Make a Quilt Block

Here are all sorts of tips on quilt blocks to get you right down to the fundamentals of quilting!

A good rule of thumb for when to pin your fabric strips or pieces: If sewing together two pieces or strips of the same length, skip the pins. Pinning could actually distort the seam.

If pieces are different lengths and one piece has to be eased to fit, a pin at the middle and another at the end can help.

For curves or other more difficult piecing, one or more pins are usually necessary.

Keep a piece of flannel by your machine.  When you snip the threads, put them on the flannel.  They will stick to the flannel and not fly all over.  Wide masking tape in a loop turned inside out works too.

This is a foolproof way to organize quilt pieces when assembling blocks for chain sewing. Lay out pieces as desired- for example, for a nine patch block 1 2 3 - First Row 4 5 6 - Second Row 7 8 9 -Third Row. Flip the blocks on the middle row over onto the left row, right sides together- 2 on 1, 5 on 4, 8 on 7 Then pick up pairs from top to bottom- 2, 5, 8 Pick up the third row from top to bottom- 3, 6, 9- and set aside or put under the other pile. Sew the first pile in a chain, sewing down the right side of 2, 5, and 8. Don’t cut apart yet. Open and sew the third row squares to pairs, 3 to 2, 6 to 5 and 9 to 8. Now cut apart and press. This sounds confusing, but once you get comfortable with it, you can stack and sew whole quilts using this technique. You just lay it out, and stack however many pieces you need. Not having to stop and cut the rows apart saves a lot of time. You also avoid having to stop and make sure the pieces will be in the right order.