Yesterday on QUILTsocial, I showed you the 5 easy steps to make blocks using strip sets. I used my OLFA RTY-2/GP5 – Printed Handle Rotary Cutter 45mm and my large OMNIGRID Ruler – 121⁄2″ x 121⁄2″ (31.75 x 31.75cm) to cut the sections and my OLISO PROTM TG1600 Pro Plus Smart Iron – Tula PinkTM to press everything as I assembled the blocks.
Today, I’ll sew the quilt top and show you the importance of pressing your seams in the right direction.
I have 30 squares to make my quilt top, so I’m sewing the blocks into five rows with six blocks in each row. Since these blocks are made with an assortment of strips from receiving blankets and all the blocks have the same gray and pink fabrics, I won’t worry about arranging them before I sew them.
First, I’ll sew the blocks into 15 sets of two blocks each. As you can see in the photo, I sewed the blocks together so that the pink sides of one block go up and down and the other block goes side to side. I’ll sew all the pairs this same way, and on the wrong side, I’ll use my OLISO PROTM TG1600 Pro Plus Smart Iron – Tula PinkTM to press all the seams towards the pink strips.
Press all the seams towards the pink strips on the wrong side.
Next, I’ll sew three pairs together to make one row. Once again, I’ll press all the seams towards the pink strips on the wrong side of the fabric.
Now that all five rows are done, I’ll sew the rows together. Here are two of the rows, and although the blocks don’t look like they line up, they do.
After the blocks are sewn into rows, the rows can be sewn together.
Here’s where the direction the seams are pressed comes into play. Before sewing the rows together, I’ll match up the seam between two blocks with the corresponding seam on the next row and use my CLOVER 2501 – Silk Pins (Boxed) – 36mm (13⁄8″) to pin both sides of the seam. Because the seams have been pressed in opposite directions, the seams will butt up together and match perfectly.
Match the seams of the corresponding blocks in the two rows and pin on either side.
I’ll sew this first seam and then use my OLISO PROTM TG1600 Pro Plus Smart Iron – Tula PinkTM to press the seam to one side. At this point, it doesn’t matter which way the seam is pressed as I won’t need to match it up to any other blocks or rows. Now that the seam has been pressed, we can see how well the seams align at the point where I pinned them.
Because the seams were pressed in opposite directions, they match up nicely after sewn.
I’ll sew the rest of the rows together to finish the quilt top. Now that all the rows are sewn together, you can see how alternating the rotation of the blocks creates the pattern.
The completed quilt top
Pressing the seams correctly with my OLISO PROTM TG1600 Pro Plus Smart Iron – Tula PinkTM while assembling the rows of blocks made it easy to match the seams between the rows. Using the CLOVER 2501 – Silk Pins (Boxed) – 36mm (13⁄8″) to pin the rows together before sewing made this quilt come together ideally.
Tomorrow, I’ll make the backings for my quilts, and then I’ll be able to quilt them using one of my favorite machine quilting designs – see you tomorrow.