Snowball Block

A Snowball block is a square with all four corners trimmed to create an octagonal shape. The corners are typically removed using the stitch-and-flip technique: small squares are placed on each corner, sewn diagonally, and the triangle is flipped and trimmed. Snowball blocks are often alternated with Nine Patch blocks — the octagonal shape creates circular secondary patterns at the intersections. The block works beautifully as a frame for a central motif or large-scale print.