Crimson Christmas Quilt Along: Week 3 - Adding the 4 1/2" Diamonds

Welcome to Week 3 of the Crimson Christmas Quilt Along!

👉🏽 Here are links to the content for each week of the quilt along:
Week 1
Week 2
Week 4
Week 5
Week 6

Before digging into week 3, you need to hear how proud I am of you! No matter where you're at in the process of your Crimson Christmas quilt, you're right where you should be. AND you're doing an amazing job!

In Week 3, we'll cut and piece the 4 1/2" diamond pieces that we need for the next section of petals for our red, mauve, and white blooms. As we cut and sew our pieces together, we'll pay close attention to grainlines and learn more about why that matters.

This week, I’ll be sharing videos and info on:

Cutting and organizing the 4 ½" diamonds
Identifying and aligning the straight and bias grainlines
Color placement and arrangement options
Matching intersecting seams
Pressing bulky seam intersections

Happy Quilting!
💜Cristy

Fabrics & Supplies:

This week, we'll be cutting our fabrics with a couple of different rulers.

Here's a list of fabrics & supplies you'll need for Week 3:

Supplies:

Creative Grids 60º Diamond Ruler by Krista Moser
MicroFine Glue Tips
Elmer's Washable School Glue
Rotary Cutter and Mat

Note: I'll share optional supplies throughout the quilt along

If you need to order anything for the quilt along, I put all of the supplies from my shop in a handy Quilt Along category to make them easy to find, plus you can get 20% off with the code: CCQAL2025

Crimson Christmas Quilt Along: Week 3

This week, we'll cover steps 6, 12, 14, and 16/16b in the pattern. In week 4, we'll come back to the steps we skipped.

Pattern - Step 6: Cutting the 4 ½" Strips into Diamonds

Let's jump right in to Step 6 on page 6 of your Crimson Christmas pattern.

We're going to use all of the 4 ½" strips from your cut strips. You should have 4 ½" strips in three shades of red, mauve, and white (or three shades of the colors you're using for your own version). Here's a checklist for you:

Red 4 ½" Strips: (one of each shade)

R3 - first medium red
R4 - second medium red
R6 - second dark red

Mauve 4 ½" Strips: (one of each shade)

M2 - second light mauve
M3 - first medium mauve
M6 - second dark mauve

White 4 ½" Strips: (one of each shade)

W1 - white
W3 - first grayish white
W5 - tannish white

After you have all of your 4 ½" strips handy, you'll use the 60º Diamond Ruler to cut them into 4 ½" diamonds. Each strip need to be unfolded and cut with the pretty side up. We're going to pay close attention to our grainlines this week. Before making your first cut, take a few minutes to watch this first video - you'll learn some really helpful info on why we're paying closer attention to the grainlines and you'll get some great tips to give you the best results possible when cutting your 4 ½" strips.

Next, it's time to cut these strips into 4 ½" diamonds.

Unfold each strip and press out the crease - use a little steam or starch.
Unfolded and with the right side up (or pretty side up 😉), lay the strip on your cutting mat - you can stack them 2-3 deep to cut more than one at a time (each should be unfolded - I tell you all about why this is so important in the next video)
Cut off the selvage at a 60º angle with the 60º Diamond Ruler (also in the video)
Slide the ruler down the strip and align the new, fresh cut with the 4 ½" diamond line on the ruler (in the video too)
Repeat to cut all of your 4 ½" diamond pieces

Here's the total number of 4 ½" diamonds that you'll cut from each color and shade (refer to the top of page 7 in the pattern):

(18) Red 4 ½" Diamonds:

(6) R3 - first medium red
(6) R4 - second medium red
(6) R6 - second dark red

(11) Mauve 4 ½" Diamonds:

(4) M2 - second light mauve
(4) M3 - second medium mauve
(3) M6 - second dark mauve

(16) White 4 ½" Diamonds:

(5) W1 - white
(6) W3 - first grayish white
(5) W5 - tannish white

Fabric Labels for Subcuts - corrected version

Oops! I found a typo on the subcut fabric labels. Here's a corrected version of the PDF of the Fabric Labels for the subcut pieces (click on the image below to open the PDF)

Pattern - Step 12: Making the Full Diamond Units

Skip over to Step 12 on page 9 of your pattern (don't worry, we'll come back to steps 7-11 in week 4).

This is when we get to start adding the 4 ½" diamond "petals" onto the pieced diamond units that we made in week 2. Adding on the diamonds builds the next layer of petals and you'll see your blooms grow before your eyes!

Color Placement:

Take a little time to arrange and rearrange your 4 ½" diamonds and pieced diamond units to see how your fabrics are working together. Each full diamond unit includes:

(1) 4 ½" pieced diamond unit (made in week 2)
(3) 4 ½" diamonds

This is a good time to change things up if you want to try something new or different with the shades of your fabrics. We're starting with lighter colors/shades in the center and are adding on those darker colors to draw our eye out to the edges of the bloom, just as if it were opening and growing.

Color placement for the red blooms is pretty straight forward. The mauve and white partial blooms are a little different because they have partial units within them. The next three videos will help you with color placement for each of the fill diamond units. Plus, I share some tips for keeping your units organized that will help keep your fabrics just where you want them in your quilt. This will be extra helpful when we work on the right and left-facing partial units for the white partial blooms in step 14.

Each Here's a list of the full diamond units to make for each bloom:

Red Bloom - (6) full units
Mauve Bloom - (3) full units (keep the other parts & pieces together to use in step 35)
White Blooms - (4) full units (keep the other parts & pieces handy for step 14)

Preparing to Sew the Diamond Units:

The full diamond units will come together in two rows. Here are the rows to join for each of the bloom colors:

Red Blooms (make 6 of each):

Row 1 - (1) 4 ½" pieced diamond unit + (1) R3 4 ½" diamond
Row 2 - (1) R4 4 ½" diamond + (1) R6 4 ½" diamond

Each of these rows are sewn on the bias grain. Align the edges using the clipped tips to help you match up the edges. I prep each seam by glue basting the edges together. Glue basting these bias edges not only helps with sewing accuracy, but it also prevents the biases from shifting out of places as you sew. In the next round of videos, I'll take you through my prep process for the diamond units in each bloom.

If glue basting isn't your thing, no worries! Use your favorite prep method (pins, clips, or aligning as you sew) to make your full diamond units.

Mauve Blooms (make 3 of each):

Row 1 - (1) 4 ½" pieced diamond unit + (1) M3 4 ½" diamond
Row 2 - (1) M2 4 ½" diamond + (1) M6 4 ½" diamond

White Blooms (make 3 of each):

Row 1 - (1) 4 ½" pieced diamond unit + (1) W5 4 ½" diamond
Row 2 - (1) W1 4 ½" diamond + (1) W3 4 ½" diamond

Sewing the Diamond Units:

Next, you'll sew the diamond units together and press the seams open. This video just shows me sewing the mauve diamond units, but it's the same for the red and the white.

Joining the Diamond Rows:

Now it's time to sew the two rows together to make our full diamond units. And this is when you're going to be so, so happy with all of that prep you did earlier on. And paying close attention to the bias and straight grains will really pay off here.

These two rows will come together at a diagonal intersection. Just the words "diagonal intersection" can sound scary, but I have some really helpful tips for matching your seams and creating a beautiful intersection.

First, align the two rows with right sides together. The flat tips will match with the sides of the diamond pieces (clipping all of those tips is so worth it!) and the top and bottom edges will match
- Oh no! What if they don't match?! Not to worry! That happened to me too (while I was filming the videos). I walk you through how to fix alignment issues in the video for the red diamond rows at about 7:22 into the video. And again in the video for the white diamond rows at about 3:51.
Next, you'll see that the intersecting seams go in opposite directions
They should cross at the 1/4" spot on the seam allowance which is where your seam will cross over it
You can double check the alignment by rolling back the seam allowance a bit to see if they criss cross at the 1/4"
I HIGHLY recommend glue or pin basting at the seam intersection to prevent shifting when you sew.

When you sew this final seam, you'll have two straight grains coming together on the top half of the seam, and a bias + a straight grain coming together on the bottom half. Be sure to sew with the BIAS SIDE DOWN. This means that the pieced diamond unit should be on the bottom, facing the feed dogs. Sewing the seam with the bias down allows the seams to work with each other by preventing stretching, and the intersections will come together more accurately.

Sew the seams for each of the full diamond units for each bloom. Press the seams open, and voila! They're done!

Next, you'll put the partial diamond units together for the while blooms.

You'll find my video on pressing the last seam open down below, after the instructions/video for making the left and right-facing diamond units.

Pattern - Steps 14 & 16: Making the Left and Right-Facing Diamond Units for the White Blooms

Let's hop back over to Steps 14 & 16 on pages 10-11 of your pattern (we'll work on steps 13 & 15 in week 4) where you'll continue making the partial diamond units for the white blooms. You'll make a total of three partial diamond units:

(1) left-facing and
(2) right-facing

The partial white bloom at the top of the quilt will need one of the right-facing partial diamond units, and the white bloom at the bottom will need one right and one left-facing unit. You'll use the remaining parts and pieces when you get to step 35, along with those mauve parts and pieces. I'll walk you through sorting and organizing your right and left-facing partial diamond units in the next video - it's really helpful and will take some of the mystery out of making each of the partial diamond units.

Be sure to separate the white split triangle from step 4. You'll use one part to make your left-facing unit and the other to make one of the right-facing units.

Step 16b:

Next, trim one of the extra scrap ends left from the white split triangles (from Step 4). This will be used to in the second right-facing unit. Here are the steps to follow, plus I walk you through it in the video below

First, line up the bottom on the white scrap triangle with the 4 ½" triangle line on the 60º Diamond Ruler.
Then, line up the long side with the solid black line to the left of the dashed line. This is really important because it builds in the seam allowance. If you line it up along the dashed line, you'll remove the seam allowance.
Trim along the right edge.
Clip off the tip at the top.
Realign to clip off the point at the bottom edge. I go over this in the video below.

Step 16 continued - The Left and Right-Facing Units:

Next, you'll join those partial split triangles to the partial 2 ½" diamond units (from Step 2) for each of the left and right-facing units. Here's what you should have handy:

For the Left-facing Unit: (1) W4 partial split triangle + (1) W1+W2+W6 2 ½" triangle unit
For (2) Right-facing Units: (2) W1 partial split triangle + (2) W1+W2+W3 2 ½" triangle units

Use the Color Placement Chart to help you arrange and join these units along the correct sides. The seam on the left-facing unit will join the W4 split triangle to the W6 2 ½" triangle. And the seams on the right-facing unit will join the W1 split triangle to the W3 2 ½" triangle. The video below will walk you through each step as well.

For the other section of the right and left-facing diamond units, we'll join two 4 ½" diamonds. Here's what you'll need:

For the Left-facing Unit: (1) W1 4 ½" diamond + (1) W3 4 ½" diamond
For (2) Right-facing Units: (2) W5 4 ½" diamonds + (2) W3 4 ½" diamonds

Next, sew the seams and press them open. Here's a quick sewing video with some tips to keep the points of the triangles and diamonds from shifting and getting pulled into the feed dogs.

After pressing the seams open, you'll make each of the left and right-facing units with two of the sections you just made. Here's a handy list of which units go together:

Left-facing Unit: (1) partial pieced diamond unit + (1) W1+W3 4 ½" diamond unit
Right-facing Unit - make 2: (1) partial pieced diamond unit + (1) W5+W3 4 ½" diamond unit

Sew the two sections together that make each of the left and right-facing units and press the seams open. I walk you through each step in the next video.

Pressing the Final Seam - yay!

You made it! It's time to press the final seam on each of your diamond units (full and partial) open. I like to use the Hera Marker to help flatten the intersection in the middle. To make your seam as flat as possible, hold your iron in place for a few seconds to allow the heat to penetrate through all of the layers of fabric as you press along the seam. My next video will take you through my own process - I hope it helps!

Plus, I have a bonus video for you! When I made my first Crimson Christmas quilt, I pressed all of the seams to the side. In general, I prefer pressing to the side, but it made making this quilt more difficult than it needed to be. I share even more about pressing seams in the video, and you'll get to see a side-by-side comparison of seams that I pressed open and pressed to the side.

Laying out the Diamond Units:

You've already accomplished SO much! Take a few minutes to layout all of your diamond units to see how they look together. Enjoy your progress and success!