Spinner Quilt Block - a PolyDraw Tutorial using Electric Quilt 8

When I first drafted this block, I struggled with what to call it.

Depending on how you look at it, the shapes could be flowers. Or maybe umbrellas.

But the more I worked with the design, the more it reminded me of a set of colorful spinning pinwheels—so Spinner felt like the perfect name.

One of my favorite design surprises happens when the blocks come together in the quilt layout. The corners of the blocks meet to form eight-pointed stars, creating a secondary pattern that almost feels like magic.

​Those unexpected stars quickly became my favorite part of the design.

---

Drafting the Spinner Block

In Electric Quilt 8, open the Block Worktable and select:

New Block → Pieced  → PolyDraw

Start by selecting the Kaleidoscope Grid. Then use the PolyLine tool to create the patches within one wedge of the block.

For this design, set:

• Dimension 1: 8
• Dimension 2: 8

​This provides a nice balanced set of wedge sections to build the spinner shape.

Kaleidoscope Piecing in PolyDraw

---

Drafting the Corner Units

For the corner sections, switch to the Rectangle Grid and change the grid dimensions to 48 × 48.

From there, draw the star point using two triangles.

One of the advantages of PolyDraw is that you can switch grid properties while drafting the same block, giving you a lot of flexibility when creating more complex shapes.

Once all the patches are drawn, color the block to highlight the spinner effect.

Corner Piecing Using the Rectangle Grid in PolyDraw

Drafted Spinner Block

---

Drafting  the Setting Triangle Blocks

Next, draft the blocks that will be used for the setting triangles.

Creating a half-square triangle unit, filling the triangle with the patches needed to continue the spinner design.

With PolyDraw, you can easily:

• Delete unnecessary patches
• Add new patches to complete the design

​
This makes it simple to adapt the block to a half-triangle shape.

Setting Triangles drafted using PolyDraw

---

Drafting the Corner Triangle Blocks

For the corner triangles, draft a quarter-square triangle unit and fill it with patches.
​
A quick shortcut: you can modify the half-triangle block you already drafted to create the corner blocks, saving a bit of time.

Corner Triangles Drafted using PolyDraw

---

Drafting the Quilt

To assemble the quilt, move to the Quilt Worktable and create a new On Point quilt.

On the Layout tab, set:

• Blocks: 2 × 2
• Block Size: 12"

On the Borders tab, add two borders:

• Border 1: 2½" Long Horizontal
• Border 2: ½" Mitered

​Then go to the Design tab and place your blocks, rotating them as needed to create the spinner effect and reveal the eight-pointed stars at the intersections.

Spinner Quilt Created using EQ8

---

Spinner Video Tutorial

For a full walkthrough of the drafting and quilt design process, watch the video tutorial below.

---

Construction Tips

If you decide to make this quilt, I recommend foundation piecing the blocks.

In Print & Export, choose Foundation and select Start Over and Resection.

For the cleanest construction:

• Section each Kaleidoscope wedge as its own unit
• Create two sections for each corner

​This keeps the units manageable and helps maintain accurate points.

Proposed Foundation Sectioning for Spinner Blocks

---

​​​Happy quilting.

​Kari

Join the On Point Quilter weekly newsletter and receive regular tips and inspiration on using Electric Quilt 8 along with the  Free 12 Top
Tips for EQ8 video guide.