You’re officially hitting the halfway mark in the Mouse Trap Block of the Month Quilt Along. Once you’ve stitched up your Half Moons quilt blocks, you’ll only have six more blocks to go!
Fantastic job on piecing your Apex blocks! Lining up those triangles can take a minute, but hopefully, the tips I shared came in handy for you! So far in the Mouse Trap BOM, you’ve learned:
- How to piece quarter circles in the Rainbow block.
- How to trim up those adorable half rectangle triangles in the Triangle Points block
- How to work with templates and piecing angles in the Sticks block.
- Traditional piecing in the Mosaic block.
- Learning how to line up triangle pieces with the Apex block.
This month will take the quilty challenge to a new level and will require you to keep some previous block’s tips in mind. Read on to find out more! 😊
Today I’m covering:
- The story behind the Half Moons quilt blocks
- Composition play to be had
- Quilting technique featured
- Materials required
- Top Tips
- Caution
- Monthly giveaway details
Let’s dive in!
The Mouse Trap BOM Quilt Pattern is available for instant download!
This post contains affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, if you click through and make a purchase, I may receive a commission.
Story Behind the Half Moons Quilt Blocks
Are you a stargazer? The night sky didn’t captivate me as much as it did after I met my hubz. He’s fascinated by space, and I can’t help but get excited by other’s passion. In recent years, we’ve introduced the habit of celebrating the full moon. I use the term celebration loosely here, as it’s not like we throw a party every time there’s a full moon – ha!
Rather, we simply take a moment that night to stop and appreciate the view. Sometimes Mother Nature doesn’t cooperate and the clouds get in the way, but more often than not, we’re treated to a lovely sky view.
I share this story to give you insight as to why it’s not so surprising that moons – in all their phases – tend to inspire my quilt designs!
For more curvy inspiration, check out
Composition Play
While thinking about composition elements that you could play with to add some softness, curvaceousness, and flow, the best way to achieve that is through playing with curves.
Straight lines are glorious for their ability to add structure and linearity to your quilt composition, but too much of a good thing can feel rigid and stifling. This is where circles, half circles, and quarter circles (like you did in the Rainbow block) can soften your design.
When I think of curvy inspiration, I often look to nature as a guide. And since I love watching the moon, I figured the half-moon phases were the perfect shape to incorporate in the Mouse Trap quilt.
Plus, learning how to piece half-circles will challenge your piecing skills and level up your quilting capabilities!
So, clearly, I couldn’t skip them, right?!
Quilting Technique Featured
While you’ve already tackled piecing quarter circles in your Rainbow block, the half-circle shape will challenge you even more.
Why?
Because you need to align a much longer bias edge, and it tends to like to stretch out on you.
So, the challenge will be to keep your alignment, maintain an accurate ¼” seam allowance, and make sure you’re not pulling/tugging on your fabric. The latter is especially challenging, as we tend to grip/pull on one of our pieces more than the other.
Two Versions
This month, the Half Moons Block pattern includes two versions for you to choose from.
The first has the half moons stacked on top of one another, while the second version has them split apart at opposite ends of the block. You could even flip the direction of the half-moons to add even more layout options to your Mouse Trap quilt composition.
The way you piece the half-moons is exactly the same, the difference between the two is how the block is stitched together.
Be sure to pay attention to the version you’re making to stay on track with your quilt layout.
Materials & Notions
Here’s what you’ll need to have on hand to stitch up the Half Moons quilt block:
- Half Moons quilt block pattern – part of the Mouse Trap Quilt Pattern
- Mouse Trap Acrylic Ruler Set
- Fabrics in colours:
- Piecing thread
- Sewing machine
- Cutting mat
- Rotary cutter with these blades
- Ruler – long
- Ruler – short
- Small scissors
- Pin cushion
- Pins
- Iron
- Wool pressing mat – Use code SHANNONFRASERBOM2025 to save 15% on your entire purchase at The Felt Store Canada or The Felt Store USA. One use per customer, offer cannot be combined with other discounts. Expires June 30, 2025.
- Tailor’s clapper
- Spray bottle
To make the original pattern cover version you can find the exact kit featuring the same AGF Pure Solids in this quilt kit from Sew Curated.
Get the AGF Pure Solids dupes from Sew Curated for the colours I’ll be stitching my Mouse Trap quilt in 2025.
Top Tips
As you get comfortable piecing curves, I encourage you to use pins in the beginning. I love sewing curves without pins, but I think it’s super helpful when you’re just starting out to use pins.
This will help you visualize how the pieces of fabric come together and will help you understand how to align those pieces at the machine.
The Mouse Trap Quilt Pattern shows you how to piece your curves with the half-circle on the bottom. If that feels awkward or you’re not getting the results you want, try flipping it so that the half-circle is on top. Some of my students prefer stitching their curves with this approach. There’s no right or wrong way here, just what feels best to you.
This is where participating in a skill builder is super fun as it gives you the chance to play around with your stitching approach to see what works best!
Caution
If you notice one of your pieces is extending beyond the other, that’s a clear indication that you’ve pulled on your fabric a little too much.
The best way to avoid this is to allow the machine to do the work. You just want to help gently guide your piece at the machine to ensure that your presser foot hugs that outer edge.
June 2025 Mouse Trap BOM Giveaway
A big component of the Mouse Trap Quilt is encouraging you to play.
- Play with the blocks.
- Play with your composition.
- Play with your colours.
To help out with the latter, I reached out to my friends at PreQuilt to give you the chance to win a Basic Subscription to PreQuilt so you can digitally colour your Mouse Trap Quilt to your heart’s content!
To enter the giveaway, you must:
- Be following @prequilt and @shannonfraserdesigns on Instagram.
- Post a photo on Instagram of your Half Moons block(s) between June 15, 2025, and July 14, 2025, at 11:59 pm Eastern.
- Instagram account must be public.
- Tag @prequilt and @shannonfraserdesigns
- Include the hashtags #MouseTrapBOM #MouseTrapQuilt
This month’s giveaway is open internationally
The winner is to be announced in the July 15, 2025, Mouse Trap BOM Newsletter!
Bravo on stitching up your quilt blocks! The fun of this quilt along is there’s absolutely no need to rush! You have the entire month to piece your Half Moons block(s) and share them on the ‘gram or in our Facebook group.
If you haven’t already, be sure to get your Mouse Trap BOM Quilt Pattern and sign up for the Mouse Trap BOM Newsletter so you don’t miss any of the quilt-along details 😊 For added help, take the optional Mouse Trap Course to see how each of the quilt blocks are made!
Happy stitching!
xo
Shannon
PS Don’t forget to share your Half Moons quilt block(s) on the ‘gram to be entered into the giveaway!
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