SoftKUT embroidery scissors for your quilting needs too

Welcome back! Yesterday, I showed one method for making half-square triangles (HSTs). Today, I’ll be adding triangles to a rectangular piece of fabric.

Once again, today, you’ll need your Oliso TG1050 Smart Iron as there’s a bit more pressing to do. I also want to introduce you to the Oliso M2Pro mini project iron, a great little iron for when you go to retreats or need a small iron next to your sewing machine.

Other than my sewing machine, I’d say scissors and seam rippers are tools I use often. So, before starting today’s project, here are a few more tools, which will make your quilting easier:

• SoftKUT embroidery scissors – 4½″
• VIVA infinite thread snips – 4″
• UNIQUE large seam ripper with Ergonomic Grip

Note: The UNIQUE sewing seam ripper also comes in small.

TIP Get yourself two or three seam rippers; they tend to disappear when working on projects.

Today’s placemat design is actually not a house, but a garage. After I designed the first placemat, I decided that yesterday’s house needed a garage.

Prior to starting to sew and cutting, place all the fabric pieces within arms reach of your sewing machine.

On both the C and the D pieces of fabric that I cut out yesterday, I made a diagonal line on the wrong side of the fabric.

When I need to mark fabric pieces, I prefer using either a white or a dark pencil. I used the UNIQUE quilter’s chalk pencil – white to draw the lines. I also have the UNIQUE quilter’s template marking pencil – black to mark very light-colored fabrics.

TIP Remember, when drawing lines or making other markings on fabric, you only need to press hard enough to make the line slightly visible.

Now that I’ve marked pieces C and D, place a C piece on the F fabric piece, right sides together, and sew along the line.

Trim the fabric ¼” from the seam.

Press C-F, then place D on the right side of the C-F unit and sew along the line. Repeat this step, placing the 2^nd piece of C on piece E. Trim the fabric ¼” from the seam as shown below, then press to the darker of the fabrics.

Refer to the garage diagram above as a guide, lay the fabric pieces out on your work surface to prepare to sew them all together. After they’re all laid out, they should look like the picture below.

In the next steps, as you finish sewing the sections together, press again to the side of the darker fabric and place the sections back in their proper places on your work surface.

Sew the pieces together in the following groupings and order:

1. CFD to EC
2. H to K on each ends
3. G to HKH on each side
4. J to L
5. I on each side of JL

You’ve now assembled your garage in 3 larger sections.

Sew each side of the garage together with the central section then sew on the roof, add the sky by sewing the B pieces of fabric onto either side of the house. Sew the A piece onto the roof of the house! Next, add the grass by sewing the M piece along the bottom edge of the house.

Here’s a sneak peek of tomorrow’s construction project.

Let’s get our fabrics cut out for tomorrow’s placemat as follows:

Note: Cut one (1) unless otherwise stated.

Fabric 1 – sky

• A 2½” x 16”
• B 2¾” x 8½” – cut 2
• C 3” x 3” – cut 2

Today I used the white UNIQUE quilter’s chalk pencil to draw the lines and had the black UNIQUE quilter’s template marking pencil ready to use if needed on a lighter color.

Tomorrow, as on Tuesday, I’ll make more HSTs. I’ll show you another method to use to construct them.

Until then, happy cutting!