Prairie Points Part 2 – Folding

This is the second installment of the Prairie Point Tutorial series.

• Prairie points part 1 – Sizing and counting
• Prairie points part 2 – Folding
• Prairie points part 3 – Distributing them evenly
• Prairie points part 4 – Trimming and finishing the back

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(Note: if you’ve been following this blog for at least a few months, this part of the series will seem familiar!  I’m repeating some info to gather all the prairie point information together.)

I’ll share how to fold two different styles of prairie points.  Whether you choose the first or second method, the information from Prairie Points Part 1, about sizing and calculating how many points you’ll need, will apply.



Prairie Point #1

Step 1. Start with a square, wrong side of fabric facing up. I’m using a 3 1/2” square, which yields a 1 1/2” tall finished point.



Step 2. Fold the square in half once on the diagonal.  Press the fold.



Step 3. Fold in half again. Press the fold.  I like to hit it with a little steam to help set the folds. There you go.  One prairie point.


All the raw edges are now together on the long side of the triangles, which is the same length as the side of the square you started out with (in this case 3 1/2”).

Once this triangle in sewn onto something with a 1/4 seam along the long side, the finished base (long side) will be 3 ” long. To illustrate, in the picture below pretend the ruler is the quilt edge, with the prairie point seam allowance taken up in the seam.

And you can see that the vertical distance from point to finished base is 1 1/2”.

You can lay out your prairie points in various ways.

Alternate triangle on top and triangle on bottom

One point underneath the previous triangle, one point on top of the next one.

One point tucked into the folds of the previous triangle, and so on down the line.

And just when you thought I had gotten sidetracked with layouts and forgotten, here’s a second method for folding the points.

Prairie Point #2

Step 1. Start with a square, wrong side of fabric facing up.  This one is also a 3 1/2” square.

Step 2. Fold in half along the vertical to form a rectangle.


Step 3.  The top of the rectangle should be the folded edge. Fold  one corner down to reach the middle of the bottom edge.  Press the fold.

Step 4. Fold the remaining corner down.  Press.  Again, I like to use a little steam to set the fold.  The raw edges should now all be along the long edge of the triangle that will be hidden in the seam allowance when you attach the prairie point to your quilt.


One side of the prairie point will have folds down the middle (above right), while the other side will be a plain triangle (below).  The triangle measures 3 1/2” along the long side and 1 3/4” high.  That will be 3” long and 1 1/2”” high finished when sewn to your quilt with a 1/4” seam allowance.

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For more information about prairie points, check out the rest of the Prairie Point tutorial series:

• Prairie points part 1 – Sizing and counting
• Prairie points part 2 – Folding
• Prairie points part 3 – Distributing them evenly 
• Prairie points part 4 – Trimming and finishing the back