Hi everyone… I am on vacation this week, but I didn’t want you to miss me! LOL! So, I am sharing some of my favorite mini tutorials that I have made through out the years. These are tutorials for some quilting techniques and some quilting tips. If you have not seen my mini tutorials before, I hope you enjoy them. If you already have, perhaps it will be fun for you to share them with a new quilter in your life. Let’s go!
Tutorial #1 – Building a Fabric Stash
If you are a scrap quilter like me, you like to have a lot of variety in your stash. I like to have smaller cuts, like fat 1/4s, fat 1/8s and even strips. This video shares how I cut up larger pieces of fabrics into smaller ones so I have that color print in a lot of different sizes!
Tutorial #2 – Squaring up Fabric
If you are new to quilting, I’m sure you’ve heard quilters talking about “squaring your fabric” before you begin to cut. Why do you need to square the fabric? Because when fabric is rolled onto a bolt at the manufacturer, the fabric is folded and spun onto the bolt by machine. The two sides of the fabric can shift so the piece that is cut for you at the quilt shop in not a perfect “rectangle” when you open it up. This video below shows you how I square fabric so I can cut straight and even strips.
Tutorial #3 – Pressing vs Ironing
As a quilter, you know the iron is an essential tool. However, do you know the difference between pressing and ironing and what you should be doing with your quilt blocks? You should press, not iron. Ironing back and forth on a seam can stretch you fabric and make your block distorted. Here’s my mini tutorial showing you the difference:
Tutorial #4 – Folded Corners
Also known as “stitch & flip”, this technique is one you will use often while constructing quilt blocks. The most well known unit that employs this technique is the snowball block. It’s a way to add angles to the design of a block without having to cut angle pieces and sew them together. Here’s the video:
So, that’s it for this week. Share in the comments ideas for other techniques you’d like to see me feature in an upcoming mini-tutorial video. I will choose a name from the commenters to win a copy on one of my latest patterns, Seaside Cottage!
The drawing will be on Monday, August 2nd. ***We have a winner! Congrats, Diane Potter!***
Happy Quilting!
Deanne
I am just starting to attempt aquilting and don’t have a quarter-inch seam foot for my machine. Can you offer tips on how to achieve a quarter-inch and/or a scant quarter-inch seam/ Thank you.
Hi there!
Great question and I will cover that in an upcoming post.
I’ve been searching for an iron that doesn’t have the automatic turn off feature. I did find one that won’t shut off until it has been stationary for 30 minutes but unable to find an iron that doesn’t turn off when actively pressing without having to lift the iron. Any suggestions will help.
Thank you!
Thanks for the tutorials! Question: Is it good to use steam when pressing a seam or a piece of fabric?
For Diane: the Rowenta DA1560 Travel-Ready 1000-Watt Compact Steam Iron does not have automatic turn off on it.
Enjoy your vacation!
I do not use any steam when pressing. If I need a little helper, I use a starch like Best Press.