Well, yesterday I met my nemesis. There was no avoiding them. This would have been a lot of applique...
Trace or print the block diagram onto foundation paper, number, and cut out as below.
If you're printing, remember to change the block size to 5"x8"!
(Do not foundation piece number 7 (the diamond) in the bottom right section. It won't work. Cut the diamond out separately. I only realized this when I started piecing.)
Foundation piece all the sections and trim the seam allowances to 1/4". It is important to be accurate on this when sewing inset seams. I marked some of my seam allowances with a disappearing marker and then cut on the line.
Complete the center section of the block by sewing the three pieced sections together.
TIP: One secret of set in seams is not to sew into the seam allowance when piecing the individual sections. When foundation piecing this is hard to do, so I just used my seam ripper to undo where I'd sewn into the seam allowances.
I'm planning a tutorial on set in seams and will update this post when I do, but in the mean time, the instructions for block B-9 may help a little.
Sew the top block section to the center section.
Cut the center bottom diamond out of background fabric and sew it in between the two bottom sections. Attach it to the one section first and then the second.
Sew the two block sections together.
