Why the ¼” seam allowance is precise on the PFAFF creative icon by Claire Haillot February 27, 2018 written by Claire Haillot February 27, 2018 883 This week we’re exploring the new PFAFF creative icon while making a colorful and bright table runner. Did you get all the fabric pieces required for making the colorful table runner? My best advice to ensure precise piecing is to know where to sew ¼” seam allowance with your sewing foot. Presenting the NEW PFAFF creative icon It was a breeze to find the precise ¼” on the PFAFF creative icon as it has a ¼” Quilting Foot and the distance from the needle to the outer edge of the right toe is a precise ¼”. The hole in the center of the foot indicates where the needle will go through and therefore create the seam. As I always do prior to starting a project, I tested to ensure I had ¼” by sewing a test piece and measuring my seam allowance. Ideally you want to have the seam allowance a hairline within the ¼”. If you need more details, you can check my blog post here. Tools to help you with precise piecing with the PFAFF creative icon. Tools to help you with precise piecing The creative icon did not disappoint as my seam allowance was right on at my very first try. I must admit that I did place the straight stich needle plate on the machine, which is part of the accessories included with the machine. The smaller hole in the Straight Stitch Needle Plate supports the fabric closer to the needle and helps prevent the fabric from being pulled down into the bobbin area, especially at the beginning and end of a seam. PFAFF creative icon’s Straight Stitch Needle Plate What is also nice is that the ¼” foot is designed to be used with the integrated dual feed system which means that your top and bottom fabrics are being fed through at the same time, preventing your layers from shifting while sewing and ensuring a precise piecing. Piecing the table runner Now let’s test that precise seam by sewing some strips together, shall we? Step 1 Take a background strip and cut two 8” strips. Stitch the two background strips to your medium dark B1 strip. Cut to make three 2½” x 6½” rectangles. Step 1 A Step 1B Step 2 From your dark A1 strip, cut four 2½” squares. From a background strip, cut four 2½” x 4½” rectangles. Sew your dark square at the edge of your background rectangle. Repeat to make four 2½” x 6½” rectangles. Step 2 Step 3 Step 3 for the center block For the center block: Sew two units of Step 2 on each side of a Step 1 unit. Ensure that the dark fabric A2 on Step 2 units is placed on alternate sides. Makes one 6½” block. Step 3 for the outer blocks For the outer blocks: From a background strip, cut two 2½” x 6½” rectangles. Sew one rectangle and Step 2 units on each side of Step 1 unit. Repeat to make two 6½” block. Step 4 Sew 2 light strips (D1 and D2) to a medium C1 strip. Cut to make six 2½” x 6½” rectangles. Step 4 A Sew 2 units on alternate sides of Step 3 blocks. Makes three 6½” x 10½” rectangles (one center block and two end blocks). Step 4B for center block Step 4B for outer blocks Step 5 Sew two light strips (D3 and D4) between three medium strips (C2, C3, C4). Cut to make six 2½” x 10½” rectangles. Step 5 A Sew 2 units on alternate sides of Step 3 blocks Makes three 10½” squares (one center block and two outer blocks) Step 5 B Center Block Step 5 B Outer Blocks Congratulations, your first part of the table runner is ready! Ensure that you measure each step to help you adjust and obtain your precise piecing. Follow along tomorrow to continue this fun project using the PFAFF creative icon. Completed blocks at Step 5 This is part 2 of 5 in this series. Go back to part 1: Calling spring forward, quilting with the NEW PFAFF creative icon Go to part 3: Stop unthreading your machine to make new bobbins! [shareaholic app=”follow_buttons” id=”23735596″] Print this page or save as a PDF 0qs196acreative iconfree patternspfaffsewing machine reviewstable runners FacebookTwitterPinterestLinkedinRedditWhatsappTelegramEmail Claire Haillot Claire Haillot shares her passion for quilting among her neighbors in the United States and Canada as well as her cousins in France. Claire has been active in the quilting industry since 2004. At first, she opened a quilt shop and started to teach, write how-to guides, and translate patterns and product information into French for American companies. In 2006, she started her own line of patterns and later began publishing patterns and articles in Canadian, European, and American magazines. You might have seen some of her work in Quilter’s World, Pratique du Patchwork or Canadian Quilter. She decided to close her brick & mortar quilt shop in 2016 to be able to concentrate more on teaching, writing, and creating. She collaborated with PlumEasy patterns to launch the Dancing Diamonds and Gem bag patterns. Claire has also won a few awards for her work: • Juror’s choice in Salon 2012 • Second Place in Vermont Quilt Festival of 2014 and 2016 • Second Place in Salon 2016 • Best of show at the Quilt Festival in Chicago and Houston 2018. previous post Needles and thread make all the difference in big stitch quilting next post Big Stitching Basics make hand quilting shine YOU MAY ALSO LIKE... The trick to amazing free motion quilting for... Curved piecing makes the best heart quilt block... 10 steps to face binding a holiday table... How to center a quilt section in a... The secret behind sewing curves without using pins How the creative icon does half the work... 8 easy steps to perfect mitered corners 3 reasons why embroidering text has become an... 6 essential steps for successful machine embroidery using... 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