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The Square and Compass is one of the more intricate quilt designs, and yet there
are only three patterns used. As the story comes to us, it was first designed
by the wife of a life-saving crew's captain, so to maintain the sea flavor
throughout, blue or blue-green with white would make it most nautical. Aside
from pointing eight true directions like any real compass should, it some way
suggests spars and rudders and propellers. So if you possess that bit of
romantic imagination which the quilt originators had, you will surely
appreciate the "Square and Compass."
Cardboards are made exactly from the parts here given and traced around, onto
the cloth. Cut a seam larger than the penciled part and sew first the triangle
block onto the long one, then the "pie-shaped" pieces into the ends to form a
larger triangle. This, of course, is half of the small square which in turn is
1/4 of a complete block.
Each block will be thirteen inches square, a good size for patchwork pillows,
or if making a whole quilt, this pattern uses all pieced blocks which form a
continuing and overlapping series of squares and compasses all over the
coverlet.
Material Estimate: The quilt sets together 6 blocks wide by 6
1/2 blocks long and requires 36 whole mocks and 6 half blocks. It finishes
about 78 by 85 inches. Or surround a much smaller center, say 4 by 4 1/2
blocks, with a 5-inch plain band for fancy quilting and a pieced border of half
blocks 6 1/2 inches wide to complete. The more intricate the pattern and the
smaller the cut units, the greater the yardage required. For instance, you can
make a comfort top 72 by 90 inches from five yards or 36-inch material. But cut
it up into squares, or smaller pieces, or yet smaller, and the seams soon take
up almost as much as the part that shows. You will need 9 yards for this quilt,
4 1/2 yards of each color.
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