The correct steps to making a Good Quilting Block!

This is all about Good Habits! Like brushing your teeth. You want a nice finish on your project with all your points visible and no huge bumps where you have sewn your seams. These TIPs should help you in your process. I have chosen AUNT ELIZA’S STAR BLOCK to use in this example.

ACCURACY IN CUTTING.

There are marks on those rulers for a reason. Pick your cutting line which in this example is the 15” mark. Your Fabric and fabric pattern should be square.

Notice how on the Edge ruler the numbers 1- 4 line up perfectly with the inches on the mat. When you are cutting your fabric what you want to look at is that number 1 over the 14” mark on the mat. When you have that lined up on the bottom and the top on the other side of the fabric…you are ready to cut. I think when you go to cut it is always best to trim your fabric this way first. Make sure it is right. If you have a long piece, then fold in half. For the blocks we are doing nothing will be that long. (If you are left-handed then the fabric would be to the right side of the ruler)

SEAMS

¼ “SEAMS are not as hard as they seem. Do not be daunted by them because as soon as you master it a lot of your problems will be over

You have several ways of marking your fabric, with Frixion Pen, Pencil, or anything like that. If you have a ¼” foot that’s a huge help. If you, do not you might consider getting one. Best investment ever! Now these photos show you my ¼” foot and the short seam I sewed.

I laid my ruler on top so you can see it’s ¼” seam. If you must draw that line, then do so. I use Frixion pens because I find them the best. They iron out just as well as more expensive products.

SEAMS AND PRESSING

Should you fold over and press to the dark side, or should you open flat and press?

Mostly always I will open flat and press. When you start a project, you read the directions first. Have a look at the seam intersections. Do you have just 2 seams coming together, or do you have 3 or 4 coming together?

For those of you who always press to the dark side when you flip over to the right side and iron you find those hard bumps that usually cause you to dirty up the fabric, twist up the seam and sometimes scorch it because it is like trying to iron flat the Rocky Mountains! Not going to work.

You need to make that decision at the beginning. Once again this is especially important and necessary to get right

SEWING SECTIONS TOGETHER AND PINNING

Did you know there are different sized pins? Some are so much smaller like Dress Pins for example. If you would rather sew over the few pins you use, then that is something to think about.

 See that pin? Right up the middle. Not to the left or right. But should be in between stitches in the middle of the seam and not protruding through the fabric. Yes, it is fiddly I know but it is worth the time. Remember it is about developing good habits. It is important that both points going through are centred. Because, unbelievably, if you have the point closet to the ball of the pin going through the fabric your whole piece will be cockeyed!

It really anchors it properly. Now some of you may have your needle in the opposite direction pointing into the fabric. I just prefer my own this way.

    

Right Picture is two sections being sewn together. Only one pin is needed. You put the first section under the needle, the centre is pinned, and you hold the end closest to you. It is short pieces and easy to control. Over 7 or 8 inches and up you might want to use another pin each side.

MARKING FABRIC

Diagonal marking is from point to point. Not side of point. So put your marker point on one corner point if you need to and then set your ruler next to it. Mark your solid line. If you do not have machine ¼” foot and need to mark your ¼” lines, then do so like I did in the example below with a dash line. The solid line is for cutting.

 

The photo below is a good example of when it is not right. That line of holes on the top side of the solid line was my first sewing line that was not right. I looked at it and knew it was not right, so I picked it out and resewed it. Before cutting I made my other diagonal line.

 

You can see the waviness came out once it was cut.

NOW FOR PRESSING!!

First…with your cut pieces closed press the seam to set it. Then open flat and press. Gently because these are bias cuts on those triangles, and you do not want to stretch them out.

YEP…STARCH!!! Give them a spray and press.

 

Now to sew these together. Same as before These are small and one pin centre in the seam should be fine. Sew slowly. Do not sew quickly. Control it. I do not remove my pins. But I do sew slowly over them.

When you have sewn all your triangle pieces together and you have your four squares this would be an enjoyable time to clip those dog ears. Do not touch the square…just the little dog ears. You don’t need them throwing you off with sewing your ¼” seams together you certainly don’t need the extra bulk in your seams.

SEWING SECTIONS TOGETHER.

If you need to …two pins are plenty. Too many and they can make the entire process more difficult and cause distortion to the bias edges. NOTICE FLAT SEAMS. Sew slowly. This is not a race!

 

Here are two longer pieces and you can see where I have put needles into the joint areas CENTRED in the seam only. Now if you sew slowly enough to maintain good control these distances between pins are short. A firm press with your fingers should be fine. I am not against pins at all. I use them all the time. But they can make things more difficult sometimes than they need to be. Do not rush and speed. Let me know how you go!

When I opened it up look what I found! Those points should not be back so far. Unpicked and did it again. Do not worry about having to unpick.  If you discover something not right fix it without delay because your “oopsie” will flow and cause errors right through your entire project

 

FINISHED! Front and back. Sides not even…do not worry about that. It will become part of the seam when the time comes to sew the quilt together. Yay! You have created your perfect Quilt Square. Just remember that practice makes perfect. If you do not get it right the first time keep trying. It is a bit like riding a bike.