Machine Piecing

When I have a lot of pieces for individual blocks I put them on separate paper plates to keep them organized. These plates stack by my sewing machine or cutting board and I can see what I have and what I still need to sew or cut out. I can write on each plate any notes needed and keep things very organized.

Tip for blocks that came out different sizes than intended.

Example:   Say your 12 1/2 inch blocks did not all come out the same size.     Add 1 1/2 to 2 inches on all four sides of your blocks  then trim them down to exactley 14 1/2 inches.    All of your blocks should measure 14 1/2 Inches.     This method is like framing a block.

Your blocks will never be 12 1/2 Inches but at least you don't wind up with a dozen UFO's.  

Bren   

I was having trouble with sewing and guiding small pieces of fabric under my foot of my sewing machine.  My husband me a stiletto using a 3/8 in. dowl rod about 7 1/2 to 8 in. long.  I put it into a pencil sharpener to create a point.  The wood grips the fabric like no plastic can.  Wow. 

It works to hold fabric in place with no danger to fingers.  If you have any dowl rod left, why not share with your quilting friends.  It only costs pennies.

If you don't have a design wall, and you have to use your dining room table or your floor, it is easy to get confused when you take your pieces of fabric to the machine. You want to be sure you are sewing the right pieces together--and along the correct sides! This is especially difficult when you are doing rows of same-sized squares, and you want to keep the order right. All you have to do is take a good, clear shot of the to layout with your digital camera before you start piecing. You can print it out on printer paper, or just use the photo preview, and ta-da! There's a picture showing exactly where you placed every piece. Just set it next to your machine and go.

Flexible plastic cutting boards are perfect for laying paired small quilt pieces prior to machine piecing.  I can 'watch' tv with my husband and keep myself busy with pairing quilt pieces together.  The plastic sheets are lightweight, and stack easily, keeping the pieces organized.

The available floor space in my house is a premium and I like to see all of my blocks together before I sew them.  The wall behind my sewing machine is large and unencumbered so I bought some medium sized push-pins and pin each block side-by-side on the wall as I want to sew them together.  This allows me to strategically place less than perfect blocks in inconspicuous places...or redo the block all together if it doesnt look quite right.  Medium push-pins work best because they have a smaller post than the large push-pins and make small holes but are easier to grip than the smaller push-pins.  At some point I will probably invest in cork board panels or something similar to reduce the number of holes I'm putting in my wall.

To match seams perfectly, insert a pin in the first seam of a sewn section.  Using the same pin, place the second pieced section underneath, going through the joined pieces with the pin in the place where the seams are joined.  Use this pin as the anchor and insert a second pin near the first pin through both layers of the sections to be joined, crossing under the anchor pin which you are holding tightly.  After pinning, remove the anchor pin and sew.  Open the joined sections to discover a seam that is perfectly joined.

I use a mechanical pencil in my quilting as a stelito, with either the pencil end or the eraser. Also it is always sharp and a very fine line for marking stitching/sewing lines. I hope you all will give this wonderful "quilters tool" a try, I know you will like it as I do. Wanda

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.

My tip has to do with using the “left-overs” any time I’m making Flying Geese (or other blocks where one sews a square diagonally, then cuts off the “waste” corners).

After I make the original seam, I go back and sew a SECOND seam ˝ inch from the original seam (1/4 inch from the center diagonal line).  Then when I cut off the waste corner, I have a “bonus” half-square triangle.  I throw all of these into a box or bag and at some point square them up to one size and use them in another project.  Quick, easy, cost nothing except a little extra time.  Great for "scrappy" quilts.

Kay DePriest

Adrian MO