The monkey wrench quilt block, the churn dash, the shoo fly, this quilt block seems to go by no less than 2847 different names, but whatever you like to call it, this quilt block is a versatile and classic block to get started with as a beginner. 

Skill level: Beginner

The monkey wrench is commonly seen over the centuries simply because it was so easy for beginners to get started with!

When girls were starting to learn quilting from their mothers and grandmothers, a monkey wrench quilt block was a natural stepping stone used in quilt blocks to teach different basic techniques.

With only two different components that make it up, by making one quilt, you were able to practice the two techniques over and over again to perfection in no time.

And because of the shape, it was great for hiding any blocks didn’t quite line up right, a common occurrence in beginner quilts. 

So today I have a tutorial of this block for you in two different sizes, a 6 inch and a 12 inch finished block.

It’s quick, it’s easy, and super cute for any beginners out there, so let’s get started!

Monkey Wrench Quilt Block Tutorial

Yardage requirements for 1 block

1/8 yard colored fabric

1/8 yard background fabric

Cutting for 6 inch block 

2 – 3-1/4″ inch squares colored fabric

2 – 3-1/4″ inch squares background fabric 

1 – 2″ square background fabric

1 – 1-5/8” x 9” rectangle of each colored and background fabric, sewn together and sub cut into 2″ units

Cutting for 12 inch block

2 – 5-1/2″ squares colored fabric

2 – 5-1/2″ squares background fabric 

1 – 3″ square background fabric

1 – 2-3/4” x 16” rectangle of each colored and background fabric, sewn together and sub cut into 3-1/2″ units

Components of a monkey wrench block

The beautiful thing about a monkey wrench block is its simplicity. It is only made of two smaller pieced components which makes it a great quilt block for any beginner to try. 

The monkey wrench is based on a 9-patch assembly, which only means that it is a tic tac toe grid of 9 blocks sewn together to make a single large block. 

The very corners of the blocks are made of half square triangles and the middle slot of the outside edges are just a square block split in half by a single seam. 

The center piece of the 9 patch is the easiest component of all, which is just a square of background fabric!

There are some awesome quick piecing techniques that make this block piece together super fast so today we are going to go over the following techniques:

• Half square triangles 2 at a time 
• Strip piecing 

This one is going to go so quick you’ll find yourself making them left and right.

Half Square Triangles (HST)

For those who may not have ever made a half square triangle before, a half square triangle is a square block that is split in half diagonally to make two right triangles. 

To start making our half square triangles, take the lighter of the two fabrics and set it right side down on the table in front of you. 

Using a ruler, draw a line on the wrong side of the fabric connecting one corner to the opposite corner. Repeat the process on the second square of the same fabric. 

Pair each of the light fabrics up with a colored fabric and place them right sides together. Pin along your drawn line. 

Time to sew the pieces together! The only catch is that the line you’ve drawn is not going to be the line you sew on. It is going to serve as a guide line and we’ll want to sew our line 1/4” away from your drawn line. 

Once you’ve sewn down one side of the drawn line, turn them around and sew a second seam 1/4” away from the opposite side of the drawn guide line. 

Once you have both seams sewn, take your patches to the cutting mat and cut the units apart by cutting directly on the drawn line. 

Open up the units and press them flat! For extra tips and tricks, be sure to check out our full half square triangle tutorial here!

These cutting requirements give you a little bit of wiggle room in making your half square triangles, so be sure to trim them down to the exact size needed for your quilt block.

Strip Pieced Units

This technique I find so fun and satisfying: strip piecing. 

What is strip piecing?

Strip piecing is a technique that allows you to sew all of your fabrics together before ever cutting your pieces out. 

This allows you to make a single seam and chop it up into the smaller pieces you need for the project instead of cutting out 8 small rectangles and making 4 individual seams.

By strip piecing you have a better chance at being more accurate because your fabric pieces are larger, and all of the pieces you’ll end up with will be the same dimension because you made them all in the same motion. 

So how do we get started?

Taking the two long rectangles, one a background fabric the other a colored fabric, place them right sides together and pin along one of the long edges. 

Head to the sewing machine and sew along the long edge to combine the two fabrics together. 

Once sewn, press the seam open by pressing the seam to the darker of the two fabrics. 

This is what is called a “strip set”, a set of fabrics that we sub cut into smaller pieces to use in our block.

Head on over to the cutting mat, the first thing that we will want to do is square off the edge of the strip set. 

When we sew the two fabrics together, they may not be perfectly lined up on the ends, and that’s okay. We built in a little wiggle room to make sure we could square off and get perfect strip cuts. 

With the end squared off, sub cut the strip set into 4 sections, 2.5” squares for a finished block size of 6”, or 4.5” for a finished block size of 12”. 

Strip sets: Check! Now its time to assemble it all together

How to Assemble a Monkey Wrench Quilt Block

Now that the hard part is done, it’s time to assemble everything together.

Add that stray background square we left behind earlier to your stack of pieced parts, and lay everything out in our tic tac toe grid.

The half square triangles in the corners, the strip pieced components in the centers, and the stray background square gets the very center.

Sew the components together to make rows, and press the seams in each row opposite each other. This will allow you to nest your seams and get intersections of components to match up beautifully. 

Not sure what it means to nest seams? You can find my tutorial on nesting seams here!

The last step is simply combining rows together to finish up the block!

The Many names of the Monkey Wrench Quilt Block

Of all of the quilt blocks I’ve researched and used over the years, I don’t know that I’ve seen a block with more name variations than the monkey wrench. 

Churn dash, shoo fly, monkey wrench, double monkey wrench, the list actually continues on and on.

So is there a difference between a churndash, shoo fly, and monkey wrench? 

More often than not you will see people using the names interchangeably to describe the same basic shaped block. 

In some cases, you’ll see people defining each name individually as a slight variation of the original proportions used in this tutorial. 

The strip sets can be made a little more narrow, and the half square triangles a bit larger to get a more chunky look to the block. Or vis versa to make a more skinny shape. 

The proportions you decide on are all personal preference. 

The Monkey Wrench Quilt Block and the Underground Railroad 

It shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone when I say that quilting is not a new hobby or skill, it has been around for centuries, and over the years has been used for different reasons. 

Different blocks can have different meanings, whether it be a signal of love at a wedding to compassion at a funeral. 

One way quilts have been used that you might not know, is how this monkey wrench block was a commonly used signal during the early 1800s when slavery was common and the underground railroad was in full swing. 

When a group of enslaved people were preparing to make their escape to the north via the underground railroad, a quilt of monkey wrench quilt blocks would be hung to signal that the opportunity had presented itself to make an escape and the time had come to start assembling all of the tools and supplies they would need to make the escape. 

Monkey Wrench Quilt Patterns to Get Started 

The monkey wrench quilt block is an easy and quick block to get started with as a beginner so if you are itching to get started on a project, I rounded up a couple of ideas from the internet below to get you going. 

Have fun! If you are interested in getting more tips and tutorials right to your inbox, be sure to sign up for my email list below and get immediate access to the free pattern vault!