Seams Sew Easy is Here and Farm Girl Friday Week 18 - YeeHaw!!!

I'm so excited to show you

 a brand new product that 

I have designed just for you!

It's a seam guide that you adhere

 (temporarily of course)

 to your sewing machine bed.

Introducing the 

Seams Sew Easy!

I designed it and…

  Riley Blake 

produced it for me…and you!

I've been waiting

 a long time 

for them to be ready 

and I'm so happy that

 they are finally here 

and that I can 

share them with you

 on this weeks 

Farm Girl Friday:)

This is only one of the colors available...

It comes in these 4 happy colors

to match your mood or each of your machines:)

GREEN RED AQUA PINK

Personally I plan on keeping one 

with all of my machines

and in my sewing bag

so that I am never without one.

Each one comes with 4 of the

 1" round Stick-it's…

which are removable double side tape dots.

So now I'm going to 

explain why and how to use my

 Seams Sew Easy 

while I'm showing you the

 3 easy steps to set it up!

I have put the steps directly onto my seam guide for you.

First step is placing the needle into the dot.

This step is to ensure that

 the center line on the 

Seams Sew Easy lines up

 perfectly with the needle.

With these directions you are

 custom fitting it to your machine.

****NOTE****

It's now 6 years later from when I originally did this post introducing my Seams Sew Easy.

It's now 2020!

Now they come with the rectangle already cut out and all you have to do is line up the center line on the guide with your needle.

Easy Peasy!

You can make sure it is going straight by using the lines on your machine and the grid lines on the Seams Sew Easy Guide:)

********************************

Un-thread your machine…

align needle with dot and 

insert the needle right into the center.

Then lift your needle and remove

 seam guide from your machine bed.

Step one done!

Now for step two…

cutting.

See the dotted lines around the rectangle?

That's your guide for cutting out.

Don't worry if you 

go off the dotted lines…

they are just there as a guide.

Your Seams Sew Easy will

 still work fine even if 

it's not an exact rectangle cut out…

the most important thing is

 the needle placement within it

 and you've already done that!

***IMPORTANT***

Use some good sharp scissors…

or an X-Acto Knife

but NOT your fabric scissors!

Remember the reason that there is a rectangle there in the first place is so that you have your needle placement as a guide when adhering to your machine bed for correct placement of the three lines that will guide your sewing:)

Your machine can't sew fabric with the rectangle in place…so obviously it will need to be removed after sticking your seam guide to your sewing machine bed:)

The large punched hole is there so that 

you can use it to start your first cut.

It's sturdy plastic so 

it will take more time than just simply cutting paper…

but no worries!

Just start cutting towards

 the back of the rectangle like this.

Just use the tip of your

 very sharp scissors and 

go a little at time for 

cutting the sturdy plastic:)

The plastic is sturdy so that it will stick out and lie flat on those sewing machines that have a curved bed or not much space between the front edge of the bed and the needle like for instance my featherweight.

It is SO HELPFUL to have a larger working space on an otherwise short bed.

I purposely designed my Seams Sew Easy guide

with sturdy plastic to stick out a couple of inches on your machine when it's not flat in a table for this very reason:)

You can sew in this photo

 that using "washi tape" 

also works really well

to hold your Seams Sew Easy in place.

Washi tape is like cute miniature painters tape and can be found in the scrapbooking section of any craft store:)

You can use this instead of the sticky dots that it comes with.

After you have the top piece of

 the rectangle out…

simply cut down the sides

 until it's all cut out …

like this.

I am using the word "cutting" 

but keep in mind that it's really 

just clipping a little at a time 

with the very tip of sharp scissors.

Now put the seam guide back onto 

your machine bed!

Use the lines on your machine …

and the lines on the guide…

 to make sure it is straight...

And adhere into place.

I put a dot under 4 of the petals.

(it probably would be just as secure with 2)

I have a front loading bobbin on my machine 

so I don't really ever need to 

remove my seam guide for changing bobbins.

When my machine needs 

to be cleaned or moved etc…

I just pull off the seam guide

 and stick it back on afterwards!

Depending on your machine

 and how you use it washi tape or 

stick it dots will work either way...

Easy Peasy!

Now it's time to remove the rectangle

 after your 

Seams Sew Easy is adhered.

Because you used the rectangle

 and had the needle inserted 

so that it wouldn't move…

your lines on the guide 

(centered with needle and 1/4")

are exactly where 

they need to be

 for accurate piecing!

After you use it for a while you get to know where to place it pretty easily!

Now I have a cute little flower 

with lines to guide my stitching and I know that the center line is lined up with my needle…

YAY!

No more tracing lines onto squares

 for easy corner triangles…

flying geese…snowballs etc:)

You simply start stitching on one corner 

and let the bottom corner line up

 with the CENTER line as you are sewing.

This center line is aligned perfectly 

with your needle so it works accurately every time!

Just like this!

I love it!!!

I have always used a guide for

 sewing accurate 1/4" seams as well.

I like to know where my seam is 

long before I get to the foot.

I find if you wait until you

 get to the foot to adjust to 1/4" it can cause

 "wobbly" seams…

and that not good for accurate blocks:)

I use the left of the center line 

as well and the grid lines on the

 center of the flower for 

things like hemming etc.

See? Perfect 1/4" seam…YaY!!!

You all should know by now that 

I use my Easy Corner Triangle Method

on any of my blocks that have angles at all 

(which is most of them)

So I'm hoping that you will love 

my Seams Sew Easy as much as I do!

(Click Here to Purchase)

If you follow me on 

Instagram or 

have attended one of my 

Farm Girl Vintage Workshop/Retreats ...

 you know I have been using one

 on my featherweight.

Seams need to be accurate on retreat too!

Okay…so now onto our first block this week…

"Scrappy Maple Leaf "

You will find the pattern and instructions

 on page 58 of my book 

Farm Girl Vintage

I love making maple leaf blocks!

I just had to make a bunch in both the 6" and 12" sizes...

For a swirly twirly falling leaves quilt:)

I used the Picnic Quilt setting 

on page 114 of my book.

I'm in the fall mood …

so I'm really looking forward 

to seeing all of your blocks!

Don't forget to use the hashtag;

#ScrappyMapleLeafBlock

Now let's talk about my 

Scrappy Strawberry block:)

You can find the pattern and instructions on page 59.

I know strawberries are typically

 in season during the spring 

but I love to decorate with strawberries

 so they are always in season at my little cottage!

When you make your blocks…

don't forget to use the hashtag

#ScrappyStrawberryBlock

I think my scrappy strawberry looks great in red too...

So I stitched up a couple of the 12" blocks

and cut 18 - 4 1/2" scrappy aqua squares...

and pieced together a quick table runner:)

12" x 48"

I didn't get time to quilt it for you but you 

get the idea…right?

I think I'll bind it in aqua too:)

I like the size of this one…

it will look nice on the main countertop 

in my cottagey kitchen:)

Click here

to see this weeks guest bloggers 

and to view the schedule.

That's it for now!

Now go sew your blocks:)

xx

Lori