I can not find anything on the history of the Air Castle block.
Pattern sizes listed here will create a 12″ by 12″ finished block size.
Small Triangles: Cut one square of each color:
Cut one each of 5 1/4 inch blocks. Then cut in an X pattern to create four equal sized triangles from each square.
Large Triangles: Cut two 4 7/8 inch squares of the lighter fabric, and four 4 7/8 inch squares of the darker fabric.
Cut each of the six squares diagonally to create a total of four light triangles and eight dark triangles.
Cut one 4 1/2 inch center square.
Note: I have seen two variations on Air Castle. The basic version I have here, and a more complex one that has a square set on its corners within the center square.
To assemble the block
The Air Castle block is easily assembled in an assembly line fashion. Begin by sewing the smaller triangles together as shown to create four two tone triangles.
Next sew four of the dark triangles to each of the two tone triangles to create four blocks as shown in figure 1.
Fig. 1
Sew remaining four dark triangles to the four light triangles. Creating four squares as shown in figure 2.
Fig. 2
Pieces are then sewn in sets of three across as indicated:
Two piece block, dark triangle in lower right.
Three piece block, dark triangle in lower left.
Two piece block, dark triangle in lower left.
Finished the section will look like:
Next assemble the center section:
Three piece block, dark triangle in lower right.
Single piece block.
Three piece block, dark triangle in upper left.
The finished section will look like this:
And finally assemble the bottom section:
Two piece block, dark triangle in upper right.
Three piece block, dark triangle in upper right.
Two piece block, dark triangle in upper left.
The finished section will look like this:
You will now have three sections that look like the following illustration:
Now, sew those three sets together to create the Air Castle block:
Additional resources for the Air Castle block:
Create a quilt using the Air Castle block with the design tool at Quiltivate. Color in the block using their flash color program, then organize the blocks into a quilt pattern. Add borders to your quilt and order your finished pattern. (Patterns cost $9 as of the time this was written.)
Quiltaholics has a good tutorial for the Air Castle block, including sample quilts that use the block.
This block is called Castle in the Air at Quilter’s Cache, which has a good tutorial on creating the block. Including one, two, three, four different examples of this block in use.
A very lovely example of what you can create with this single block can be found in Jody’s Quilts on Webshots – a very nice multi color quilt that reminds me of a garden. Look close to spot the Air Castle block. (HINT: If you’re having trouble, try singling it out in just the upper left corner.)
