Quilting/Sewing Tips

Tips/Tricks

Aug 3

Recently I have come across some very useful sewing and cutting tips that I thought were worth sharing. Some of them I have seen before, but others are new to me. I know that a number of my readers are new quilters/sewers, so I'm hoping you all will find these helpful.

1. Flying Geese

Flying Geese are a well known patchwork block and can be found in traditional and modern quilting. Martingale Publishing's Stitch This blog has put together tutorials on 4 different ways to create these flying geese. I have used three of the four methods they share, but I have yet to do them with paper piecing. Click here to see the detailed instructions on all four methods. You can see some patriotic looking geese in the block below from my 30's Sampler Quilt.

2. Half Square Triangles

Half Square Triangles are another very common patchwork block and are probably my favorite to make. There are a number of ways to create these as well. Jennifer over at That Girl...That Quilt put together a great tutorial on the 3 methods to create these beauties. These will probably not be new to more experience quilters, but I wanted to share them for all of the newbies. Click here to view the tutorials. As you will note when viewing the different methods, some make it faster and easier and who doesn't want to make their sewing less stressful and more fun?! One of my favorite quilts that I've seen using half square triangles was done by Rita of Red Pepper Quilts called Charming Triangles and is shown below. Isn't it a beauty?!

3. Matched Binding

If you haven't checked out Debbie's blog A Quilter's Table, you need to. One of her recent tutorials has been on "matched binding". Check out the photo of her Stars of Summer quilt below and you will see that her binding matches the colors of each section of her quilt top. It makes for a beautiful finish. Click here to learn how she does it.

4. Fabric Yield from a Fat Quarter

I apologize because I don't remember who sent this to me, but I like it! This photo shows how many squares you can cut from a fat quarter depending on the size square you cut. I just know this will be very useful to me some time in the future, so I wanted to keep it handy.

I hope you enjoy these tips and find them as useful as I did. Now I thought I would leave you with a laugh. Check out this "Advice From a Singer Sewing Manual" dated 1949 that Karen posted on her blog Sew Many Ways. I'm sure you are just like me and "never try to sew with a sink full of dirty dishes or beds unmade"...HA! Why do you think the sink is full of dishes and beds unmade...because I'd rather sew ;-)