More of My Favorite Piecing Tips

Last week, I covered my two favorite piecing tips that I think are the most important: pinning and pressing. You can read that post here if you missed it. These week, I will share some more piecing tips that I have learned over the years that help with quilt block accuracy. I think accuracy is the ultimate time saver. So let’s get started!

Sharp, Crisp Points

This is a tip that helps you to achieve sharp, crisp points. When joining pieces like HSTs or flying geese into a block, the goal is to keep those points from disappearing into the seam allowance. Here is an example of what can happen to your points:

The point on the left is cut off by the seam.  It’s frustrating when it happens. Now if you only have a few cut-off points in a large quilt, they may not be noticeable to anyone but you. But if it’s a smaller quilt, like a wall hanging or table runner, it may be easier to notice. So, here’s some tips to practice getting sharp, crisp points.

Tip #1: If you measure the seams on units with points as you go, like flying geese, to make sure the top of a point is 1/4″ from the edge of the unit, this will go a long way to helping you to achieve sharp points.

Tip #2: When you are joining a piece with points to a plain piece, stitch with them together with the unit with the points on top. This way you can make sure your stitching doesn’t cut off that point. 

Tip #3: As you are stitching the piece with the point to another unit, watch the point to make sure the stitching line passes just above the point. This guarantees the point will not be cut off when you press open the unit. See the photos below and where my pointer is:

In the photos below, you will see how the stitching passes above the point and how the point is not cut off when the unit is flipped over and pressed open (photo on right):

So to sum up, if you keep an eye on the points while stitching, you can avoid cutting them off.

Accurate Strip Sets

Strips sets are used often when you want to make blocks like below:

Tip #1: Strip sets are made from joining two or more long strips on their lengthwise sides. You can use width of fabric strips (40-44″ long) if you need a lot of pieces cut for your project, but I recommend cutting those in half to 20-22″ long. It’s easier for your strip sets to distort if you are using longer strips.

Tip #2: Stitch strips into sets using a scant 1/4″ seam to make sure they measure accurately when done. After each strip is added, press the strip set open, measure and trim up the set before adding the next strip. Below are photos showing the first steps of joining 3 strips into a strip set measuring 3 1/2″ wide when done.  I’m beginning three 1 1/2″ wide strips (left photo).

After the first two strips are stitched, I use the ruler to trim. These two strips stitched together need to measure 2 1/2″ wide, so I place the ruler evenly on the strip set to trim it. The 1 1/4″ line of the ruler should rest on the center seam for even trimming. You can then add the next strip. Once that strip is added, place the 1 1/4″ line of the ruler on the new seam and trim. The strip set will now measure 3 1/2″.

Tip #3: When your strip set requires you to stitch more than two strips together, alternate your sewing direction. That helps limit distortion of the strips and the strip set.

And remember to press the seams of these strip sets (like we talked about last week) instead of ironing. This will also work to cut down on distortion.

Some Random Time Saving Tips

Tip #1 – This is my favorite time saver and also a thread saver. Use a scrap of fabric for what I call a leader/ender.

This is actually a good use of some of those scraps you accumulate from trimming units like flying geese. Start your stitching with this leader/ender scrap first, then stitch how ever many units you have in your stack and then end with this leader/ender scrap.

It’s a thread saver and helps to limit damage to the unit you are stitching because if there’s a snafu, it will happen on the leader/ender. You won’t have to stop your sewing to cut more pieces to replace the damaged ones.

Tip #2: Ripping out stitches. Not our favorite thing to do, but here’s my tip if you’re skittish like me about using a seam ripper. I carefully cut a stitch every 4 or 5 stitches in the middle of the seam and then gently pull apart the pieces. Be extra careful when pulling them apart so you do not stretch the pieces out of shape, especially those units with bias seams. The seam comes apart fairly easy and then all you have to do is finish cutting the threads on each end of the unit.

Tip #3: We’ve all chain pieced small squares or other pieces together, but chain piecing isn’t just for small pieces! You can chain piece blocks the same way. This comes in handy if you are making several of the same block for a quilt.

First I lay out all the block pieces for each block like in the photo on the left. Then, I chain piece those units into rows like in the photo on the right. Then, I can chain piece those rows as well into the blocks.

Tip #4: Finally this may seem like a simple tip, but you’d be surprised how many people skip it. Back stitch to lock your stitched seam at the beginning and end of a seam. 

The unit on the left has back stitching at the beginning and end of the seam. The one on the right does not. The next photo shows how the seam can easily separate, which can cause your quilt to come apart at the seams … literally!

The unit that has the back stitching is nice and secure (bottom left), even with seams pressed open. Where the one that is not back stitched comes apart too easily.

So that’s it for this week. I hope you enjoyed more piecing tips and some easy to follow time savers.

Happy Quilting!
Deanne