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2022 Block of the Week – Block 4

Welcome back to my 2022 Block of the Week series. Today we move on to block 4. If you are just joining the fun, all the patterns are free throughout this series. Click these links to go to the previous  posts: Week 1, Week 2 and Week 3. Let’s get started on this week’s block!

2022 BOW Block 4 – Irish Puzzle

It’s the return of the HSTs! This block is made up entirely of HSTs of two different sizes to make the individual units. You can really have fun playing with color here. I just used 2 different colors, but you can make each of the 4 units a different color for a more scrappy look.

The instructions for this block are found here: 2022 BOW Block 4. This is another block that was part of the Ladies Art Company and was first published in 1898. I have not found much other information on the block itself. However, perhaps those who named the block were paying tribute to the claddagh ring, a traditional Irish ring, that is a type of puzzle ring. Since this block design is achieved by arranging the units in a certain way, it’s sort of a puzzle. The blocks can be arranged in different ways for a different look.

Well, that’s my interpretation anyway! If anyone of you have so more knowledge on this, I would appreciate it! Other names this block has been known by are: Bear’s Paw, Forest Path, Rambling Road and North Wind… these are a few of many!

Tip and Technique of the Week – Aligning Seams

Matching up seams when piecing the units of a block is an important step. If seams do not match, the block design may not emerge clearly. Matched seams also help in assuring your finished block measures correctly.

Here’s how I align my seams as I am stitching units and blocks together. An important step is pinning the units. The photos below are of two HSTs I want to stitch together. I lay one HST on top of the other and then I peel back the top one so I can align the seams. I try to bend it back to where the 1/4″ seam line will be to make sure the seams are aligned. Then I pin to keep those seams aligned.

Once I stitch the seam and press the unit open, you can see the seams create a perfect point where they met as I intended.

Now lets move onto units or blocks with several seams. In my example below, I am using two 4-patch blocks. I start out the same as above by layer the blocks right sides together, bending back the top block and aligning seams. I match sure to pin those aligned seams first before pinning any other parts.

Once those seams are matched and pinned, I will pin the ends of the blocks and then stitch them together. As you can see below, once the seam is pressed open, the seams align perfectly.

Here’s a mini video tutorial I made a few years ago on matching points and joining blocks, which includes aligning seams. Sometimes it’s easier to learn something by watching a demonstration.

So that’s it for this week’s installment. Join me next week as we move on to block 5. I hope you’re having fun!

Remember, comment or ask questions throughout this series. At the end, I will have a grand prize giveaway. This will include my book, two of my newer patterns, some fat quarters and sewing scissors!

Happy Quilting!
Deanne

Useful Piecing Techniques – Points and Seams

Ever have difficulty with cut off points, matching up points or matching up seams? Well, you are in luck because that is what this week’s post covers. In last week’s blog post, one of my beginner’s tips was pinning units for stitching to make sure your piecing is accurate. This tip really comes in handy when matching up seams and points too. I’m going to dive a little deeper into matching up seams and points because it helps to make your quilt design look the way you want. So let’s go!

Crisp Points

First up, let’s look at those points. We’ve all had this happen. You stitch the units of a block together and press the seams only to flip it over and see this:

One of your points is cut off by the seam. It’s frustrating when it happens. 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 can be very noticeable. So, here’s some steps to practice to get crisp and not cut off points. 

First: If you are joining a unit with a point to another piece, my first tip is to keep the unit with the point on top when you pin them together. This way you can see the point as you are stitching the units.

Second: If your unit with the points was pieced correctly, there should be 1/4″ from the point to the edge of your unit (see below). Measure to make sure. Measuring completed units as you go will save you headaches later!

Third: Keep your eye on the point as you are stitching. I am using a pin as a pointer in the photos below to identify where the point is as I stitch. You want the seam that you are stitching to pass right above the point.

The photos below show how the seam looks on the back and how your point looks on the front once you press the unit open:

Matching Points

These tips are for when you want to piece together 2 units where there are points on each that need to match up.

First: When pinning the units together, you want to start by lining up the points of each unit and pinning there. Here is how I line up the points. I lay the units right sides together and then pull the top unit down to get the point lined up with the point of the unit below. I slowly inch the top piece back, eyeing the points the whole time to make sure they stay lined up. Then start by pinning in the center before pinning the rest.

Second: Follow the stitching instructions above to stitch the seam, keeping it above the point. Since you took such care in aligning the points, the seam should be above the point on the back unit to. Hopefully you can see in the photos of each side (below) where the stitching line passes above the point:

My thread is a little dark, but because the other fabric in the unit is a tan print you can tell the seam doesn’t go into the point. Now press the unit open and you have points that are matched.

Aligning seams

The steps to aligning seams are similar to aligning points, except when you are piecing a quilt, you may have a lot of seams to line up accurately to keep your design flowing. For example, when joining these two Jacob’s Ladder blocks (below), I have squares and the diagonal lines of the half-square triangle blocks to match up.

I start by matching the center seam of the two blocks using the same method I used above in matching points:

I then pin starting in the center to make sure nothing shifts and then I pin the rest. Stitch the seam and press open. The two blocks joined look like this:

Notice how the corners of the squares and the diagonal seams of the HST units of each of the blocks match up, all because you carefully lined up the center seam. Perform this seam alignment steps for as many seams as there are in the blocks you are joining. A challenging design could have seams and points to align at the same time, so it’s a good idea to practice this skill.

The main point is to line up seams and points carefully first and pin where you want NO shifting whatsoever. If you do these steps, you should be successful in achieving units and blocks with no cut off points or unaligned seams. 

That’s it for now! Join me next week for some more piecing techniques. Leave me a comment or ask questions and be entered into a drawing for my pattern Star Wheels. This pattern has a lot of points and seams to align to give you lots of practice!

The drawing will be on Monday, March 14th so you will have this week and next week to enter! ***We have a winner. Congrats, Pat!***

Happy Quilting!
Deanne