Perkins Dry Goods

One of the things I love to do when I’m finished with a quilt is the binding. When I finally mastered making the end and the beginning invisible, I felt that I had arrived! I thought I would try to show you how I do it:

And there you have it.  Give it a try – it’s easier than you thought.  I just know that’s what you’re thinking !

To be entered in the pattern drawing be sure to comment.  I will be drawing four names first thing Saturday morning. Thanks for stopping by!

Roseann is doing the cutest sampler quilt – one block each day over at her blog.  Today is block #8, but you can go back to the beginning and start from there.

So far, I’ve only been out to two shops!  Quilted Treasures in Rogers, MN and Silver Lane Quilting in Forest Lake, MN.  Both are neat shops.  My goal next week is to get out to see Roseann in North St. Paul!

A quick tip here on how to spin the seams in a four patch block.  This will work with pinwheels and will also work with nine patch blocks.  Why would you want to spin your seams?  It helps reduce bulk where all four seams come together…take a peek:

Three seams rotate in the same direction, one goes against the flow!

Most Four Patch blocks are pressed with the two-patch units going to the same fabric, in this case, they are pressed to the dark.  The long seam is usually pressed to one side. See Above.

Flip the seam back, the one that is going "against the flow". The stitches should pop apart allowing the center to lay flat.

If the stitches in the seam don’t want to pop, help them along a bit with your seam ripper. See Above.

Play around with it on Nine Patch blocks and Pinwheels.  Note that Pinwheel blocks are little more challenging because of all the extra fabric – but really neat and tidy when it’s all done!

Don’t forget to comment – I will be drawing 2 winners for Perkins Dry Goods patterns this week!

Thanks for stopping by….Celine

First of all, welcome to day 1 of the Quilt Minnesota Shop Hop!  There are nearly 90 brick and mortar shops participating through out the state.  The shop hop runs from today, July 31 through August 16.  Click here for a complete listing of participating shops and their web pages.

I thought I would try to share a few of my favorite tips, tricks and tools with you during this huge state-wide shop hop.  Plus there will be random drawings for Perkins Dry Goods patterns!  Just leave a comment on each post during the shop hop.

So now, let’s go Fly A Kite!
This is a tip for speeding up your piecing and pressing:

When I am sewing lots of pieces together, I like to chain piece. That means I feed one set of fabric units after another through the sewing machine without cutting the thread in between.  Did you know that you can save a whole spool of thread on one queen size quilt by chain piecing?

What you get when you have sewn all of you units together is a Kite Tail.  Take it to the ironing board and lay it out flat. If the tail is really long, do it a few units at a time. Place the side you are pressing TOWARD on TOP.

Next, I like to set the seams by simply pressing flat with a hot iron.

Then, I open the units up one at a time and press – they are still attached by the thread between each one.

Now, the moment of truth.  Take a scissor a snip the thread between each unit.  I like to use a blunt nosed scissor so I don’t cut my ironing board cover.

You will be pleasantly surprised at how much time you save (and thread!) by using the Kite Tail Pressing Method.

Don’t forget to comment so you can be entered in the random pattern drawing!

Welcome to day 3 of the Minnesota Designers Blog Hop! The excitement and activity are only getting better each day!  For more information about what this Blog Hop is about, click here.

Let me introduce myself,  in case you haven’t stopped by before.  I am a quilt pattern designer and have been in business since 2002.  I learned to sew when I was about 7. My mom taught me while she made clothes for all four of us girls.  I loved playing with the fabric scraps and making Barbie clothes from them .

As part of this Blog Hop, I am doing a tutorial on making Half-Square Triangle Blocks (HST for short). When I write my pattern instructions, I use the traditional (Finished size + 7/8″)  measurements for cutting squares to make half-square triangle blocks.  This measurement is just a starting point.  You can use triangle paper, Thangles (TM), Tada Triangles, or whatever technique suits you.

The formula for cutting a square to make a Half-Square Triangle Block is:   Finished size + 7/8″. For example, if your HST is supposed to be 2″ finished; cut the square 2-7/8″.

TIP - If you prefer to  square-up your HST blocks, add 1″ to the finished size.  The units will be a little bigger than they need to be and you trim them down to the right size.

Here we go….

Method 1:  Sew Before You Cut

1.  Square is 7/8″ larger than the finished size of the Half-Square Triangle Block (HST for short).

2.  Draw a line from corner to corner on lighter fabric.

3.  Sew a scant 1/4″ from both sides of the line.  Scant means just a thread less than a full 1/4″.

4.  Cut apart on drawn line to get two HST blocks!  Press to the darker fabric and trim to size as needed.

Method 2:  No Math Method

1.  If you are using 3″ squares to make a block like this one and need to make an HST that will fit, simply use two 3″ squares; a light and a dark.

2.  Place fabrics right sides together and draw a line from corner to corner on the lighter fabric.
3.  Draw a SECOND line 1/2″ away – this will give you a bonus HST that is 1″ smaller than the large HST.

4.  Sew ON THE LINES, actually just a hair inside would be even better.

5.  Cut apart between sewn lines and press to the darker fabric.

6.  The large HST will fit perfectly with the plain 3″ squares in the four patch block above.

7.  The BONUS block can be squared up to 2″ and saved for a scrappy project.

BLOG HOP GIFT:  Today only (June 24) if you order anything
from my website, you will receive an additional gift valued at $5.00.

I just had to share a picture of my oldest son as a four year old. He will graduate from high school next month. I remember taking this picture like it was yesterday.

During one of my many wanderings around the net, I stumbled upon this rotary cutting tutorial at the purl bee. I thought it was really good since it reiterates things that I think are important! You will see how to use two rulers to straighten your fabric, good safety tips and basics on cutting strips and how to cut squares from strips. Enjoy!

If you are a knitter/crocheter there are tons of fun things on this blog as well!

Celine

This must be binding week.  Right after I posted about the fusible thread, I crossed paths with a link to some free videos by Sharon Schamber an award winning quilter and author.  One of the videos was her technique for binding application using glue.  Sharon likes to use Elmer’s School glue and has these cool tips that keep the glue under control.

 They look kind of like this. 

Then I read Pam’s comment on the fusible thread and she mentioned using Roxanne’s glue for binding.  Have I had my head in the sand all these years?  I had to give it a try.  I even did it on curved binding.  A little messy, but not too bad.  Both techniques have their drawbacks, but I sure like having choices.

Here is a tip that has saved me a ton of time plus reduced my stress level when getting ready to go to market.  I love nothing better than sitting with my family and hand stitching the binding on a quilt.  There is something about it that is relaxing and very satisfying.  BUT  then there are the times when you have a deadline and need that quilt DONE!  That’s when I dig out the fusible thread.  I also do the fusible technique as prep to hand sew.  It is soooo nice to have the binding wrapped in place, ready to stitch…..no pins, no pokes! 

I like the YLI Fusible Thread, it runs about $4.99 for a 150 yd spool.

• Sew the binding on the quilt as you would if you were going to hand sew it.  Use regular thread.
•  Wind a bobbin with the fusible thread.  Don’t wind it full, just about 80%.  If you wind it too full, the thread falls off and makes a mess.
• Stitch:  Set your machine to a zig-zag stitch that is a hair narrower than the binding seam allowance and not too short.  I set mine at 4.1 wide and 2.6 long.
• Tension:  Loosen the upper tension.  I set mine between 1 and 2.
  

1. Put the bobbin in the machine.  Now, I have a drop in bobbin on my Janome 6600 and it does not like it when I put the thread in the tension clip thing.  I put the bobbin in so that it unwinds counter clockwise.
2. Sew a zig-zag stitch in the seam allowance so that the fusible thread is on the back side of the quilt.  You will wrap your binding to the back and fuse it.
3. The first fold goes like this; lay the quilt on the ironing board back side up and fold the left side over.  Press.
   
4. Fold the top down, making sure that you have a nice miter at the corner.  Press binding to fuse all the way across.
   
5. Turn the quilt when you get to the next corner and repeat.  When you are finished, the binding looks totally finished.
6. You will eventually need to stitch it to the back, I don’t think this would hold if it went through the wash!