Welcome to Blockheads 6 – Week 24: “Mod Water Wheel” by Sarah Thomas!

A Joyful Finish to Our Blockheads 6 Journey

It’s a happy and bittersweet day — the final block of Blockheads 6 has arrived! For our grand finale, we’re celebrating Block 24: Mod Water Wheel, designed by Sarah Thomas of Sariditty. This bold 18″ block makes a striking conclusion to our series, full of movement and color that perfectly captures the creative spirit of Blockheads.

You can find this week’s pattern here: BH6 – Block 24 – Mod Water Wheel by Sarah Thomas of SARIDITTY

Follow along with Sarah!

Instagram: @sariditty
https://www.sariditty.com/

If you’re new to Blockheads, here are a couple of quick things to know:

• This is a free quilt-along. No sign-ups are required. Just download the pattern and you’re ready to sew!
• The PDF patterns will be posted on the Moda blog and in the official Facebook group every Wednesday by 8:00 AM CDT.
• You can also bookmark this page: Blockheads 6 main page to find a convenient list of all the patterns as they are released.
• If you’d like to sign up for our blog newsletter to get blog posts delivered to your inbox, you can sign up here: Blog Newsletter Sign-Up 
• If you want to sew along with a virtual Blockheads community, head over to Facebook and join our official Moda Blockheads Facebook group. Our group is an active and vibrant community of 82,000 quilters and counting! It’s a great place to be inspired and share pictures of your Blockheads progress.
• If Instagram is where you prefer to hang out, be sure to follow us (@modafabrics) and the hashtags #modablockheads and #modablockheads6 to see the latest blocks from our designers and other Blockheads.

(Looking for a little more information about Blockheads? You can check out the Blockheads 6 archive HERE.)

Our friend Sarah Huechteman joins us one last time to guide you through each step of this modern, double-pinwheel-inspired block.

A Grand Finale Block to Finish Strong

We’re going out in style with another 18″ block, and while the size might seem intimidating at first, Sarah reminds us that it’s the perfect opportunity to show off large-scale prints or create a coordinating pillow or tote bag. (Because really—can you ever have too many tote bags for quilt retreats?)

Download your pattern and coloring page, and consider using fabric swatches to plan your color placement. Careful pairing makes all the difference in how the overlapping “water wheel” effect comes to life.

Making the Units

This block is all about half-square triangles—lots of them! With the series finale, we’ve all become experts at these by now. Start with 5½″ squares, sew a scant ¼″ on either side of your marked diagonal, and then trim each HST to 5″ square.

Before assembling, pay close attention to your fabric pairings—the combinations you choose will control how the inner and outer “pinwheels” appear once the block is laid out.

Adding the Corners

For the four outer corners, Sarah adds one final touch: small stitch-and-flip squares on each HST. Be sure to place these on the correct corners according to your diagram, since the direction determines the visual flow of the pinwheel effect.

Once those are sewn and flipped, your block layout will start to shine.

Assembly and Finishing

You’ll notice this block can be pieced together as a 16-patch layout. The pattern suggests making four four-patch units, but Sarah prefers to sew in rows—just like assembling a mini quilt. Either method works beautifully!

Press your seams in alternating directions for smooth joins, then press the final seams open for a flat finish.

The result? A stunning double-pinwheel effect that feels like movement in fabric form. Mod Water Wheel makes a spectacular finishing touch to your quilt — or, if you can’t bear to tuck it away, turn it into an eye-catching pillow.

Pro Tip: When working with large-scale blocks, pressing strategy matters. Alternate seam directions in each row, then press your final seams open — it keeps those big blocks flat and perfectly square, even with all those intersecting points.

Ready to make your final Blockheads 6 block? Download the pattern and follow along with Sarah on this week’s video tutorial!

Thank you to Sarah Thomas of Sariditty for this dynamic, joyful block — and to all of you who’ve sewn along with us from start to finish. We’ve loved sharing each week with you and can’t wait to see your finished quilts!

— The Moda Team