Tips for Piecing Small Quilt Blocks

Рет қаралды 30,682

Күн бұрын

Learn tips and techniques to improve accuracy in piecing and sewing small quilt blocks.
Read the blog post that goes along with this video here: www.aquiltinglife.com/tips-fo...
Additional Blog Post with tips for accurate piecing: www.aquiltinglife.com/2020/01...
Sewcialites Mini Quilt Block Patterns: blog.fatquartershop.com/sewci...
Faultless Spray Starch: amzn.to/3aOmm34
Best Press Spray Starch: shrsl.com/2tdl3
Flatter Fabric Spray: shrsl.com/2tdll
Bloc Loc Flying Geese Tools: shrsl.com/2tdlt
Triangles on a Roll Triangle Paper: shrsl.com/2tdm9
Variety Pack Triangle Paper in Small Sizes: www.etsy.com/listing/95597600...
Rotating Cutting Mats: shrsl.com/2tdn6
2 1/2" x 2 1/2" Ruler: shrsl.com/2tdnn
3 1/2" x 6 1/2" Ruler: shrsl.com/2tdnj
4 1/2 x 8 1/2" Ruler: shrsl.com/2tdng
Itty Bitty Eighths Ruler: shrsl.com/2tdnb
Stripology Mini Ruler: shrsl.com/2tdns
Sherri's Amazon Storefront (with more favorite quilting products and books): www.amazon.com/shop/influence...
NOTE: Some of the links provided here are affiliate links.
Sherri McConnell
Find my blog here: www.aquiltinglife.com/
More About Me: www.aquiltinglife.com/about/
Pinterest: / aquiltinglife
Instagram: @aquiltinglife
Facebook: / aquiltinglife
Music:
Lucidity By Kings • Video
Artist SoundCloud / onlyfeels
Music Promoted by goo.gl/5NfMV4

Пікірлер: 49

@mindym.1166 3 жыл бұрын

You must have read my mind, I’m making some doll quilts today! I’m sitting down with my cup of tea to enjoy this video!

@AnitaSouthall 3 жыл бұрын

What finished size would you recommend for doll quilts?

@SimplyDelilah 3 жыл бұрын

Read my mind too!! I have to make a Barbie quilt!

@mindym.1166 3 жыл бұрын

@@AnitaSouthall It depends on the doll! Dolls come in lots of sizes. If I'm making them for myself, I usually don't make them any bigger than 20 or 24 inches. And I use very fine thread (Aurifil 80 weight) and I don't machine quilt it very much so it will be more flexible (use a sparser, looser design). If it is a smaller quilt, I often leave out the batting entirely and just quilt the top to the back fabric to make sure it will drape around the doll.

@quiltendeb 3 жыл бұрын

Discovered A Quilting Life blog and KZfaq videos a few months ago, and am enjoying both.

@SewFun 3 жыл бұрын

Great video! One of my biggest tips for piecing smaller blocks is patience. Take a bit more time and you will be less frustrated by mistakes.

@leonawilliams8747 3 жыл бұрын

Thank you Sherri good tips, I like having the stitch length small for small blocks, really made sense . I am sure I will use all of these tips when sewing my next small project.

@jeanbeinemann6029 4 ай бұрын

Great tips! Thank you as these will certainly help me to be successful in American Patchwork and Quilting 2024 QAL!

@paml2642 3 жыл бұрын

These are really good tips! Thank you for this video you are a good teacher.

@happyone444able Жыл бұрын

Thank you very, very much for all these wonderful tips! I am learning quilting and prefer right now to try and do all hand sewing. Starting small works for me!! I will try to make coasters for Christmas gifts. 😊

@judyh5052 3 жыл бұрын

Thank you, for these tips. These small blocks are a challenge for sure.

@Mel_leit 3 жыл бұрын

Thanks for more great tips! Can’t wait to see your new fabric line!😊

@kathydeel4780 3 жыл бұрын

Thanks Sherri!! Stay safe. 👍😷👍😷

@categ6394 3 жыл бұрын

I'm a recent convert to heavy pre-starch. My piecing and cutting has improved exponentially, especially the hst. Thank you so much for sharing.

@jhwilliams6550 3 жыл бұрын

What starch do you use?

@categ6394 3 жыл бұрын

I make my own now. 1T corn starch, 4C water, few drops of essential oil (optional) Boil 1 minutes, stir lots. Thin with more water if necessary. Cool, then transfer to spray bottle or for large pieces of fabric I soak in a bucket then hang to dry.

@jhwilliams6550 3 жыл бұрын

@@categ6394 thank you!

@kathyaschenbach8081 2 жыл бұрын

Thank you so very much for the video! I love the tips and I am trying to soak everything up like a sponge. I will say it is paying off I am having success!!! Thank you so very much from the bottom of my heart.

@julxie-quitting6741 3 жыл бұрын

Thanks for these ideas - I had given up on a particular block because the small pieces were not cooperating, but I’m going to give it another try!

@C12133 3 жыл бұрын

Thank you, Sherri!! Your 3 inch blocks looked perfect to me!! Two of them looked like they were for experienced quilters. 😃When I first started sewing around 4 years ago, I thought it would be a good idea to to make the smaller quilts which also had small blocks.😩 I wasn’t quite ready for that. I love all of your tips for small and larger blocks! 😍

@joyscranfield5527 3 жыл бұрын

Thank you! Very useful info & wasn't aware there were such templates! Definitely be looking for them.

@jamiewillhite6355 3 жыл бұрын

Great tips. I may try this smaller block just for the experience.

@lindakendall9943 Жыл бұрын

I hope you enjoyed your time off! Looking at those blocks both way, I like the X pattern best - it is not as common, plus your swimming suits are upright. If it is too small for you, you can do what you've done before & add a narrow aqua sashing. You are amazing! Thank you for all you share and teach us!

@beverleybrowning3480 3 жыл бұрын

All these tips are great. I am doing the Sewcialites in the 6" version. I make my own starch (triple the recipe and use the professional sprayers from the dollar store - search homemade starch on KZfaq). As another viewer mentioned, I use leaders and enders (2 1/2" squares right now to make a quilt or other projects). Also a one hole sewing plate on the machine really helps to prevent the fabric from going down into the machine! Cheers from 🇨🇦🍁

@Queenread82 2 жыл бұрын

Thank you. I want to make a tiny quilt for my friend who makes doll houses. This will really help.

@Jorgie1944 Жыл бұрын

These are excellent tips. I recently finished a ~45 x 45 pixel quilt with 1/2 in finished squares...and it was my first quilt. I wish I had starched my fabric to assist with the accuracy of cutting 1" squares. The quality of the rulers matters so much and I started using a wooden school ruler 🤦‍♀️. I didn't back stitch and the blocks did start unraveling at the end of rows until I too serendipitously learned that a shorter stitch length prevents that. The other tip regarding the accuracy of 1/4 seam allowance is important too. I plan on doing another portrait pixel quilt next year and I will watch this video again before I start. I wish I watched it before I started my first quilt. Thanks again.

@SharonCarbine 3 жыл бұрын

Thank you, Sherri. Great tips. In a future video chat with Chelsea, please expand upon the difference between spray starch and finishing spray. I have never used Flatter or any similar product. Plus, I do not understand why I would want to use a finishing spray instead of more Best Press. Thanks again!

@lyndasnart7823 3 жыл бұрын

Thankyou very helpful info 👍😷🌍🇦🇺☕️

@AnitaSouthall 3 жыл бұрын

Hello from Geraldton Western Australia

@anneroe5545 3 жыл бұрын

Thank you so much for this set of tips and tricks. I found them really helpful.

@kaylac3367 3 жыл бұрын

Thank you for the tips. I wondered how your blocks were so straight. Mine would turn out a little wavy. I'm going to be sure and try the starch method. Thanks.

@cindykrogmeier4565 3 жыл бұрын

Great tips. Thank you. You have a tree on one of the quilts behind you. Do you sell the pattern for that quolt?.

@susanvoth5831 3 жыл бұрын

Sherri, your hair looks really nice in this video. You have so many tools for quilting. I often hesitate to purchase new rulers, especially the smaller ones, because I can use a bigger one to do the job, and rulers are so expensive. Perhaps this is not the best way to think about it, perhaps accuracy should trump frugality.

@SharonCarbine 3 жыл бұрын

Some of the small Creative Grids rulers are less expensive than you might guess. Shop around. Some quilt shops charge more than the suggested retail price. Eyes rolling. My local quilt shop routinely marks rulers up. I stopped buying rulers from them because I got tired of asking them to honor the suggested retail price.

@michellewhiting2164 3 жыл бұрын

I have a question about starch and precuts. Can you starch the precuts and let them air dry before ironing or will they shrink?

@blairseibert1778 5 ай бұрын

They will shrink.

@lorrierunnals140 3 жыл бұрын

Sherri I have problem with the actual sewing of the tiny pieces. Especially where the book is at the seams. Do you have any suggestions to get the actual sewing part nice and neat?

@SharonCarbine 3 жыл бұрын

Have you tried leaders and enders. They could help.

@lorrierunnals140 3 жыл бұрын

Bulk not book. LOL Thank you for the suggestion I will try it next time I’m sewing small pieces.

@KnitzyKitzy 3 жыл бұрын

Great tips. I’m very chemically sensitive so cannot use unscented starch either. Do you know a good recipe for homemade starch? My Grandma used to use a homemade one with just cornflour/sugar and water but no one knows the recipe she used!

@r64jaqaseem 3 жыл бұрын

I use home made starch. 1 tablespoon of corn starch in 2 cups of warm water. Mix it throughly and use in a spray bottle. Works beautifully but you need to shake the bottle every once in a while while using as corn starch has the tendency to settle. People use potato vodka diluted as well.

@KnitzyKitzy 3 жыл бұрын

@@r64jaqaseem Thank you, will give it a try!

@jhwilliams6550 3 жыл бұрын

@@r64jaqaseem do you make a new batch every time you are going to sew or does it last for a while? I was just wondering about the warm water part.

@beverleybrowning3480 3 жыл бұрын

@@jhwilliams6550 I make homemade starch (recipe on KZfaq - I use the Chatterbox quilts recipe) and triple it. I use 3 "professional" sprayer bottles from the dollar store. You can leave them for a long time, and just shake up well before using.

@r64jaqaseem 3 жыл бұрын

@@jhwilliams6550 I use it for a long time. I use slightly warm water to easily dissolve the corn starch. It doesn’t get cooked. So I use it till it finished and than make a new batch.

@twinstar9 Жыл бұрын

shortened my seam allowance?

@carynwakelin2494 Жыл бұрын

I think she meant to say shortened my stitch length, not seam allowance - I noticed she said it twice incorrectly. 🙂

@marcellarodriguez7955 3 жыл бұрын

I clicked on the link to the pattern for these mini blocks and I couldn’t find it

@sherrimcconnell4094 3 жыл бұрын

Just checked and it's working. You need to scroll down the page to where the block pictures show up and click on each one separately for the patterns.