Are you enjoying your time at the seashore? I sure hope so! As a native Southern Californian, there is no place I'd rather be. And what would a visit to the beach be without our friend the sun? This block is simply made up of sixteen drunkard's path blocks. If you've been nervous about tackling curves, this block is perfect for mastering this block.  Just take it slow. Feel free to play around with your fabric choices to decide how vibrant you want your sun. And just in case curved piecing isn't your thing, I've given some very basic applique instructions as an alternative.

I used Ombre Confetti Metallic for my block. I love that you can choose a different saturation of color for each unit and those gold dots add the perfect amount of sparkle!

This post is part of our summer quilt-along series. Find the rest of the posts by clicking {here}.

Fabric A: 1 fat quarter background fabric (white)
Fabric B: 1 fat eighth orange
Fabric C: 1 fat eighth yellow

Print Templates A and B. Make sure that Template A measures 3.5" along the dotted lines, so that your unit will be the correct size. You can glue the templates to thin cardboard (like a cereal box), or trace onto template plastic to make them a little easier to trace.

From Template A:
• Trace and cut 12 units from the background fabric
• Trace and cut 4 units from yellow fabric

From Template B:
• Trace and cut 8 units from yellow fabric
• Trace and cut 8 units from orange fabric

(Note: See end of post for an alternate applique construction method.)

Make a Drunkard's Path Unit:

1. Using one white background unit, and one yellow semi-circle unit, fold each unit in half to mark the center point, as shown above.

2. Placing right sides together, match the center points and pin, and then pin at each corner. Continue pinning along the edges. Your unit will look very crumpled, but don't worry!

Tip: You may want to use a bit of glue to hold the edges together in addition to or instead of pins.

3. Sew along the curved edge. Go slowly and remove the pins as you sew, keeping the edges carefully aligned. I find that I have better results if I sew with the square part of the unit on top, so that I can control any puckers.

4. Press seam toward the background fabric. Finished unit should be 3.5".

5. Sew the remaining 15 units in the same manner.

Construct the Block:

1. Lay out the blocks as shown above. Sew the units together into rows.

2. Sew the rows together to form the block.

Alternate Applique Construction Option

To create this block with applique instead of pieced blocks, here are some basic instructions:

Cut center square 6.5" x 6.5" and using the instructions for creating an applique circle from this block, make a 4" finished circle (cut center circle fabric 4.5"). Make sure that your circle is centered in the 6.5” square, and applique in place using your favorite method of appliqué.

For the remaining partial circle blocks, cut 3 background fabric squares 7” x  7”.  On each square place a 4.5” finished circle making sure you are centered on the square.  This is important as each block will be cut.  Applique in place. Cut each finished 7” square in half vertically and then horizontally.  You now have four identical blocks from each 7” square.

Construct the block in the same manner as described above.

This block finishes at 12" x 12"(12.5" x 12.5" unfinished).

Thanks for joining me at the seashore! I'm looking forward to seeing your Summer Sun blocks. Feel free to tag me on Instagram and tag your block #summersunblock.

Kristin Esser

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