Solitude Star Quilt Along // Piecing Tips I Wish I Had Know
Welcome to the Solitude Star Quilt Along #solitudestarquiltalong
Solitude Star Quilt Along: Introduction
Solitude Star Quilt Along: Tips for Choosing Fabrics
Solitude Star Quilt Along: Cutting Your Fabrics and Staying Organized
Solitude Star Quilt Along: HST Tips, Tricks, and Templates
Solitude Star Quilt Along: Piecing Tips I Wish I Had Known
Solitude Star Quilt Along: 5 Tips for Piecing Quilt Backs
Bonus: Video Tutorial by Amy Smart for Making Lightning Fast HSTs
This week's task: Piece the Quilt Top
I included a few piecing tips from myself and others. I would love to hear your favorite tips!
Don't forget to post photos to Instagram using the #solitudestarsquiltalong, and it isn't too late if you still want to grab a pattern and join in the fun!
blue quilt top ready to be pieced by @jennaquilts
I made my first quilt almost 20 years ago, and I helped tie quilts long before that. After I got married, my mother in law, my sister in law and I did a block of the month quilt. It was awesome--if we completed one month's block, and brought it back, we got the pattern and fabric for the next month's block. At the end of the quilt, my mother in law quilted it for us!
Ironically, I was scared to sew the blocks and mess it up, and instead just cut everything out, because I thought it was the least important job. It took a while for me to realize that cutting out the fabric is the most important part! If you mess that up, its all downhill from there.
1. Cutting Matters! [see story above] Related: Change your blade often. If you can't remember the last time you changed your blade, change it. I keep an old case with "old blades" in a sharpie to dispose of blades safely.
2. Unpick early and often. If in doubt, unpick. Full stop. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve persevered, unsure if I liked something, only to unpick twice (or ten times) as much as if I would have just stopped and unpicked earlier.
3. Use the same machine throughout the entire quilt making process. If you use two machines, double check to make sure the 1/4'' is the same! My mom and I pieced a quilt together on two machines last summer, and the seam was different!
Luckily the quilt top [above] was improv-y enough that it didn't matter too much.Ready to learn from the pros? Keep reading, and enjoy!
Katie
SIGN UP for my newsletter here to get a free pdf Star Bright Quilt Pattern.
5 Tips to Piecing More Accurate Quilts by Amy Ellis
8 Tips to Improve Piecing Amy Gibson9 Piecing Tips and Tricks by Melissa Mortenson
10 Quilt Piecing Tips to Improve Piecing Accuracy by Sherri McConnell
If you want to know more about the quilt along and pattern, keep reading.
Let's Quilt Along together, started Monday, March 18. It isn't too late to join in! You are welcome to follow the quilt along posts, even if you start after that date.
If you already have a copy of the pattern, I hope join in! If you don't, you can grab one here:
The pattern includes instructions for two sizes, baby and large throw (44'' x 44'' and 76'' x 76'').
This graphic quilt looks great with solids, prints, or a combination of the two–make sure to tag your quilts and projects with #solitudestarquilt.
This 7 page pattern has clear, tested instructions, full color illustrations, a coloring page, and additional color ideas to help plan your quilt.I originally purchased the stack on the left, and then realized that I had some long saved (hoarded) Heather Ross Fabrics that would work perfectly for this quilt! Yay for using stash fabric.Since the Quilt Along doesn't start until 3/18, you have plenty of time to gather/find/purchase fabric. This quilt is a great scrap buster.
