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Well, I have been working on creating a couple of easy quilt patterns that would be perfect for new quilters to give a try. This one is called Strawberry Jam! Follow me as I piece and quilt this quick and sassy pattern. So far I have cut all the yardage and constructed the strip blocks. I am making this top with some fun, grey-on-grey polka dot yardage combined with strips from a jelly roll called “Odds and Ends” by Julie Comstock for Moda fabrics. Jelly rolls make 2 1/2″ strips easy, but they are also easy to cut yourself. I love my Shape Cut Pro Strip Ruler by June Tailor. It has slots for my rotary cutter so I can’t go wrong cutting my strips. Here are a few tips and tricks to look out for while following this pattern:
When trimming your selvages at the end of strips, trim just enough! If trim too heavily, you will not get enough cuts out of each strip.
Use a scant 1/4″ seam when piecing strip blocks! When you press open the strips we lose a little of our fabric in the fold. By making our seam slightly less than 1/4″ (about the width of one thread)our piecing comes out more accurate. Notice the picture on the left the line of thread is just out side my 1/4″ , and the pic on the right the line of thread is included within my 1/4″.
After sewing your first two strips together, press seams to one side and then measure to make sure you are keeping the proper width of your strips. If you are off on each of the four strips it can make the block WAY off! If you are new do this for the first few blocks to make sure everything is going smoothly. It is easier to fix a strip or two than 18 blocks:)
Notice the picture on the left…the seams are all pressed to the right. It doesn’t matter which direction, just all the same within the block. The finished strip block on the right is 8 1/2″ x 10 1/2″. Check with your ruler and trim any excess to square up block. If block is too small…check the width of your seams or you may have not pressed seam all the way open. There you go…blocks done!
Let me know if you run into any road blocks and I would love to see your pics!
Happy Quilting!
Stay tuned for Part 2—>Piecing your blocks and rows together:)