Contrary Wife Quilt Block Tutorial

Apr 4

I always referred to this block as Cat’s Cradle but when I looked it up to write this post I discovered this one is closer to a block called Contrary Wife. I have no idea the history of the origin of this block but will come back to edit that in if I discover anything. Being a contrary wife could surely be intended as a snooty cringe worthy insult yet from another perspective a compliment. Regardless of the sus name the block is very fun and versatile. Contrary Wife offers many quilt design possibilities and orienting the block in an on-point setting expands this versatility even more. The block is a 9-patch meaning it’s made up of 9 patchwork pieces and the only shapes used to create it are squares and half square triangles making this a good one for beginners.

Difficulty rating: Easy

Finished block size: 9”

The block I made for this tutorial is a 9” finished block so the squares and HST’s are 3” (finished). The cutting list is for one block. You can make the block in any size you desire simply by changing the size of the squares and HST’s. If for example you would like to make a 12” block, the squares and HST’s would need to finish at 4”. If you wanted to make a 6” block, the squares and HST’s would need to finish at 2”. My HST tutorial explains how to make quilt blocks and HST’s in any custom size you desire so be sure to check that out if you’re unsure about this.

Cutting List

4- 3.5” green squares (these are the corner squares)

1- 3.5” blue square (center square)

2- 4” green squares (used to make the HST’s)

2- 4” pink squares (used to make the HST’s)

Make HST’s

Pair together the contrasting HST squares. Place the 2 (darker) green color 4” squares on your work surface, then place the (lighter) pink 4” squares on top of them aligning all the corners and edges. Use a quarter inch seam ruler to mark lines 1/4” from the diagonal center of each square. Refer to my HST tutorial to finish making the HST’s (begin where it says “Assemble HST’s) and trim them as shown in the tutorial to their unfinished size of 3.5”. You will end up with 4 HST’s in the end.

Now orient the squares and HST’s on your work surface as shown below.

Sew the pieces together into 3 horizontal rows and press the seams open or to the side if you prefer.

Sew the rows together being sure to match the seams by pinning. If you don’t now how to match seams I explained it in this blog post. Press the seams open or to the side if you prefer.

And there you have yourself a contrary wife block! Below you can see mine with all of the previous blocks I’ve shared for The Quilt Block Library. I think they will eventually end up cozied all together in a cute little block sampler quilt or something of the sorts.