in the diagram.
What sizes does a 3×3 block divide into cleanly?
3″, 6″, 9″, 12″, 15″, 18″ and 21″ finished. The step is half the grid this block's cutting sizes are computed on, and the clean-size table above marks this block's row with the other families beside it.
Is Churn Dash good for a beginner?
It makes a fine early block, though not a first one — it scores 3 of 5, confident beginner, on this site's computed scale: 17 pieces, with the half-square-triangle unit as its hardest unit. The scoring rule, and every block ranked by it, is on the difficulty page linked above.
How do finished size, sewn unfinished/trim size, and starting cut size differ?
Finished size is 12″ after the block is sewn into surrounding seams. Its sewn unfinished/trim size is 12½″ before those outer seams, derived with the plain-square allowance. Starting cut size is the method-specific input listed in the chart. Starting cut size equals the unfinished outer target only for a plain square or rectangle workflow; it is not generally the same for pieced triangle units.
Keep going
Related blocks
Where this block appears
Calculators for this block
- Quilt block grid calculator
- Half square triangle calculator
- Quilt top size calculator
- Fabric yardage calculator
Reference
Before you print
Measure this square before you cut. It must be exactly 1 inch. If it isn't, your printer scaled the page — reprint at 100% or "Actual size", not "Fit to page".