Plus quilt block
A cross of five squares against four background corners. Modern quilting adopted it hard, and it is about as simple as a recognisable motif gets.
Also known as Plus Block, Swiss Cross.
The plus or cross is a nine patch wearing modern clothes: the same 3×3 grid, with the four corners in background. Its rise in the 2010s came from low-volume and solid-fabric quilting, where a single strong shape floating in a quiet field was the whole design language.
Plus cutting chart
Cut sizes include a ¼″ seam allowance: ½″ on squares and rectangles, ⅞″ on half-square triangles, and 1¼″ on quarter-square triangles. Pick a finished block size:
| Fabric | Shape | Cut size | Qty | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Background | Square | 2½" × 2½" | 4 | finishes 2" × 2" |
| Dark | Rectangle | 2½" × 6½" | 1 | finishes 2" × 6" |
| Dark | Square | 2½" × 2½" | 2 | finishes 2" × 2" |
| Fabric | Shape | Cut size | Qty | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Background | Square | 3½" × 3½" | 4 | finishes 3" × 3" |
| Dark | Rectangle | 3½" × 9½" | 1 | finishes 3" × 9" |
| Dark | Square | 3½" × 3½" | 2 | finishes 3" × 3" |
| Fabric | Shape | Cut size | Qty | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Background | Square | 3⅞" × 3⅞" | 4 | finishes 3⅜" × 3⅜" |
| Dark | Rectangle | 3⅞" × 10½" | 1 | finishes 3⅜" × 10" |
| Dark | Square | 3⅞" × 3⅞" | 2 | finishes 3⅜" × 3⅜" |
| Fabric | Shape | Cut size | Qty | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Background | Square | 4½" × 4½" | 4 | finishes 4" × 4" |
| Dark | Rectangle | 4½" × 12½" | 1 | finishes 4" × 12" |
| Dark | Square | 4½" × 4½" | 2 | finishes 4" × 4" |
| Fabric | Shape | Cut size | Qty | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Background | Square | 5½" × 5½" | 4 | finishes 5" × 5" |
| Dark | Rectangle | 5½" × 15½" | 1 | finishes 5" × 15" |
| Dark | Square | 5½" × 5½" | 2 | finishes 5" × 5" |
How it goes together
A nine patch with the corners in background fabric. Nothing harder than a straight seam anywhere in it.
Tips
- Scatter plusses at irregular intervals across a background rather than gridding them — the irregularity is the modern look.
- A single accent colour against a low-volume background is the classic treatment.
- Because it is a nine patch underneath, it strip-pieces exactly like one.
How much fabric for a Plus quilt?
Yardage for a whole quilt of Plus blocks, computed the way the studio does it — every piece packed across a 40″ usable width with 10% added for waste.
| Quilt size | Blocks | Finished | Top fabric | Backing | Binding |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baby 36×48 | 12 | 36" × 48" | Background ⅞ yd · Dark 1 yd | 2½ yd | ⅜ yd |
| Throw 60×72 | 30 | 60" × 72" | Background 2⅛ yd · Dark 2½ yd | 3⅞ yd | ½ yd |
| Queen 90×108 | 72 | 96" × 108" | Background 5 yd · Dark 5⅞ yd | 8¾ yd | ⅞ yd |
What it looks like in a quilt
A single block only tells you half the story. Set sixteen of them together and the secondary pattern appears where the blocks touch:
Plus questions
Is the Plus block just a nine patch?
Structurally yes — a 3×3 grid with background in the four corners. The difference is entirely in how the values are placed.