Log Cabin Quilt Block — Cutting Chart for Any Size
3 fabrics · Difficulty 2 of 5
Log Cabin is a strip block of 13 pieces. Cut sizes for 4″, 8″, 12″, 16″, 20″ are below; for any other size it divides into cleanly, type the size and the chart recomputes.
Set the finished sizeAt a glance
- Grid
- strip
- Pieces you cut
- 13
- Difficulty
- 2 of 5 — easy How this is scored
Set the size
Nearest sizes that cut cleanly:
- Strips — Fabric A
- 3½″
- Strips — Background
- 3½ × 2″
- Strips — Background
- 2 × 5″
- Strips — Fabric B
- 5 × 2″
- Strips — Fabric B
- 2 × 6½″
- Strips — Background
- 6½ × 2″
- Strips — Background
- 2 × 8″
- Strips — Fabric B
- 8 × 2″
- Strips — Fabric B
- 2 × 9½″
- Strips — Background
- 9½ × 2″
- Strips — Background
- 2 × 11″
- Strips — Fabric B
- 11 × 2″
- Strips — Fabric B
- 2 × 12½″
Reading focusStrip outlines expose the nested Log Cabin structurestrip
- Construction lattice
- 8 modules wide × 8 modules high
- Unit mix
- strip
- Piece count
- 13 to cut · 13 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 | 4″ | 8″ | 12″ | 16″ | 20″ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Strips — Fabric ACut 1 | 1½″ | 2½″ | 3½″ | 4½″ | 5½″ |
| Strips — BackgroundCut 1 | 1½ × 1″ | 2½ × 1½″ | 3½ × 2″ | 4½ × 2½″ | 5½ × 3″ |
| Strips — BackgroundCut 1 | 1 × 2″ | 1½ × 3½″ | 2 × 5″ | 2½ × 6½″ | 3 × 8″ |
| Strips — Fabric BCut 1 | 2 × 1″ | 3½ × 1½″ | 5 × 2″ | 6½ × 2½″ | 8 × 3″ |
| Strips — Fabric BCut 1 | 1 × 2½″ | 1½ × 4½″ | 2 × 6½″ | 2½ × 8½″ | 3 × 10½″ |
| Strips — BackgroundCut 1 | 2½ × 1″ | 4½ × 1½″ | 6½ × 2″ | 8½ × 2½″ | 10½ × 3″ |
| Strips — BackgroundCut 1 | 1 × 3″ | 1½ × 5½″ | 2 × 8″ | 2½ × 10½″ | 3 × 13″ |
| Strips — Fabric BCut 1 | 3 × 1″ | 5½ × 1½″ | 8 × 2″ | 10½ × 2½″ | 13 × 3″ |
| Strips — Fabric BCut 1 | 1 × 3½″ | 1½ × 6½″ | 2 × 9½″ | 2½ × 12½″ | 3 × 15½″ |
| Strips — BackgroundCut 1 | 3½ × 1″ | 6½ × 1½″ | 9½ × 2″ | 12½ × 2½″ | 15½ × 3″ |
| Strips — BackgroundCut 1 | 1 × 4″ | 1½ × 7½″ | 2 × 11″ | 2½ × 14½″ | 3 × 18″ |
| Strips — Fabric BCut 1 | 4 × 1″ | 7½ × 1½″ | 11 × 2″ | 14½ × 2½″ | 18 × 3″ |
| Strips — Fabric BCut 1 | 1 × 4½″ | 1½ × 8½″ | 2 × 12½″ | 2½ × 16½″ | 3 × 20½″ |
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
- B — turkey red
- 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″ … |
| 7×7 | every 3½″ | 3½″, 7″, 10½″, 14″, 17½″, 21″ |
| 8×8this block | every 4″ | 4″, 8″, 12″, 16″, 20″ |
Log Cabin is published as a strip block. This site models it on an 8×8 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
Every whole-inch Log Cabin size from 4″ to 20″ can be cut accurately on its 8×8 grid.
About this block
- Pieces in the finished block
- 13
- Unit types
- strip
- Divides cleanly at
- 4″, 8″, 12″, 16″ and 20″ finished.
- Also known as
- Log Patch, Loghouse Quilting
- Fabric for one 12″ block
- 1¾ yd total, rounded up to the nearest ⅛ yard, assuming 40″ of usable width.
Logs go on one at a time around the centre — no rows anywhere — and each strip's length is set by what is already sewn, so the order cannot be shuffled. The background fabric takes the logs on one side of the diagonal and a contrast fabric the other, a split built by the sewing order. The centre is drawn wider than the logs here, and the clean sizes depend on that choice.
Piecing order
Lay out the whole block and sew it together.
How this site models this block
- The log arrangement and round count drawn here are still to be checked against Brackman's encyclopedia. They set the block's grid, and the grid decides which finished sizes it can cut.
- This site draws Log Cabin with a centre square twice the log width — three rounds of logs on an 8×8 grid, which is what makes 12″ a clean size at 1½″ logs. Patterns with a same-width centre exist, and they divide into different sizes.
Cutting oversize
Nothing in this block needs cutting oversize: every piece is cut straight to its exact size, so sew an accurate quarter inch and it comes out true. If you like trimming room anyway, the reasoning is on how to square up a quilt block.
History
The earliest documented use of the name that Barbara Brackman cites is a commendation at the 1863 Ohio State Fair, the pattern itself developing about that time; by 1866 an Iowa diarist recorded buying wool delaine 'for my log cabin.' Its 1870s boom rode the era's politics — the cabin was Lincoln's image — and between 1870 and 1900 fairs opened categories specifically for Log Cabin quilts. An 1889 Ladies' Art Company catalog sold it as Log Patch.
Sources: Barbara Brackman — Log Cabin: How Old Is the Name?; Barbara Brackman — Log Cabin.
Common questions
What size can I make Log Cabin?
Any size it divides cleanly: 4″, 8″, 12″, 16″ and 20″ finished. The chart above carries 4″, 8″, 12″, 16″, 20″ 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 Log Cabin block?
13 — and you cut exactly that many, because every piece in this block is used whole. The chart's quantities add up to the diagram.
What sizes does a strip block divide into cleanly?
4″, 8″, 12″, 16″ and 20″ 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 Log Cabin good for a beginner?
Yes — it scores 2 of 5, easy, on this site's computed scale: 13 pieces, with the strip 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
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".