For this post, a special thank-you goes out to ConnectingThreads for sponsoring this blog post and my next quilt pattern to be released. I'm working through the pattern-testing and demo part of this quilt. True, this is my most piecing-intricate pattern to date and I'm so excited about it.
Connecting Threads sent me their newest line, Hometown Summer to play with for this design. You can purchase the fabrics through the underlined hyper-link above. My new pattern will also be available on their website as early as next week--and I should have a finished project to show you on Friday! Yay! I'm grateful that Connecting Threads will let me blog (blab? ha!) about it. So many companies ask you to keep stuff hush-hush until they post it first--but not Connecting Threads--they just like you to show-off their cute fabrics!
Aren't these cute! I've always been a fan of red, white and blue quilts and traditional prints. This fabric line is perfect for any summer or patriotic quilt!
So...let's talk about sewing 6 inch sawtooth stars. Shouldn't be too tough, right? But yes, there are tricks. The smaller the block is, the more important it is to get it sewn and trimmed correctly. I've assembled a step by step photo montage of sewing these blocks so point out what needs to be done so the points do not get blunted in the final project.
What a messy pile! This project requires 25 of these blocks (plus 20 more of a different size....that's a lot of blocks in one quilt!). |
CUTTING DIRECTIONS: (for one block--the pattern has directions for strip cutting all 25!)
- For the center light-blue square, cut one square measuring 3 1/2 inches.
- From the cream setting fabric cut:
- 4 squares measuring 2 inches for the outer corners.
- Cut a square measuring 4 1/4 inches, then cut these into quarters diagonally for the flying geese point of the block.
- For the navy blue points, cut 4 squares measuring 2 1/2 inches then cut them in half diagonally once to yield 8 triangles for the flying geese unit.
- Sew the flying geese unit first by sewing the navy blue points onto the cream back-ground triangle. Make sure to match the bias edges together. You will have the unit shown in the photo below.
Trim the "dog-ears"--those funny yet pesky points of fabric that are sticking out beyond the block (I'm pointing to it). They just get in the way. |
Press seams out toward the darker fabric. |
- Add the flying geese unit to the center 3" block.
To press, I press the flying geese unit so it lies flat on top, then flip the block over. |
Chain-sew on the remaining sides. and press in the same manner. |
- Add the 2 1/2 inch squares to the outsides of the remaining two flying geese units and add to the outer edges of the star block as in the manner already described.
Voila! A 6-inch star pieced block that actually fits and has no blunted points! |
Now it's your turn to share....what have you been working on that's fun this week? Remember, when it comes to sewing, "Keep It Simple and Make It Fun!".