Tag: Quilt-Along

A Quilt Along, My Life

1-A-Day, 3″ Blocks — Bitsy Dresden Plate

suznquilts

  It’s Bitsy Dresden Plate Block Day!!!

The day you’ve all been waiting for!

Today we’ll make this adorable, irresistible cutie.

I had more fun going through my Thimbleberries cart!

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Cut:

  • 1 Dresden petal strip 1  1/2″ x 14″
  • 1 background sq. 3  3/4″ (will be trimmed to 3  1/2″)
  • 1 center fabric sq. 1  1/2″
  • 1 freezer paper sq. 1  1/4″

 

Cutting the petals

If you have my Tiny Dresden Plate Template

you can use it with a bit of retrofitting that I’ll show you below.

Since I’ve modified the template in the past 5 years

to make it easier to use and store

your petal cutting will depend on what version

of my Tiny Dresden Plate Template you have.

Either 1. line up the bottom of “Plate Template” with the edge of the fabric

(don’t cut off the top! extend cutting past the template).

or 2. draw a line 1  1/4″ from narrow edge of template

then align that line with the edge of the fabric strip

(don’t cut off the top! extend cutting past the template).

or 3. print out the pdf below and use that template.

Bitsty+Dresden+Plate+templates

 

Whichever of the 3 options you decide to use,

cut 12 Bitsy Dresden petals,

rotating the template on the strip.

 

 

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All seams to be sewn a scant 1/4″.

Use a Seam guide by Perkins Dry Goods

if you’re unsure of where that is on your machine!

Available here on my notions page

along with the rest of the tools that I recommend.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Fold each petal in half right sides together,

then sew from raw edge to fold as shown.

Sew all 12 petals.

Trim away seam allowance as shown.

Press flat as sewn, then turn right side out.

Using That Purple Thang

or other blunt point,

poke out point of petal.

Press again.

Do this for all 12 petals.

Sew 2 petals together (right sides together)

starting 3 stitches from edge,

back stitch to edge, then sew entire seam.

Press as sewn, then press seam open.

This is the only time I trim these seams.

I trimmed them down to about 1/8″

only because if you don’t they’ll be caught in the neighboring seams.

Sew pairs of petals together.

Press.

Sew 3 segments together to complete plate.

By extending the petals by 1/4″ when we cut them out

there is no opening in the center,

but that extra 1/4″ made the petals easier to hold onto

while assembling the plate

& also allows for a smaller circle

to be appliqued over the center.

Wow!

Just 2  1/2″!

Perfect for our 3″ finished blocks.

❤️❤️❤️

Trace, then cut 3/4″ circle from the pdf above from freezer paper.

Fuse to wrong side of center fabric.

Cut out fabric with 1/8″ seam allowance.

With Roxanne

or other glue &

Apliquick rods,

glue seam allowance to back side of template.

These tools make my circle almost perfect!

See, no divots!!!

Glue circle to center of plate.

Crease the background square in half both directions.

Align seams of plate with the creases.

Glue plate in place.

Appliqué center to plate with thread matching center

then appliqué plate to background with thread matching plate.

I use a tiny blind hem stitch.

With small, very sharp, pointed scissors,

cut away first the background fabric 1/8″ inside

the center circle appliqué stitches

then cut away the center of the Dresden plate petals.

The freezer paper should prevent you

from accidentally cutting the circle fabric!

Dampen center circle.

Let rest a few minutes then remove paper template.

A slight pull on 2 opposite petals will release the paper template

& it will come right out of the hole in 1 piece!

When dry, press with Mary Ellen’s Best Press.

Trim block to 3  1/2″.

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Show us your blocks at my Sewing With Susan FB Group.

We want to see your progress too!

https://www.facebook.com/groups/SewingWithSusan/

 

Just Keep Sewing…

Susan

A Quilt Along, My Life

1-A-Day, 3″ Blocks — Antique Tile

suznquilts

  Antique Tile Block

Today we’ll make this cutie.

I enjoyed using more pieces from my Thimbleberries cart today!

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Cut:

  • 4 black recs. 1″ x 1  1/2″
  • 4 black sqs. 1″
  • 1 cream strip 1″ x 7″
  • 1 blue strip 1″ x 7″
  • 4 blue sqs. 1″
  • 1 blue sq. 1  1/2″

Sew together the 1″ x 7″ strips on one long side.

Press the seam open or to 1 side.

I tried it both ways with the same results.

If you want more assurance of perfectly matching seams

I’d recommend pressing every seam toward the blue fabric.

It’s easier to nest seams that are pressed to 1 side instead of open.

Cut 4 segments 1  1/2″.

 

Sew each 1″ blue square to a 1″ black square.

Make 2 “left” units & 2 “right” units

by next sewing a 1″ x 1  1/2″ black rectangle

to either the right side or left side of each 2-square unit.

See below.

Arrange the segments then sew the block.

I experimented with the pressing of these seams as well

with no evidence that one way was better than the other!

Have fun & make a couple or few or 10 more!

I find it intriguing how different each of these blocks look

depending on the value of the fabrics in the different positions.

Show us your blocks at my Sewing With Susan FB Group.

We want to see your progress too!

https://www.facebook.com/groups/SewingWithSusan/

Just Keep Sewing…

Susan

A Quilt Along, My Life

1-A-Day, 3″ Blocks — Virginia Worm Fence

suznquilts

  Virginia Worm Fence Block

Today we’ll make this cutie.

I had fun going through my Thimbleberries cart today!

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Cut:

  • 1 strip 1″ x 15″ of 2 fabrics

 

Sew the long sides of the 2 strips together.

Press the seam flat as sewn, then press it open.

Cut 9 segments 1  1/2″ each.

Arrange the segments for the block.

The seams will nest if you let them naturally

go the path of least resistance as shown below.

I recommend pinning at the seams.

Pin where the seam will be sewn,

1/4″ away from the edge not some arbitrary place.

 

See what I mean below?

If you pin where you want to sew

you’re actually holding the pieces together more accurately.

Look how easy it is to be precise!

For the second seam,

the seam allowances will just naturally

go the right direction for nesting.

Just snug them up & pin in place.

Easy!

& look how flat this block is

after pressing it on my new wool pressing mat!

Love it!

I’m using the 8  1/2″ square.

It’s perfect on my small ironing board.

I have them on my website if you need one.

Make a couple more.

 

Show us your blocks at my Sewing With Susan FB Group.

We want to see your progress too!

https://www.facebook.com/groups/SewingWithSusan/

Just Keep Sewing…

Susan

A Quilt Along, My Life

1-A-Day, 3″ Blocks — Fancy Bow Tie

suznquilts

  Fancy Bow Tie Block

I saw an antique quilt a few months ago with a block similar to this.

Since I don’t know it’s true name I’ve named it fancy bow tie.

Today we’ll make this cutie.

I had fun going through my Thimbleberries cart today!

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Cut:

  • 2 cream & green sqs. 2″
  • 2 cream & green sqs. 1″

 

I used my “Lazy Susan” technique for the corners

by putting the cream 1″ squares on the corners

of the green 2″ squares & vice versa.

I trimmed away outside the 1/4″ line of the diagonal…

You know by now I know…

 

Press these seams toward the green fabric

so the seams will nest perfectly in the next step.

By the way I finally opened up my wool pressing mat.

I’ve been hearing nothing but good about them

(since 2 years ago at market

this my daughter Clare mentioned to me

when she saw me using it today…

who knew she was listening???).

I love it!

The fabric pressed even flatter than before.

BTW, I have these in 2 sizes on my website.

Arrange then sew the pieces.

I also used one of my new Magic Pins to pin the center seam.

Those little handles are so nice.

I pressed the last seam open

& took out the couple of stitches within the last seam allowance.

Are you tired of hearing me say that?

I really like the plaid version

& the star version reminds me of a cowboy shirt, lol.

It was my first block,

but the fabrics didn’t photograph very well,

so I made the cream/green block my step-out images instead.

 

Show us your blocks at my Sewing With Susan FB Group.

We want to see your progress too!

https://www.facebook.com/groups/SewingWithSusan/

Just Keep Sewing…

Susan

A Quilt Along, My Life

1-A-Day, 3″ Blocks — Brave World

suznquilts

  Brave World Block

Thanks to Chris’ suggestion,

today we’ll make this cutie.

Had lots more fun choosing from my Thimbleberries cart!

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Cut:

  • 1 cream sq. 2  1/4″
  • 1 green sq. 2  7/8″ cut in half diagonally
  • 1 pink sq. 4 3/8″ cut in half diagonally (only 1 triangle needed)

 

Sew a green triangle to the cream square.

Press this seam open.

Sew remaining green triangle to other side of cream square.

Press this seam open then trim.

The back is pretty too!

Align pink triangle right sides together

with corner of cream square.

Notice the long sides of the triangles don’t line up!

Sew scant 1/4″ seam from edge of PINK triangle.

 

Trim the seam to 1/4″

then press it toward the pink triangle.

Trim block to 3 1/2″ square

by lining up the diagonal line of ruler

with the long (last sewn) seam

&

also having the 1  3/4″ mark

on the seam between the cream square & green triangle.

Here’s a closeup.

So easy.

I trimmed my second block with a 6  1/2″

Omnigrid ruler the same way.

Be sure the diagonal line is on the long seam

then align the 1 3/4″ line

with the seam between the

cream square & green triangle.

Then just align the 3  1/2″ marks

to trim the remaining 2 sides.

Such easy perfection!

Show us your blocks at my Sewing With Susan FB Group.

We want to see your progress too!

https://www.facebook.com/groups/SewingWithSusan/

Anyone else have a request for a block?

Just a few more days to go so let me know if you do.

Just Keep Sewing…

Susan

A Quilt Along, My Life

1-A-Day, 3″ Blocks — Ohio Star

suznquilts

  Ohio Star Block

At the request of Rhonda,

today we’ll make this cutie.

It looks hard but it’s so easy!

Had lots more fun going through my Thimbleberries cart!

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Cut:

  • 4 cream sqs. 1  1/2″
  • 2 cream sqs. 2  1/2″
  • 1 red sq. 1  1/2″
  • 2 red sqs. 2  1/2″

 

This starts out just like the hour glass blocks from last week.

Put a 2  1/2″ red & cream square right sides together.

In “Lazy Susan” fashion

slice them in half diagonally

then sew each set of triangles together.

I recommend pressing toward the darker fabric.

This will make the seams nest in the next step.

Put these 2 hst’s right sides together

with each red half on a cream half,

snugging up the seams to nest.

Cut the pair in half diagonally.

You can see how the seams both

pressed toward the red fabric

are nested perfectly.

Sew the two units together.

I pressed these flat as sewn

(AS ALWAYS to set the seams)

then I pressed each half toward the red fabric.

When you manipulate that seam with your thumbnails

it pulls out the couple of stitches

of the first sewn seam

that are in the seam allowance

of the second seam.

See how flat they lie?

Next trim them to 1  1/2″ sq.

Love my Creative Grids 4  1/2″ ruler for this!

Look how easy it is to make them so precise!

Make 2 more with the remaining red & 2 cream 2  1/2″ squares.

Next, arrange the 4 tiny hour glass blocks

with the 1  1/2″ red & creams squares.

Assemble the block.

So pretty & precise!

Make a couple more!

Thanks Rhonda, for suggesting we make the Ohio star block.

I thought it might be more of a challenge

than what some wanted, but it was so easy!

Show us your blocks at my Sewing With Susan FB Group.

We want to see your progress too!

https://www.facebook.com/groups/SewingWithSusan/

Just Keep Sewing…

Susan

A Quilt Along, My Life

1-A-Day, 3″ Blocks — Sugar Bowl

suznquilts

  Sugar Bowl Block

(or a variation there of)

Today we’ll make this cutie.

I again cut some Thimbleberries yardage for these blocks today!

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Cut:

  • 2 beige sqs. 1  1/4″
  • 2 beige recs. 1  1/4″ x 2″
  • 2 pink sqs. 1  1/4″
  • 8 half-square triangles 1  1/4″ unfinished (use 1  3/4″ sqs. if traditional piecing)

I like using Thangles for such small half-square triangles.

I used the 3/4″ finished.

If you don’t have this size

you can use larger ones

then trim them down to 1  1/4″ when complete.

Use your favorite method.

 I pressed these seams open.

After making the hst’s

CAREFULLY

arrange the pieces then sew the block together.

It’s easy to get the hst’s twisted the wrong way.

Ask me how I know…

(I didn’t photograph that lol).

While making a couple more blocks

I used my new Magic Pins

to hold the Thangles paper to the fabric.

The handles on these pins are great!

I also experimented with pressing the

hst seams toward the darker fabric.

It was definitely easier to assemble the block

with the seams of the hst’s pressed OPEN.

For pressing the rest of the seams I used the

“press toward the path of least resistance” theory.

Show us your blocks at my Sewing With Susan FB Group.

We want to see your progress too!

https://www.facebook.com/groups/SewingWithSusan/

Just Keep Sewing…

Susan

A Quilt Along, My Life

1-A-Day, 3″ Blocks — Sail Boat

suznquilts

  Sail Boat Block

Today we’ll make this cutie.

I had fun going through my Thimbleberries yardage today!

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Cut:

  • 3 cream recs. 1  1/2″ x 2  1/2″
  • 2 cream sqs. 1  1/2″
  • 1 black rec. 1  1/2″ x 3 1/2″
  • 2 pink sqs. 1  1/2″

I used my “Lazy Susan” technique for both

the half flying geese units & the bottom of the boat.

 Using my new Creative Grids

“I Love My Quilting Friends”

2 1/2″ x 6″ ruler (available on my website)

I noticed that I can slide it anywhere along the dashed line

to make the cut without a number obstructing my view.

Not that it’s a huge deal but I noticed.

Make 2 half flying geese units.

I pressed these seams open.

I also remembered how handy the

4 1/2″ Creative Grids ruler

is for cutting off both corners of a unit

that I can trim at once

when the squares do not overlap each other :)

(but not until the 3rd block lol).

I pressed these seams open too.

Arrange the pieces then assemble the block.

Cute, huh?

Make a couple more!

Show us your blocks at my Sewing With Susan FB Group.

We want to see your progress too!

https://www.facebook.com/groups/SewingWithSusan/

Just Keep Sewing…

Susan

A Quilt Along, My Life

1-A-Day, 3″ Blocks — Greek Cross

suznquilts

  Greek Cross Block

Today we’ll make this cutie.

Had lots more fun going through my Thimbleberries yardage today!

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Cut:

  • 1 cream sq. 1″
  • 4 cream recs. 1″ x 1 1/4″
  • 4 orange sqs. 1″
  • 2 cream & 2 orange 2  1/4″ sqs. or 4 half-square triangles 1  3/4″ unfinished

I made the hst’s with 2  1/4″ squares this time.

They’re cut big enough that they can be trimmed

to the perfect size of 1  3/4″ square.

Use your favorite method.

Arrange the pieces then sew the block.

I pressed all of the seams open.

I didn’t feel the need to remove any stitches.

Pretty easy even at this tiny size!

Make some more…

 

Show us your blocks at my Sewing With Susan FB Group.

We want to see your progress too!

https://www.facebook.com/groups/SewingWithSusan/

Just Keep Sewing…

Susan

A Quilt Along, My Life

1-A-Day, 3″ Blocks — Squared Chain

suznquilts

  Squared Chain Block

Today we’ll make this cutie.

I know what you’re going to say…

“hells no!”

but wait….

It’s really not bad!

Let me show you.

Had lots more fun going through my scrap basket!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Don’t forget the Mary Ellen’s Best Press…

Cut:

  • 4 cream sq’s. 1  1/2″
  • 1 cream sq. 7/8″ (yes 1/8″ less than 1″!)
  • 2 blue sqs. 1  1/2″
  • 2 blue recs. 7/8″ x 1  1/4″
  • 2 pink sqs. 1  1/2″
  • 2 pink recs. 7/8″ x 1  1/4″

 

We’ll start with a partial (not “y”) seam.

Sew a pink rectangle onto the center 7/8″ square.

Sew all but the last 1/4″.

 

Finger press seam away from the cream square.

Next sew a blue rectangle onto the center square.

 My first block is a bit rough around the edges

but it’s going to be trimmed in the end so it’s OK.

I did up-size the rectangles to 1 1/4″ for you.

Finger press all of these seams.

Continue around the center square.

Finger press each seam away from the cream square.

For the last seam I folded down the first seam allowance

to get it out of the way.

Then lined up the last rectangle.

It should fit perfectly.

Sew that seam.

Lastly pin then sew the rest of that first (partial) seam.

(After writing this post I made 3 more blocks

so I added some pertinent details for you.)

To more easily finish the partial seam,

first even up the edge of the tiny block then pin it.

Next put another pin a little further in from the edge.

Put the needle down in the last stitch of the partial seam then finish that seam.

I put my finger on the fabric & it acts like a guide

to hold the fabric where I want it

as the feed dogs pull the fabric through the machine.

This is the back of the center of block #5 before any trimming.

These are #5 & 6 before trimming.

 

They keep getting better. Before today I’d not made this block either!

 

Trim the tiny block to 1 1/2″.

This little 4  1/2″Creative Grids ruler is the perfect little square up ruler!

It grips the little fabric block & has the perfect markings

to easily center the block before trimming it.

Block #1

and blocks #5 & 6.

Here’s the back of my second block center.

I learned a bit from the first one.

Arrange then sew the pieces.

A bit more Best Press to finish it off!

The second two were more fun!

I love a good challenge!

So I made 3 more!

This would make an awesome block of any size.

 

Show us your blocks at my Sewing With Susan FB Group.

We want to see your progress too!

https://www.facebook.com/groups/SewingWithSusan/

Just Keep Sewing…

Susan