Cutting ColorWorks Concepts strip sets

I’m really enjoying working with the ColorWorks Concepts fabric line from Northcott! Yesterday we cut all of the strips of fabric and assembled our strip sets. Today we’re going to spend our time cutting the strip sets and assembling the quilt center.

Cutting the strip sets

Now that all of our strip sets are made, we need to sub-cut them into blocks. The first thing we need to do is to measure the width of the strip sets. This will determine the length of the blocks to be cut. Make sure that your strip sets are well pressed and then measure across the width of a few of your strips. Most of mine measured 6⅞” across.

Once all the strips are sewn together to make the strip sets, measure the width. Cut the length of the strips to match the width measurement. My strip sets measured about 6⅞” wide so I cut them into sections that were each 6⅞” long to get my blocks which were each 6⅞” square.

Arrange the blocks in a pleasing manner

Arrange the blocks into eight rows of six blocks each. I tried two different arrangements, one with the blocks randomly placed and one with the different colors placed in diagonal rows. I like having the flying geese pointing in the same two directions.

Sew the blocks into rows

The first step for assembling the center of the quilt is to sew the blocks into rows. After each row is sewn, press the seams towards the vertical block.

Be careful, or your seam ripper will become your best friend

When you’re sewing the blocks together into rows, be extra careful about which side of the blocks to sew together or you’ll end up with your flying geese NOT all flying in the same two directions. After I sewed my first two rows together, I realized what I had done and ended up doing some “reverse sewing”!!

Sewing the rows together

The next step is to sew all of the rows together making sure that the seams between the blocks in the two rows are lined up. Since we have pressed the seams in opposite directions the seams should snug up together quite nicely. After each row is sewn, press that seam to one side.

Next step: borders

The quilt center is looking great!! The ColorWorks Concepts fabric line has made some beautiful looking blocks! By spending today cutting the strip sets and assembling the quilt center, tomorrow we’ll be able to start adding the borders to our quilt!