Welcome to Part 3 of the tips and tricks series for the Mosaic Ornaments Quilt! This post series is partly to provide extra insights into this pattern and partly to function as a sew-a-long. You can find Part 1 here, and Part 2 here. You can buy the quilt pattern from the patterns page on my website. If you're following along for the sew-a-long, this is the schedule:
Week 3: Making Ornaments 1 and 2
Week 4: Making Ornaments 3 and 4
Week 5: Putting it all together!
We are up to Week 3 (one-week late unfortunately, but that's life!). This week we're focusing on making our ornament blocks, specifically the ornaments 1 and 2 blocks. In this blog I'll share a few general tips on sewing blocks together as well, so you can refer back to this for future use as well. Apologies for the photos in the post, most of my sewing these days is done at night after the kids are in bed!
In this blogpost:
Getting Started
Start by getting all fabric cuts and starter blocks needed for each ornament. Ideally work on one block at a time.
Chain Piecing
This is probably the single most efficient way to get through a lot of sewing in a short amount of time. Chain piecing is when you sew one set of blocks together and move on to sew the next set of blocks together without cutting the threads on your sewing machine in between. You might still need to lift your sewing foot in between. While it might not seem like a big deal, it really does decrease overall time taken to make your blocks. Based on how many blocks you are making you can end up with a long string of blocks attached by thread. Separate the blocks by cutting the threads in between.
Some tips for improving your chain piecing:
Reduce your stitch length, so your stitches don't unravel at the ends when you separate the blocks.
Organize your fabric piles well, so you don't end up making mistakes with block orientation or sewing the wrong blocks together.
Sew in batches, this will help catch any errors early
Pin at the seams - this helps with getting your seams to line up.
With chain piecing you can choose to press your seams as you go or all at the end. I often alternate based on my mood! You can also use a tailor's clapper (look it up!), a heavy book, or finger pressing for some temporary pressing and to set your seams until you're ready to get the iron out.
EXTRA TIP: Press the seams open for the flying geese blocks in Ornament 1 and the HST blocks in Ornament 2.
Getting those Points to Match
I love designing quilt blocks on some maths paper with a pen or pencil, some colouring pencils, and a ruler - it's so fun, like being back in school learning Geometry (okay, so this is probably not most people's experience with Geometry!). But if you've ever pieced a quilt block you will know that getting your lines to match up in sewing is not the same as drawing out a pattern on paper. In fact, even for the most experienced quilter, it's pretty impossible to get every point to meet, and every pattern line to align a 100% of the time - there's simply too many possibilities for error! But with some experience and a few tweaks to our sewing, we can work towards making most of our points to match. I have a couple of things I do that help me match my points:
Nesting Seams
"Nesting seams" is when the seam on your top strip of fabric is pressed in the opposite direction to the seam on the bottom, as shown in the image. Pin to keep it all in place as you sew. The pieces fit together much better, and it also reduces bulky seams.
Bonus if the seam on top is pressed to the left and the one on the bottom is pressed to the right! It feeds through the sewing machine effortlessly, sometimes even without a pin!
In general, when working with a complex pattern, my recommendation is to either press your seams open, or to press your seams in such a way that it is possible to "nest" them.
Obviously, this isn't always possible, especially as your blocks get bigger or you start to sew your blocks together. But if you can do this as much as possible, it makes all the difference!
Make sure your seams don't flip as they go through the machine and under your sewing foot. This can lead to losing your seam allowance altogether and some seam ripping, which is never fun.
Using Pins
I love pins!!! I don't think it is possible to oversell the use of pins. They are so essential in making quilt patterns line up.
But it isn't simply a matter of adding a heap of pins to your quilt. To make the most of your pins they need to be placed strategically. I pin my fabric in three places consistently - at the end, at seams, and in between large strips of fabric without seams. Pinning at seams is a great way to make sure your seams line up! Those nested seams are ideal, but even if you can't manage to nest your seams, a pin through the seams of the top and bottom pieces will help things align. Pinning at the end and in between large strips of fabric is so your top and bottom bits of fabric move through the sewing machine at the same speed. Because of the feed-dogs in the sewing machine, the bottom tends to move a bit faster than the top, which is why you might sometimes find your fabric at the bottom is a bit shorter than the fabric on top by the time. This often leads to ripples in your block as well. To avoid this, I always add a pin at the very end of my blocks, at seams, and space them along long strips of fabric that don't have seams.
Pins along the fabric or perpendicular to the fabric? This is a personal choice! My preference is for pins perpendicular to the fabric. I feel it keeps my fabric "in check", and it's easier to pin through the seams, but I know some quilters prefer to pin their fabrics along the fabric. Perhaps give both a try and see what works best for you.
And when you get a chance, press your blocks! Press down on your seams with a little pressure to set the seams before moving your iron along the seam. This helps to keep everything nice and flat.
Diagonal Seam Matching
There are a few places where two diagonal seams need to meet - with the flying geese and the cat's cradle blocks. This can be tricky as the seams often don't nest well. Best to tackle these by pinning along the diagonal seam and sew very slowly as you go over that seam. Try not to remove your pin until you get to the seam.
Unless you need to do otherwise, press your seams open! This helps reduce seam bulk in your quilt.
Finally...
Finally, and I really cannot stress this enough - it's okay if it isn't perfect! The important thing is that with each quilt block you make, you are learning and improving.
Happy Sewing!
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