I am confused now and we are only starting! – Prairies are mostly flat, possibly with waves of amber grain, and we apparently go from purple mountain majesty to the prairies – according to the songs ‘God Bless America’ and ‘America, The Beautiful’….. so how can the blue mountain shapes above be prairie points, which should be pale yellow-brown and flat? If anything, those are blue waves on the ocean, white with foam.

Prairie points are traditionally made from squares of fabric. But, if you want a row of prairie points,  using individual squares is not a very efficient way to proceed. The technique described in this blog can be used to make a continuous row of prairie points any size and length that you need, and both alignment and spacing are easier to achieve and more accurate.

1. Cut a strip of fabric 6” by the width of fabric (selvage edge to selvage edge). Two or more strips can be sewn end to end for longer runs of continuous prairie points.
2. Fold with right-side out, align the cut edges and press. Unfold and place on the cutting board with wrong-side up. If you have problems seeing the center line fold, mark it with chalk.

3. On one side of the fold, mark from the outside edge to the center line fold/mark every 3”.

4.  On the other side of the fold, start 1 1/2” in from the end. Then  mark from the outside edge to the center fold/mark every 3”.
5. There will be excess fabric that must be cut away on both ends of the long strip. Keep only the fabric that will make complete 3” squares.

6. Create the 3” squares by cutting on the marks from outer edge to the center line fold/mark using scissors or a rotary cutter.
7.  Fold the 3” squares the way you would fold traditional prairie points. Fold left-hand corner down and to the right to the center line fold/mark, creating a triangle. Finger press.

8. Fold the right-hand corner down and to the left to the center line fold/mark, creating a smaller triangle. Finger press. Notice the opening on the left side of the prairie point. The next triangle will fit into this slot.

9. Make the next prairie point from the first 3” square on the other side of the center line fold/mark.

10. Tuck this prairie point into the flap of the previous prairie point. You can pin these if you like, but it may not be necessary. Continue working with the ‘far’ and ‘near’ squares until you reach the end of the fabric strip.
11. Trim excess fabric.
12. For convenience, you can baste the continuous prairie points in place using an 1/8” seam, but this is not mandatory.
13. Attach the prairie points to your quilt using a 1/4” seam allowance.

By now, you may have memorized all the words to one or two of the most patriotic songs of the USA.