Square in a Square Quilt Block — Cutting Chart for Any Size
2 fabrics · Difficulty 3 of 5
Square in a Square is a 1×1 block of 5 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
- 1×1
- Pieces you cut
- 3 — subcutting turns them into the 5 in the sewn block
- Difficulty
- 3 of 5 — confident beginner How this is scored
Set the size
Nearest sizes that cut cleanly:
- Centre squares — Fabric A
- 9″
- Corner squares — Background
- 6⅞″
Reading focusOuter trim and inner diamond boundaries stay distinctsquare-in-a-square unit
- Construction lattice
- 1 module wide × 1 module high
- Unit mix
- square-in-a-square unit
- Piece count
- 3 to cut · 5 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″ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Centre squares — Fabric ACut 1 | 3⅜″ | 6¼″ | 9″ | 11⅞″ | 14¾″ |
| Corner squares — BackgroundCut 2, cut once on the diagonal | 2⅞″ | 4⅞″ | 6⅞″ | 8⅞″ | 10⅞″ |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| 1×1this block | every ½″ | ½″, 1″, 1½″, 2″, 2½″, 3″ … |
| 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″ |
- 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 Square in a Square size from 4″ to 20″ can be cut accurately on its 1×1 grid.
These sizes divide cleanly but sit between the main chart's columns — the same computed cuts, published here so they exist on paper too. Any other clean size still computes in the size input above.
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 | 9″ | 10″ | 11″ | 13″ | 14″ | 15″ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Centre squares — Fabric ACut 1 | 6⅞″ | 7⅝″ | 8⅜″ | 9¾″ | 10½″ | 11⅛″ |
| Corner squares — BackgroundCut 2, cut once on the diagonal | 5⅜″ | 5⅞″ | 6⅜″ | 7⅜″ | 7⅞″ | 8⅜″ |
About this block
- Pieces in the finished block
- 5
- Unit types
- square-in-a-square unit
- Divides cleanly at
- ½″, 1″, 1½″, 2″, 2½″, 3″, 3½″, 4″, 4½″, 5″, 5½″, 6″, 6½″, 7″, 7½″, 8″, 8½″, 9″, 9½″, 10″, 10½″, 11″, 11½″, 12″, 12½″, 13″, 13½″, 14″, 14½″, 15″, 15½″, 16″, 16½″, 17″, 17½″, 18″, 18½″, 19″, 19½″, 20″, 20½″ and 21″ finished.
- Also known as
- Square in Square, Diamond in a Square
- Fabric for one 12″ block
- ½ yd total, rounded up to the nearest ⅛ yard, assuming 40″ of usable width.
One unit is the entire block: a centre square set on point inside corner triangles, no internal grid at all. The centre's corners must land at the midpoint of each side, and its points need seam allowance preserved beyond them when the block joins the top. The corner triangles' long edges are bias — sew them without stretching and press away from the centre.
Piecing order
Make the 1 square-in-a-square unit.
Lay out row 1 of 1 and sew its pieces together, left to right.
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 naming is genuinely contested, and this page does not pretend otherwise. The one-round block is commonly called Square in a Square or Diamond in a Square; its multi-round relative carries the encyclopedia-documented Economy names — Economy Patch, Thrift Block, This and That — with roots in the 1897 Ladies Art Company catalog and the Economy Patch name credited to Carrie Hall and Rose Kretsinger's 1935 book. Usage overlaps in both directions, and sources disagree about where one block ends and the other begins.
Sources: Generations Quilt Patterns — Economy Block; Scrapish — Economy Block.
Common questions
What size can I make Square in a Square?
Any size it divides cleanly: ½″, 1″, 1½″, 2″, 2½″, 3″, 3½″, 4″, 4½″, 5″, 5½″, 6″, 6½″, 7″, 7½″, 8″, 8½″, 9″, 9½″, 10″, 10½″, 11″, 11½″, 12″, 12½″, 13″, 13½″, 14″, 14½″, 15″, 15½″, 16″, 16½″, 17″, 17½″, 18″, 18½″, 19″, 19½″, 20″, 20½″ and 21″ 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 Square in a Square block?
5 pieces make up the sewn block, but you cut 3. 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 1×1 block divide into cleanly?
½″, 1″, 1½″, 2″, 2½″, 3″, 3½″, 4″, 4½″, 5″, 5½″, 6″, 6½″, 7″, 7½″, 8″, 8½″, 9″, 9½″, 10″, 10½″, 11″, 11½″, 12″, 12½″, 13″, 13½″, 14″, 14½″, 15″, 15½″, 16″, 16½″, 17″, 17½″, 18″, 18½″, 19″, 19½″, 20″, 20½″ 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 Square in a Square 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: 5 pieces, with the square-in-a-square 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
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".