From Marti Michell Quilting Blog: Chart 52: Doris, Block #29 in the Farmer's Wife 1930s Sew Along

Doris is the first block that actually uses the Peaky and Spike triangles. You can use these triangles so effectively, but they are difficult to cut accurately without acrylic tools, and they can be perplexing to sew if the tools don’t have engineered corners. The Peaky and Spike triangles in this block will be joined to make a 2-inch finished pieced unit.

On the PDF, we have shown you how to cut these pieces with Set D, which many of you have been using it for the past several months in different blocks. That set was designed for 4-inch finished size units, not 2-inch finished units like the ones needed for Doris -- but you can use templates in Set D to cut piece for Doris if you follow our instructions in the PDF. The pieces in Set D fit with pieces in Set B (for 4-inch finished units). The shapes in Sets B and D are the same as Sets A and C (for 3-inch finished units). Those templates don't have markings for other sizes, but you can use them successfully to cut the Peaky and Spike pieces for Doris if you follow our instructions in the PDF.

There is a good chance many of you own either Template Set C or Set D. Since it's critical to have an accurate angle and engineered corners, you can cut out the paper pattern printed from Laurie’s book to use as a guide for length and simply align the longest sides of the tool and the pattern for accurate cutting of both the angles and the engineered corners.

Multi-Size Peaky and Spike Tools

We do have a tool for easily cutting 2-inch finished size Peaky and Spike pieces for Doris. Our Multi-size Peaky and Spike template set, Product #8289, is a multi-size set that cuts these shapes for 2-inch to 6-inch units in half-inch increments, and it's super easy to use. If you think you might want to use the Multi-Size Peaky and Spike set, this is a great time to buy it, while everything on our site is 15% off -- until midnight on Memorial Day!

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Cutting with templates will allow you to get perfect grainline on the outside edge of the finished square, which is much harder to accomplish with paper-piecing.

Bonus Quilt Pattern!

One of our favorite quick-and-easy quilt designs using Peaky and Spike is Spike's Windmill, shown here from 5 is Fabulous, our Volume 5. In it, the blocks are 10 inches made with Set R of the Perfect Patchwork Templates. But I think you can see how easy it would be to make in any size if you own the Multi-size Peaky and Spike Set.