Piecing Your Quilt Top This is probably my favourite part of quilting. I love seeing all those pieces come together into the quilt top. If I remember, I try to take a before picture with my quilt all cut out before I start piecing. A few things to remember: Before you start sewing, check that your needle and whatever you are using to guide your ¼” seam are accurate. I cut into a roll of painters tape so I have a nice thick strip of tape to guide my fabric along. You will also want to check your stitch length. If your machine has digital selections for your stitches, it will reset every time you turn it off. Once you have done your first piece or two, stop to check that your seams are straight and at a consistent ¼”. Take lots of pictures as you go! It is great to have a snapshot of what the process looks like. You will also be able to measure your own skill progress through those photos over time. Efficient Piecing Strategies Chain piecing: this creates an assembly line process. You are sewing the same to pieces together for each of your blocks. You don’t cut your thread between each one. When you finish sewing a piece together, sew a couple stitches without any fabric, add in your next pieces that you are sewing together. * warning - double check you have your pieces oriented correctly. Sew the first one, open it up and check to make sure it is correct. Do this periodically as you go. You can also create a little phrase to help you watch for orientation details that will keep your pieces going how they should. Strip piecing: This involves sewing long strips of fabric together and then submitting them into their pieces. This works great for any part of your quilt block that works in pairs and shares the same fabrics. Strip piecing can also be large blocks that are sewn and cut in specific ways to create large batches of half square triangles. The main concept is that you don’t have to pre cut each small piece to sew together. Batch Work: This can also encompass chain and strip piecing methods, it is also used for cutting fabric, pressing, and squaring up your pieces. The overall concept is that you do as much as you can in one step and then move onto the next. This saves time since you aren’t resetting your task so frequently. You will also find a flow/rhythm as you repeat the same task improving your skill set quickly and allowing you to pick up speed with that task. Quilt top assembly: This stage is really cool. Your blocks are made and you are laying out your quilt. At this point, depending on your blocks, you can move them around and create different patterns and layouts with them. If you find something that you like better, you don’t have to stick with your original plan. Once your layout has been decided, take a picture! You will refer back to this photo often as you are double checking that your blocks are being joined together correctly. Organizing your blocks for sewing: You can still use a chain piecing method here. Step 1: “Fold" all the blocks in column two over column one so they are “right sides together”. I do the same for the next pair of columns (column four “folds” over column three) until I have no columns or just one column left. Step 2: gather your combined columns, pick up the top one and bring it down over the pair below it. Grab those two pairs and bring them down over the pair below. Repeat until you have gathered all your pairs. Tip: Use a binder clip or something to mark the top of your blocks. If you turn them and place your seam on the wrong side, there will be a lot of seam ripping. Step 3: Sew all your pairs of blocks. Make sure to keep each of your columns separate in your chain piecing. When you are done, you can either keep everything linked or split it apart. Keeping them linked is called webbing and it helps keep everything in order. I personally find it too awkward to sew and prefer to cut my chained pieces apart. Step 4: Combine the column pairs. Layout your quilt top again, you will notice that have partial rows assembled. Take your new column two and lay it over your newly formed column one. Do the same with columns 3 and 4. If you have a single column left by itself, then it will join and create three blocks sewn together instead of four. Continue steps 3 and 4 until you have full rows completed. Step 5: You are ready to join your rows. I suggest doing these in pairs since it keeps everything easier to work with until you get to the final seam or two. When joining rows, start using pins to line up your seams. Place your pin through the seam itself or just beside it. This will let you match up those seams and get the “perfect” corners/points that you are looking for. You have a completed quilt top and are ready to move onto the quilting stage! This post goes with the Week Four and Five YouTube videos. Click the link to watch.
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Krista RussellLong arm quilter, budding quilt designer, and teacher. ArchivesCategories |