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02-05-2014

So You Wanna Make A Quilt…Part 5- Piecing Quilts Together

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Part 5- Piecing

What is quilting at its simplest form but cutting up pieces of fabric and sewing them back together…Oh, but somewhere in there our creativity and passion come to life! Aren’t you excited to finally start piecing quilts together! I am just buzzing thinking about all the joy I get from this process and I hope you feel it too.

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When we piece our quilts together we line up our cut pieces of fabric and needle and thread join the patchwork together. This forms larger units called blocks, blocks form rows and rows create our quilt top. Now, not every pattern follows this basic or traditional quilt design, but generally this is the process. Always follow your pattern to put things together in the right order. To discuss Piecing I am going to try to answer some common questions that might be whirling around in that budding quilt brain!

Where do I stitch?

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The foundation of all good piecing or patchwork is mastering the quarter inch seam! When stitching your fabric together, you will almost always sew 1/4″ from the edge of the fabric.  This keeps your fabric from pulling apart or unraveling. If you stitch too close to the edge the fibers can separate or tear. Sometimes a pattern will tell you to use a scant 1/4″ seam…this is like a slightly skinnier 1/4″, just about one thread shy of the full 1/4″. There can be a lot of seams in your patchwork and if each one is off by 1/8″ it adds up pretty quick. By the end, your block can be off by more than 1/2″ and there is no fudging that can stretch that:)

How do you know if you are stitching a 1/4″ seam?

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You can purchase a 1/4″ foot for your sewing machine and as long as your fabric follows the edge of the foot, you should be okay. You can also measure 1/4″ and mark this line on your machine with some masking tape or a couple layers of post-its to use as a guide. The best thing to do is use some extra strips of fabric and do a few test seams until you can find a method that works for you and gives you consistent 1/4″ seams. I use the foot on my machine and for a scant 1/4″ I can move my needle over slightly.

Do I have to use Pins?

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Often in quilting there is more than one way to get things done! You will have to experiment and figure out for yourself how you want to do it. Pinning is one of those..We have pinners and non-pinners:) The good news is you don’t have to commit to a team! I am a pinner. Using pins keeps your fabrics in place while you are stitching. That bottom fabric can slip on you if you don’t keep an eye on it. Remember, you don’t want to stitch over top of the pins!!! You can break your needle and damage your machine, so stop when the needle gets close to your pin and remove it….then just keep stitching. As a beginner I recommend using pins to start.

When do I Press my seams?

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After stitching your fabrics together you will press your seams. This gives those seam allowances a direction to lay in and makes your patchwork lay flat. The more flat your patchwork is, the easier it is to quilt later on. Another thing to remember when pressing is to lift the iron rather than use a side to side motion. If you push and pull the fabric with your iron you will stretch and distort it a bit. Some like to press at every opportunity…me(yes I am a little obsessive!), and some only at certain points in their piecing. You have to find what works for you.

Do I press my seams to the side or press them open?

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Pressing toward the darker fabric.

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Pressing seams open.

There are pros and cons to both sides. I do a combination of both, typically pressing to the side of the darker fabric, but pressing seams open when bulk is an issue.

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Pressing to the side allows opposing seams to butt up to each other and helps you line up seams in your patchwork. Pressing seams open distributes the bulk more evenly. Patterns may also give you instructions for which rules to follow for pressing.

Why am I cutting off some of the edges and points of my patchwork?

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Most likely your quarter inch seam is off or your are getting a little heavy handed with the iron. If your points meet the edges of your block the you will lose them in your seam when you connect to the next block.  You will need a 1/4″ space beyond your points to allow for your seams, that’s called the seam allowance. Here is a little tip to look for when piecing to preserve those points: See where your seams cross here on the back of your patchwork…

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Sew your 1/4″ seam just a little to the right of the point where the two seams intersect…this is your point. If you stitch to the left of it…you just cut off the tip of the point.

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By the way…it is Okay to cut off a point or two! There are no Quilt Police and you will probably be the only one who notices. Give yourself a break in the beginning and just do your best. You have lots of time to perfect those perky points later:)

So get out some fabric…cut it up….and piece it back together!

Click HERE to find parts 1, 2, 3 and 4 of the Beginner Quilting Series, So You Wanna Quilt…

See you next week for Part 6- Basting.

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02-03-2014

Free Pattern-“Feel the Love” Valentine Wall Hanging!

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Do you Feel the Love?

All the hearts and valentine projects I have been seeing here in the blogosphere inspired me to come up with a quick project that I could get done this weekend. I came up with this free pattern for a Valentine Wall Hanging called “Feel the Love”.

Here is a quick tutorial!

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Fabric needed: a layer cake or (10-12) 10″ squares and 1/2 yd of background fabric.

I used a layer cake of Twice as Nice by The Quilted Fish for Riley Blake Designs. It is just full of reds and pinks…I set aside the blues for another project. There were 6 reds and 6 pinks in this layer cake. You only need 10, so pick your favorites. I just used all 12 for a little more variety, but I did have some extras afterwards.

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Cut into 1.5″ strips. Toss the teeny bits left over.

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Sew your strips into strip sets of 6 each. Make sure to mix up your strips and press as you go. You will need 10 strip sets.

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Cut a 3.5″ strip and set aside, we are not using this portion. Using a 4.5″ square ruler as your template…center the 45 degree line along the center seam of your strip set.

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Here is a close up of the 45 degree line running along the center seam of your strip set. (That will be between your 3rd and 4th strip)

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Trim along all four sides of your ruler. This is what you should end up with. If you don’t have a 4.5″ ruler, you can use a larger one, but will have to do some rotating.

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Now, this is just the way I did this…so no judging:) Take 4 of your blocks and using your seam ripper, rip out the center seam. Yes, I know….voluntary ripping!

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Using your background fabric, cut (4) 5″squares and (2) 4.5″ squares. Take one of the half blocks that you just separated and line the corner of the block up with the corner of a 5″ background square.

Sew a 1/4″ seam along the edge of the half block, this will be along the same line of stitches you just ripped out.

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Line your stitching up with the 1/4″ line on your ruler and trim the excess. Use the background piece you just trimmed off and repeat for the other half of your block.

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Press the new block open for your pieced HST. You should have 8 of these HST blocks, 6 whole blocks and 2 solid background squares for your layout. All of these blocks finish at 4.5″.

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Here is the layout.

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Cut (2) 4.5″ WOF strips for your borders. Out of one strip sub-cut your right and left borders at 16.5″. Using the other strip sub-cut the top and bottom borders at 24.5″. Add them to your top in that order. Your top is done! Layer up your quilt sandwich and quilt as desired. You will need (2) 2.5″ strips to make your binding.

I  quilted “Feel the Love” using Aurifil 50wt. cotton thread in Light Gray with a basic straight line quilting design.  I finished the binding using this machine binding tutorial.

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Sorry these final pics aren’t all that great…this is what happens when you finish a project in the middle of the night:)

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02-01-2014

6 Free Heart Quilt Patterns You Will Love<3

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Valentines Day is fast approaching and I am seeing hearts everywhere! Here are 6 free heart quilt patterns that I have rounded up for you that are cute, cute, cute<3

I hope you find these inspiring! Just click on the link.

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I Heart Chevrons by Modern Handcraft

Pixelated Heart by Blue Elephant Stitches for Robert Kaufman Fabrics

Candy Hearts by Gigi’s Thimble for Moda Bakeshop

Huggable Table Topper Pattern and Quilt Kit

Huggable Table Topper Pattern by Jocelyn Ueng for Fat Quarter Shop

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Looking for something a little smaller….

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Heart Pot Holder by A Spoonful of Sugar Designs

Valentines Canvas Tutorial by Quilt Story(ok, this is not a quilt pattern…but it’s just too cute!)

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These have totally got my wheels turning….I got a Twice as Nice by Riley Blake Layer Cake for Christmas and it is full of pinks and reds. I am going to make something!

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*Note: Please contact me here at thesassyquilter@gmail.com if you do not want your tutorials or images shared. I have linked both back to the original site.*

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01-29-2014

So You Wanna Make A Quilt… Part 4 – How to Cut Fabric

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Part 4- Cutting

It’s time to get to cutting….are you nervous?

Well, you are not the first! There are a few things you need to know about how to cut fabric safely and accurately. Once you have got those down….piece o’cake.

I don’t want to scare you, but rotary cutters are super sharp and are the leading cause of quilting accidents(okay, that may or may not be true, but they say 98.7% of all statistics are made up*wink*!). I think this mostly comes from carelessness. So how can you avoid accidentally cutting yourself?

#1- Keep the saftey lock on when not cutting…yes, this means between every cut! Bumping it into the floor could cost you a toe, ouch! Wearing shoes is not a bad idea either.

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Safety On…

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Safety Off…

#2- Keep your fingers away from the edge of the ruler. Look across the line where you will be cutting before you slice, you might just notice a finger that’s a little too close:) You can also use a safety glove designed for rotary cutting on your non-dominant hand just in case.

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#3- Cut away from you. Resist the urge to do all kinds of arm twisting instead of rotating the fabric or ruler:)

#4- Change your blade often to keep it sharp.

#5- Use a good acrylic ruler! HERE is my post on rulers to learn how to use and pick a good one.

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Now…How do you actually go about cutting the fabric? I’m going to show you how by cutting 2 1/2″ strips from a fat quarter. To start you will need your ruler, a rotary cutter and a rotary cutting mat.

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Rotary cutters come in several sizes. They are referred to by their blade size. A 28mm cutter is for small or tiny projects, but the most common are the 45mm and the 60mm. The 60mm is larger and can cut through bigger stacks of fabric. The size rotary cutting mat you want is up to you. If using a smaller mat, you may have to fold your fabric to be able to cut it. Your mat should be placed on a hard flat surface. TIP: Do Not Iron on your mat!!! This is a rookie mistake and will warp your mat and it will be pretty much ruined.

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Press your fabric. All those wrinkles make it hard to get accurate cuts. Using spray starch stiffens the fabric and keeps it nice and crisp. I use Mary Ellen’s Best Press.

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You will notice that the edges are not exactly straight. These always have to be “squared up” before you can start cutting your pattern pieces. You also have to trim off the selvedge edges on your fabric.

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To square up the edge…slide your ruler across the fabric and find a line to cut on that will make a nice even cut across your entire piece of fabric. Make sure you are lined up with the markings on the mat on both ends of the fabric. Here I had to come in about 1/2″.

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With your fingers spread apart(but not over the edge!)… apply firm pressure to the ruler.

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Take the safety off of the rotary cutter and run it along the edge of the acrylic ruler, keeping pressure against the ruler as you go. Pushing too hard against the ruler can make it slip. When cutting you should be standing and to the left a little(if you are right-handed) so that your cutting hand can naturally extend straight forward and not at an awkward angle. There you go! A nice clean edge.

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To cut the width of our strip we will be using the markings on the ruler rather than the ones on the mat as our guide. Rotate your fabric so that your clean edge is on the left(if you are right-handed). You can still line it up with the markings on the mat, but you don’t have to worry about the numbers. Just do it in the center so that you have more room. We are cutting at 2 1/2″, so line the square edge we just cut with the 2 1/2″ line on the ruler. Now, cut the other side of your strip.

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Beautiful! You can trim the top and bottom edges to get your desired length according to your pattern.

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What happens if you are cutting along and your rotary cutter slips to the right???

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No worries! Re-square up your edge just like you did initially. Slide the ruler over to cover the oops and get a new clean edge. If your ruler slips and you cut into the strip area…well, you will have to toss that strip and start over.

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What if you are not cutting a fat quarter, but are cutting fabric off the bolt that has a fold in it?

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The procedure is the same, just line your fold up with a line on the mat before squaring up the edge on the right.

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When you cut your strip width, use one of the horizontal lines on your ruler to keep the folded edge straight. If you have to fold your fabric because your mat is small…try not to fold more that once and keep the fold neat. If the folded edge of the fabric is not kept straight and even, you will get strips that are slightly “V” shaped and a little wonky. As a beginner, you should open up your strips and check to see if you are cutting accurately. Measure the width of your strip at a few different points to check.

REMEMBER

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Click HERE to find parts 1, 2 and 3 of the Beginner Quilting Series, So You Wanna Quilt…

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01-20-2014

Triangle Quilt

Triangle Quilt

Triangle Quilt- 49.5″ x 65″

My Triangle Quilt is finally finished and bound! This one was fun to quilt too…lots of straight lines makes it simpler:)

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The fabrics are Simply Style and Boho Girl.  I also threw in some solids to break it up.

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If you want to know more info on how I cut and pieced this Triangle Quilt, visit my previous posts HERE and HERE.

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I loved this fun paisley for the backing. I like the back of a quilt to be extra sassy!

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I quilted it using a 50wt. Aurifil thread in lime from the Simplify collection. I am so in love with these threads!!! I used a navy for the binding.

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You can get this set at Cotton Bliss HERE!

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HERE is the tutorial I used to machine bind this quilt.

 

P.S. Have you checked out Gotcha Covered Quilting?

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Here is their Etsy shop with lots and lots of great fabrics to start off your new year and new projects!

 

You can find and follow TheSassyQuilter here on Facebook, Pinterest, Bloglovin’, or by email(form on right sidebar)!

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11-25-2013

Piper Progress – Double Slice

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Double Slice Quilt

Hola quilt people! Hope everyone had a great weekend and are getting ready for turkey day:) My family had an early Thanksgiving because my baby bro finally got some leave from the Navy and had to go back yesterday. So, guess what…that’s right, I’m looking at a nice long quilt weekend coming up!

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We did have cold, but nice weather so I finally got a few pics of my Piper quilt. The pattern is Double Slice, from Missouri Star Quilt Co. Great for layer cakes because you start with 10″ squares. My previous post on how to make the blocks is here.

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If you just love this line of fabric, Piper by Dear Stella, check out Melissa at My Fabric Relish. She just finished up a gorgeous quilt using the same line.

Soon as the basting fairy picks up this and the four others also waiting in line…I will have eventually have some final pics;)

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