Quick viewing(Text Mode)

Sewing on the Go: Perfectly Portable Patchwork by Hand by Candy Goff

Sewing on the Go: Perfectly Portable Patchwork by Hand by Candy Goff

on the Go Perfectly Portable Patchwork by Hand

by Candy Goff

• • Colored pencils in red, green, yellow, and white, and a regular #2 pencil, well sharp- ened. I use these to mark the dots at intersections. • • Chalk wheel markers in blue, red, and yellow. These are handy to mark sewing lines. They are fast to use and do not distort or drag on the fabrics as you mark. • Plastic templates for the block to be pieced. Tip: Keep templates together by placing a safety through a hole in the templates used for each block. The closed safety pin will keep them orga- nized as you work on your project. • Fabric pieces. Precut the pieces for one or two complete blocks, or as many pieces as you anticipate fi nishing. • Mini ‘N Press by June . This 6 x 6 is a mat on one side and a cushioned pressing ewing a complex pieced block and early arrivals at airports all become surface on the other. I use the hard sur- is a challenging undertaking. opportunities for hand piecing. S face for marking and the pressing side Many times it may be easier to piece To make your sewing kit as por- as an alternate . by hand than by machine. Set-in seams table as possible, pack the following in You may also want to throw in a are much easier to do by hand, and I a gallon-sized zip-close bag: ripper, but I usually use the sharp tend to choose blocks with lots of set- • . On my machine I wind tips of my to snip in seams or pivot points. a variety of colors on and pack through the , enabling me Another advantage of hand-pieced them in a small tin. This works well for to pull out the thread. projects is that they can go anywhere— appliqué projects, too. no electricity required! With a basic • . A finger pincushion with Getting Started portable sewing kit, you can work in about six pins is adequate. I rarely use My hand-piecing technique is a a small area and hold everything on more than three or four as I sew across hybrid method, different from the tra- your lap. A lunch hour, coffee break, a block. ditional process of drawing sewing lines commuting time (provided you’re not • Package of needles on every patch and cutting, by eye, a 1 the driver!), a wait at the doctor’s offi ce • ⁄4” outside the drawn or on the sidelines of a soccer game, • Small embroidery scissors line. With my method, seam allow-

64 AMERICAN QUILTER Winter 2006 Repeat the process for each shape in the block, leaving space on the plastic for cutting out the templates. Scissors usually work better for cutting templates than a rotary cutter. Test the accuracy of your templates by fl ipping them over and checking to see if the points line up. Make adjustments or redraft the block as necessary. Checking Alignment After cutting out all the templates for your block, lay them together as if you were going to sew them. Align dots so they are exactly on top of one another (don’t worry about matching the edges of the templates). When the templates are precisely in position with dots aligned, tape the templates together to prevent them from - 1 ping. Use a ⁄16” hole punch and punch through both layers at the match points. This insures that the pieces will fi t together perfectly when the dots are transferred to your patches. Cutting the Patches Determine how many layers of MOODY HUES, 85" x 85", by Candy Goff fabric you can comfortably cut through with scissors or rotary cutter (typically ances are included in templates. Time- the and draw dots for one 2–6 layers). Trace around the template saving rotary-cutting techniques can be shape on the plastic. Draw the sewing on the top layer of fabric. Don’t leave used or multiple layers can be cut with line without marking through the dots. space between shapes but use a pre- 1 scissors. This eliminates the tedious Remove the plastic and add ⁄4” seam viously marked line as start point for drawing and cutting of every patch. allowance. Use the dots, not the sewing placement of the next template. Making Templates line, to align your ruler for adding the Continue to trace around the tem- 1 For my technique, you will make ⁄4” seam allowance (fi g. 3). plate for the total number of pieces plastic templates that include seam needed. (If you have 4 layers and need allowances. Reference points at seam 16 pieces, trace the template 4 times.) intersections are precisely marked 2 Cut on the drawn line through all 1 through small ⁄16" holes punched in the layers. Because accuracy is achieved by sewing from dot-to-dot (the match template (fi g. 1). 1 3 points), accuracy in cutting the patches is not critical. This is totally opposite from machine piecing, where accuracy is dependent on perfect cutting and a perfect seam allowance. Always pin at the match points and Fig. 2 forgive yourself if the edges don’t align Fig. 1 perfectly. This is a different technique! To insure template accuracy, make Marking the Fabric a complete draft of the fi nished block, Place your prepared template on marking dots at intersections to defi ne each cut patch and mark the dots on each template shape in the block (fi g. the wrong side of the fabric. Draw a 2). Lay plastic template material over Fig. 3

Winter 2006 AMERICAN QUILTER 65 Fig. 4 sewing line between the dots without going through them (fig. 4). Sewing from dot-to-dot insures accuracy, and seam allowances are free to be pressed in any direction. Being able to see the dots is very important. Dots should be easily visible and should not rub off in the piecing process. Colored pencils with sharp points work well for marking dots. Tip: Use green or blue pencils on warm- colored fabrics and red or orange on cool-col- ored fabrics. White or yellow are easily seen on dark colors. If you have trouble fi nding a color that is easy to see on multicolored or dark fabric, try a bright red pencil. Each patch is marked on the wrong side with dots at the match points that indicate where to start and stop sewing . LADY SLIPPER, 92" x 92", by Candy Goff Sewing Piecing by hand should be done Don’t sew across seam allowances. with a small even running using Your needle should pass through the a single strand of 100% thread. seam allowance at the reference dots, The running stitch is very similar to allowing it to be pressed in either the stitch. Strive for about the direction. same size as your quilting stitch. Sew the unit with the most seams Tip: Polyester threads stretch over time, up. Add individual new patches causing sagging in the seam construction. I from underneath. When adding a new recommend YLI machine quilting thread for piece, make sure that the patch previ- hand piecing. ously sewn is fi nger pressed and out of Begin and end each line of the way of your next stitching line. stitching with a . A back- Whenever possible, connect stitch is made by simply taking one sewing lines with a pivot point and stitch on top of the previous stitch (fi g. continue sewing. There’s no need to cut 5). A beginning backstitch will prevent Fig. 5 the thread as in machine piecing. the knot from working its way to the After the ending knot, make a front of your . Also backstitch on new knot by wrapping the thread once 1 each side of an intersection. In making around the needle about ⁄2” away. Cut the backstitch at the end, leave a small below the new knot and you’re ready to loop through which you can pass the sew another patch. needle going in the direction away Tip: When sewing together different col- from your body (fig. 6). Then swing ored patches, match thread to the darker patch the tip of the needle toward you and whenever possible or choose a neutral color that underneath the thread on the left. Pull blends with both. Keep several needles threaded to tighten the knot. Fig. 6 with different colored threads for easy changes.

66 AMERICAN QUILTER Winter 2006 On long or bias seams, back stitch 1 every 1 ⁄2” to 2”. This helps control bias stretch. And if the thread should break at some point, the repair would be 2” or less. Pressing Techniques Seams are always pressed to one side when hand piecing. Pressing to one side prevents migration of batting and also protects your single strand of thread from wear and tear. By sewing consistently from dot to dot, seam allowances can be pressed in any direction. This enables you to distribute bulk and make your piecing look even more accurate by choosing the direction in which the seam allow- ances lie (fi g. 7).

Fig. 7 I hope you will be inspired to try hand piecing my Brilliant Cut block (instructions and piecing strategies available at www.AmericanQuilter. com). You may discover that this time- effi cient method of sewing is the key to more fi nished !

Brilliant Cut block

Winter 2006 AMERICAN QUILTER 67

Top View