Sew Very Smooth Blog

It's Looking Like A Quilt

by Steve Tippets on 10/13/17

When I left off last week I still had a ton of squares to sew together but I was able to finish sewing them over the weekend. The picture doesn't do justice to each little stack.

This week I've been focusing on sewing them into the four main blocks of the quilt. The first step was sewing four of these little squares into one larger square. I ended up with two different block patterns.

The red and green had fewer seams in the back due to the solid green square that was used, but pressing as I went kept them both from being bulky in the back.

Once those squares were complete I combined four more into an even larger block so I ended up with four large blocks in all. I know this is my first project so I can't expect it to be perfect, but there was definitely some trial and error on my part.

The first large block I put together wasn't lined up properly. I had pinned it together like the instructions said, but I felt like it gathered it too much. I think I pinned it wrong. Any advice on the best way to pin two pieces together? Do the pins need to run horizontally or vertically? I had them running vertically next to the presser foot. Should I have done them horizontally instead? Or maybe it was just gathered when I pinned it so I accidentally held the gathering in place. I'm not sure.

This is what I ended up with.

I hadn't pressed it yet because I was really bothered by how not centered it was. I will admit I did spend the time with my seam ripper to undo it all and try again. The second go was better. I didn't pin it the second time, which helped. I definitely think I'm pinning wrong.

Here is the square the second time around.

It still isn't perfectly aligned, but I blame that on the fact that I forgot to square up the smaller squares before I sewed them together. That wasn't listed in the instructions, but I know it would have helped.

Of the four larger squares I did, three have more noticeable errors than one of them. I know those people who aren't familiar with quilting will look at them and think they look great, but anyone who knows what it's all about will see the errors. Still, for a first run I'm pretty proud.

I wanted to show the one square that had the least amount of issues.

It still needs to be squared up a bit, but otherwise I'm pretty pleased. And I will be squaring them up before I put them all together.

This week I also experienced my first empty bobbin. I will admit I had not taken the time to fill extra bobbins. I didn't think it would be a big deal to wind them as needed, but I did not realize that I would have to un-thread my sewing machine in order to use the thread I needed in the bobbin function. Oops.

On the bright side, I now know that I am able to wind a bobbin AND thread the machine without looking it up in the manual. I was pleasantly surprised by that, but after feeling a bit like a failure with the pinning I needed the win.

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My First Project

by Steve Tippets on 10/06/17

I've been eager to get started on an actual project. Practicing is helpful and I've learned so much, but you can only sew so many strips before it gets monotonous and starts to feel pointless with no end game in mind.

I had planned on starting with something relatively 'simple' like a table runner, which I will do, but for now I have decided to start with this mini quilt kit instead. I was at Jo-Ann's looking at thread and I saw all of these kits for mini quilts and I just had to get one. I love the idea of doing something on such a small scale and learning how to do everything, including the binding at the end.

I've also always loved having directions to follow. I'm hoping one day I'll feel confident enough to design my own pattern, but for now I will gladly let someone else take the creative liberty.

These little kits come with a complete set of instructions, a list of all the tools you'll need, and all of the material you need. The trick is making sure you read all of the instructions before you start so you don't get ahead of yourself and do something that you weren't supposed to do.

For example, this kit specifically says not to wash the material before cutting it. I know that goes against the general rule for quilting, but I'm going to do what it says and hope for the best. They do include instructions on what to do if the material bleeds when you finally do wash the finished product. I'm hoping those directions won't be necessary.

I had to press the material before I could cut it. It's in the instructions but also just plain necessary as it was all folded up in the packaging and had some pretty significant creases.

Cutting the material was interesting, but not difficult. It took time to make sure I got the edges straight and that I was getting the correct measurements but I did it.

I ended up with sixteen 2 1/2" squares, forty-eight 3" squares, one 1 1/2" square, four 1 1/2" x 8 1/2" strips, and three 2 1/2" x 42" strips.

Sewing the squares together has been very satisfying. I know there are many different techniques that are available for sewing on the bias, but I must say I really like the tip the kit had me use.

I had to draw a diagonal line down the wrong side of the white squares and then place that on top of the blue square. I then proceeded to sew a 1/4" seam on either side of the line.

Once that was done, I just had to cut the line I had previous drawn and then press the seam towards the darker material. I know that part is pretty standard.

Once it was pressed I just had to trim it down to a now 2 1/2" square.

Not to toot my own horn, but look at those corners! Have you ever seen two pieces come together in such a perfect point before??

Okay, I'm sure you have, but this is my first time sewing on the bias and I must say, I rocked it.

So far I have completed sixteen squares, which means I have thirty-two more to go! I know what I'll be doing the next couple of days.

What other tricks do you have for sewing on the bias? Is this a method you use or would you recommend I try something else in the future? I know I'm a fan, but that doesn't mean there isn't another technique out there I'd like even more. I want to learn them all.

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The Importance of Pressing

by Steve Tippets on 09/29/17

I am not one to iron. I'm the type of person who pulls the laundry out of the dryer as soon as it buzzes so that wrinkles can't set into the fabric. If I forget, I will admit that I tend to wear wrinkly clothes rather than bust out the iron. My poor husband always has to iron his own dress shirts and pants when they need it, but thankfully it's not very often.

That being said, I knew in the back of my mind that pressing is an important part of the sewing process. Actually, I thought I knew that 'ironing' was an important part, but I just recently learned that ironing and pressing are not the same thing.

Unfortunately I did not know that before I ironed out the little bit of material that I have. You are supposed to run the iron along the grain of the fabric and not do circular motions so as not to stretch out the material. I'm sure you can guess, but I did circular motions instead of moving with the grain. Oops.

I don't think it has been too terribly detrimental, especially since I am focusing on practice for now and using this time to learn things like the proper way to press. However, I do think it effected the purple material I have been using.

You can see that there is some slight bubbling at the seam where the purple fabric meets the floral material.

I would say it's just a matter of me needing to adjust the tension, but you can see the grain of the material and it has a slight curve to it. It was definitely stretched when it was ironed.

I've learned my lesson.

I was able to press the seam which helped slightly, but it still doesn't look as nice as it could. Or maybe I'm just not pressing the seam correctly.

I pressed from the front, keeping the material bent towards the dark side of the fabric. I know not to press the seam open unless you're sewing an article of clothing. I also just used the front of the iron and held down then moved along the length of the seam without running the iron back and forth. Did I do it right?

I did sew a few squares together and pressed the seams while I sewed. I can see a difference in the square this week. To give you a visual, I took a side by side comparison of one square I did last week with one I did this week.

The seam is so much straighter on the left than it is on the right. Part of that has to do with the fact that I finally purchased a rotary cutter and so I was able to straighten out the strips I had previously cut. It made it so much easier to use the Ideal Seam Guide to have a perfectly straight edge to work with.

I have a feeling that pressing is going to be something I'm going to need to practice a lot to get the hang of it. Do you have any tips or tricks you use when pressing?

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