I’m constantly hearing (and saying) that there’s too many projects and not enough time to complete them all. I love efficiency in quilting, so my quilting tip for you today is batch piecing. You probably already do this, but I thought it deserved a mention.
Batch piecing
We all want to make the most of our time when we’re quilting or sewing. The faster we are, the more projects we can make! As I started a new wall hanging project last weekend, I realized I was prepping and gathering as many pieces of the pattern as possible to take to my sewing machine. Then I laid them out next to my sewing machine and started chain piecing. This is what I call “batch piecing” and it’s so efficient!
Rather than sewing one block or component at a time, I’m sewing as much as I can from all of the components at one time. Then I press those pieces and re-group for the next batch to be sewn.
I get to a point where I’m sewing blocks together, but I do that in an assembly line fashion too. Eventually, I’m sewing larger chunks of the quilt together until I’m left with major seams.
This cute basket of blossoms will be part of a larger wall hanging and a pattern some day! You can find my tutorial for the Blossom Quilt Block here which includes a free, downloadable pattern.
Blossom Quilt Block
Two more tips for fast piecing
I have two more tips for fast and efficient piecing.
Use a small, water soluble glue stick such as the Sewline Fabric Glue Pen instead of pins to hold “stitch and flip” corners in place and/or matching seams. This gives you greater accuracy and saves time removing pins later. You’ll notice there are no pins in the photo below (or diagonal seam lines).
Use glue instead of pins
Use Diagonal Seam Tape to avoid drawing diagonal seam lines. This saves a lot of time! You can read more about this tape at Cluck, Cluck Sew. Notice the lack of drawn lines in that same photo with no pins.
Diagonal Seam Tape
Those are just a few things you can do to speed up your process when making quilts or other sewing projects. I hope you’ll give batch piecing a try. I know it’s not a race, but you might as well be efficient and productive at the same time! How about you? Do you have any other time-saving tips to share?
I hope you’re enjoying a Happy Mother’s Day, whether you’re a mother, daughter, sister or fur-mom! I was treated to a big breakfast made by three of my kids and husband. So fortunate to have them all here, but missing the gang in Texas. Here’s a snapshot of almost everyone (Kelly, our oldest daughter and mother of our grandkids is not pictured, nor is Mr. Crafty Quilter).
Ben, 4 months
Amelia (4) & Clara (2)
Sara, Jon & me
Cooper & Nicole
Mother’s Day 2020
I’ve been busy with spring cleaning and cooking in preparation for our two daughter’s two-week visit (starting yesterday). We are still sheltering in place and really looking forward to the time when we can all hug extended family and friends. I ran into a lovely, albeit bittersweet, video last week called The Great Realisation. It’s a 4-minute bedtime story describing how it took a pandemic to get humanity to create a better world and how hindsight is 2020. Truly worth the watch.
Here’s four of the 12″ blocks that I’ve finished so far followed by the 6″ quilt blocks:
I have another row completed for the Safe At Home Modern Row by Row Quilt. I’m just two rows behind now! These are going to be so pretty all together.
I’ll leave you with a design image of my next project, the Basket of Blossoms wall hanging. The flowers are a variation of my free Blossom Quilt Block tutorial, and now I’m creating a larger pattern that I will have available in my Etsy shop.
Happy Mother’s Day everyone! I wish you day full of peace, joy and creativity!
{I love the idea of “paying it forward”. I think the world would be a better place if we could spread some joy and acknowledgement of good deeds done by others. I try to do that once a month for my Sew Thankful Sunday posts. I highlight some great content that I’ve found on other people’s blogs that I hope will inspire you and reward the originator by bringing traffic to their site. If your blog has been mentioned without your consent, please let me know and I will take you off the current list of featured bloggers.}
I love the month of May. It just seems like a happy month to me with Mother’s Day and spring activities happening. As we shelter in place, many of us are getting projects finished and spending time cleaning and organizing. You’ll find plenty to keep you busy and motivated with today’s list of things I’m sew thankful for!
Note: If you use Pinterest, please pin from the original source and not this blog post. Remember, you can click on any of the images in this post and it will open up a new tab to the associated link.
Are you ready for a Quilter’s Spring Cleaning challenge? Join Amber at Gigi’s Thimble and Jessica at Jessica Dayon for 30 days of tasks to get your sewing space clean and organized. I’m in!
I think we’re all ready for a free Happy Dance Pattern from Pat Sloan! This adorable quilt is made from 16″ squares; Pat used a layer cake to make hers. This will definitely put the happy in your dance!
Are you curious about hand quilting? Visit Corey Yoder at Coriander Quilts and her recent blog post is a Q&A of hand quilting topics. It’s a great read!
What do you do when you can’t find the vintage quilt block pattern you were looking for on the internet? You create one yourself AND share it! That’s what Lea Anne at Podunk Pretties did, and she named it the Hunkering Down Quilt Block Tutorial. I love this one!
We hear a lot about silver linings during this pandemic, and it’s certainly coming true at Jacquelynne Steves and her upcoming Silver Linings Free Sew Along. The fun starts in early May, and it will run through the end of July with one quick and easy block per week.
I think we all wish we could quilt feathers into our quilts. At We All Sew, Nina McVeigh has a great tutorial and video to show you how to free motion quilt feathers and how to use rulers on a domestic machine for feathers. It’s a great way to start practicing!
Quilting Feathers at We All Sew
If you haven’t tried working with Kraft-tex, you’ll find some great ideas from Lindsay at Lindsay Sews. She’s a Kraft-tex Embassador and her project for April were these cute pillow boxes – so easy to make!
Kraft-tex Pillow Boxes @ Lindsay Sews
It’s easy for our sewing space to become crazy and cluttered. Jeni at In Color Order shares some great Tips to Keep your Sewing Table Organized & Clutter Free.
Organized Sewing Table @ In Color Order
I’m definitely focusing on the silver linings right now, and I’m getting so much done at home. I appreciate everyone’s efforts to provide projects and ideas to keep us all inspired and busy. Thank you for visiting today and for showing your love to all of those bloggers and designers featured!
I love a good pouch. They make great gifts and they’re perfect to store those little collections we seem to accumulate. Today, I’m going to show you how to make a fabric origami pouch that you guys are going to love! Be warned, it’s highly addictive. But, it’s a great way to use up those fat quarters!
These pouches don’t require much cutting or pressing. They start with two squares of fabric and after a few folds and a few seams, you get this sweet pouch to brighten up your space. Better than that, they make a great gift bag, travel pouch or organizational bag.
Pouch sizes
You can make these pouches in a variety of sizes. I’ve been working with the following pouch sizes:
lightweight fusible interfacing (optional – this makes the pouch stand upright, but it’s more difficult to cinch up the drawstring)
Fabric Origami Pouch video
I made a video that shows all of the steps to make a medium-size fabric origami pouch. You can cut to the chase and get all of the details in the video:
Steps to make a medium-size fabric origami pouch
Before starting: Press and starch your fabric. If using interfacing, fuse it to the contrast fabric (the one that peaks through the front).
Note: I did not use a walking foot to stitch this project, and I was able to sew through all thicknesses without a problem. Feel free to use one, though, if you need to.
Place fabric squares right sides together and pin around the sides.
Stitch with a 1/4″ seam around all four sides, leaving a 3″-4″ opening on one side.
Clip corners to reduce bulk. Turn right side out and press flat. You’ll also turn under the seam allowance at the opening and press.
Top stitch 1/8″ from the edge all the way around with coordinating thread. This will close the opening as well.
Step 1
Step 2
Step 3
Step 4
A note about the next steps. You will be folding your finished square into thirds. I intentionally chose a beginning square size that is divisible by 3 (true for all three sizes).
Place fabric square with contrasting fabric face up.
Fold into thirds, diagonally. Here’s how I do this: If you divide 15″ (the size of the square) by 3, you get 5″. 6A: Place the 5″ lines of a square ruler on one corner of the 15″ square. Fold the adjacent corner towards the middle until the edge touches the ruler. 6B: Repeat for the opposite corner. The two open square areas (shown in pink below) should both measure the same (5″ for the medium pouch; 4″ for the small pouch and 6″ for the large pouch).
Step 6A
Step 6B
Press the folds created in the previous step.
Place the folded fabric face up and find the center (from point to point). The best way to find the center is to fold it in half.
Draw a line 1″ away from both sides of the center. This will be the side width of your pouch (2″ total). You could make it wider or narrower by adjusting the drawn line from 1/2″ to 1 1/2″ from each side of the center.
Stitch on the drawn lines through all thicknesses.
Step 8
Step 9
Fold the pouch in half, matching side edges and corners.
Stitch 1/8″ from the edge, through all thicknesses. Backstitch at the beginning and end.
Step 11
Step 12
(a) Fold the bag so the side seams meet together. The bottom corners of the bag should form a triangle and it will look like an arrow when it’s flattened. (b) The bottom stitches (from step 10) should meet and form a straight line.
Stitch across the bottom corner triangles, on top of the previous stitching line, to form the base of the pouch (gusset).
Step 13 a
Step 13 b
Step 14
Step 14
Turn the pouch right side out, pushing out the bottom corners.
Fold the top triangle down and press.
Step 15
Step 16
To form the casing for the drawstring, stitch 5/8″ away from the top folded edge through all layers.
Insert ribbon through the side opening and pull all the way through.
Step 17
Step 18
Step 18
Optional: Insert another ribbon through the other side to create a drawstring that cinches from both sides.
Option 2: Add a button!
I’ve made six of these pouches in medium and large sizes. I haven’t made a small yet. I’ve changed the side width on the medium pouch so that it’s 3″ wide. You can see the difference below.
These fabric origami pouches are really easy once you get the folding process down. After you make your first pouch, the others will go together much faster. I promise!
I’m sure you can think of many different ways to use these pouches. I love mason jar gifts, and I think this would be the perfect gift bag for them. You could even leave out the drawstring and have a free standing container (especially if you add interfacing). I’m always looking for a travel pouch and a small bag to hold my paper piecing projects. There are so many options!
With Mother’s Day coming up and summer graduations, these pouches would make a perfect gift! I’m just glad to have something to use up my endless supply of fat quarters. If you make one, use the hashtag #fabricorigamipouch and tag me @thecraftyquilter. Have fun sewing!
Have you ever put a lot of time and effort into piecing a quilt block only to find out that it’s too small or too big? That just happened to me a few weeks ago, and so I thought I would talk about fixing quilt blocks and making them “perfect” again.
The quilt block I made (and fixed) was for a block of the month that I’m co-teaching; I blogged about it here. This block was made the old-fashioned way with triangles and squares – no easy piecing techniques or shortcuts. The pattern did not tell you what size the smaller units were supposed to measure. When it was all put together, it was too big and a little wonky.
If I were to square-up this block, I would lose the points on some of the triangles. I decided to make it again and try to figure out where I went wrong. Here’s what I noticed:
This time I starched my fabric really well before cutting any of the pieces.
I took my time.
I was really careful and exact about cutting my squares into triangles.
I pinned my pieces before sewing any seams.
I trimmed my units so they were “square” before continuing to the next step.
I made sure my 1/4″ seam was just right (scant for me).
I pressed carefully.
I took my time. Yes, it’s that important.
Fixing quilt blocks (re-making actually) is not the funnest thing to do, but it reminded me of how important it is to be accurate and slow the heck down. My second quilt block turned out much better, even though it is still a skooch too big. At least it’s not wonky and I’ll be able to sleep at night (just kidding).
I was going to write an entire blog post on how to make a perfect quilt block when I realized that I had done that already! Check out my 8 Tips to Create a Perfect Quilt Block from 2018.
The only thing I would add to those 8 tips is to trim your units and your quilt blocks as you make them. Even if it’s just a few threads, it makes a difference. I do this religiously and it’s great habit to maintain.
Now you’re thinking I’m a perfectionist, but I’m not so much. When I want to be, I can hit the nail on the head. Other times, I’m OK with points not being perfect or seams not matching. I think it’s more important to enjoy what you’re doing and have fun with it!
Speaking having fun, I just finished the cutest little project and I can’t wait to share it with you! I’ve been making origami fabric pouches, and I’m addicted. Each pouch takes two fat quarters and a piece of ribbon or cording. I’ll have a free tutorial to make them in several different sizes, and I’m going to make a video. Some things are easier to see in action and this is one of them.
Thanks for your nice comments and compliments from my last video on how to use a seam ripper. I guess the universe has aligned in such a way that my next project requires a video, too! Have a wonderful day and thank you for stopping by.
