Use diamond shaped blocks for your Valentine’s Day quilt by Paul Leger January 10, 2017 written by Paul Leger January 10, 2017 787 Yesterday we started working on a Valentine-themed wall hanging. I showed you how Sew Easy templates make easy work of fussy cuts. Today we’re going to start with sewing the pieces together. Now that the fabric diamond shapes are cut, we’ll start sewing. Before we do that. I’ll lay out the pieces on a design wall to make sure I like the overall color placement and that I know which diamond piece to sew where. Laying out the pieces of cut fabric to audition their placement Since we’re working with diamond-shaped blocks that will be set in columns and on their point as we’re working on this quilt, we’ll have to remember that the rows will be diagonal. To piece the diamonds I’ll refer you back to one of my earlier blog posts here on QUILTsocial. The technique I used with dog ears will help as you as you work with diamonds since you want your points to match nicely. I sew in a chain piecing style as I find it easier. Example of a chain piecing Once you’ve finished your chain piecing you may want to use this great little tool the Heirloom Thread Cutter. Thread cutter that I used for this project. You’re going to love this little tool. It comes with a lanyard and can be detached and hand held. In Thursday’s blog, I’ll be showing you another fun little tool that is included within this cutter. When I do a long set of chain piecing I simply slide the chain from one hand to the other while cutting the thread between each sewn pieces! SO quick! Using thread cutter on the chain piecing Now that all the pieces have been separated it’s time to press the seams open. Since these are smaller pieces and that there are so few of them to press, I just set up a mini ironing board like the GO BOARD Tabletop Ironing Board w/Iron Rest next to my sewing station. Also because these pieces are so small, I prefer to use a mini travel iron like the GO IRON Mini travel / Craft Iron. This one has several settings and has a water reservoir for those of us who like steam. It also has a really cool and comfortable grip. Pressing seams open using Go Iron and Go Board All seams need to be pressed open. Pressing all seams open of the wall hanging rows. Once all the seams have been pressed open, continue sewing until all rows are sewn. Rows sewn Join me tomorrow to complete the Valentine wall hanging! This is part 2 of 5 in this series. Go back to part 1: Sew Easy templates make easy work of fussy cuts Go to part 3: 1 trick to match up diamond shaped block points perfectly Print this page or save as a PDF 0qs137diamond blocksha kiddvalentine s day quilt FacebookTwitterPinterestLinkedinRedditWhatsappTelegramEmail Paul Leger I took my first quilting course in September 1994 in Barrie, Ontario, near the armed forces base where I was stationed. After moving to Ottawa in 1996, I joined my first guild. I took more courses and began to buy quilting books and lots of fabrics. Quilting has become my passion. I have made over 150 more quilts since then, and have never looked back. I now share my knowledge of quilting by teaching and doing presentations, and blogging! previous post Sew Easy templates make easy work of fussy cuts next post 1 trick to match up diamond shaped block points perfectly YOU MAY ALSO LIKE... 6 easy steps to assemble a quilt using... 5 simple sewing notions make fun blocks for... Use hook and loop tape to make peek-a-boo... 5 easy steps to make chenille fabric 4 easy steps to create texture in a... WHY Hemline Gold quilting tools are made to... Oliso M3Pro project iron – the perfect travelling... Quilting tools to help with everyday needs OLFA rotary cutter and rulers for quilters on... 1 comment Laura January 13, 2017 - 5:47 pm I’m liking this series so far. Diamonds are a change up and interesting to me. Reply Leave a Comment Cancel Reply Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Δ This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
