Coffee Cups Quilt
by Debby Kratovil

The Coffee Cups quilt block first appeared in the Kansas City Star newspaper series of quilt blocks on January 12, 1935. It is a combination pieced and appliqué block. Quilters today have the option of paper piecing the block in whatever size they desire as the first 330 of the blocks (1928-1935) are archived on a CD, packaged with Quilt Pro Software System's Block Factory. There are 1,068 blocks that were eventually published in the Star, from 1928 to 1961 when the series ended. I have enjoyed redrafting these blocks as my quest to computerize the entire set finally began to take shape in the summer of 1999. The staff of the Kansas City Star has partnered with Quilt Pro to bring to today's quilters a way for us to recreate these blocks in any size, many also having the option of paper piecing. The Coffee Cups block is offered here in paper piecing format for you to start your own Kansas City Star collection.

For more information about this CD and how to order, click here!

Click here for the free 5" Coffee Cup paper piecing pattern. It is in Adobe Portable Document Format (pdf).

For more free paper piecing patterns from the Kansas City Star, click here.

Block Size: 5"
Quilt Size: 18" x 18" (without border)

Materials
Scraps of nine different prints
1/8 yard of several solids
1/4 yard fabric for binding
Optional border print
Backing fabric
Batting

1. Trace or photocopy our Coffee Cups pattern nine times.
2. Make a template for the coffee cup handle and cut out nine handles from the solid fabrics which you have chosen to coordinate with the prints. Allow for a 1/4" seam allowance along the two ends as this will be tucked in between Pieces #1 and 4 and Piece #6. Keep the handle free when you are stitching Pieces #6 and 9 to Piece #11. When the block is pieced and the paper is removed from the back, appliqué the remaining curved edge of the handle to the background fabric.
3. Make nine of the Coffee Cups block.
4. For each block's sashing, cut four 1" x 5-1/2" strips of coordinating solid fabrics. Also cut four 1" x 1" squares for the setting units.
5. Following the Coffee Cups quilt diagram, arrange your blocks and stitch together with the sashings and setting squares.
6. The addition of a 2-3" border is optional.
7. Layer the quilt top, batting, and backing. Quilt as desired. Cut 2" strips of binding fabric, fold in half, wrong sides together and stitch to the raw edges of the quilt top. Fold over to the back of the quilt and stitch in place.>


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