Sunday, August 6, 2017

Bee Happy Sew Along - Flag and Pinwheels Tutorial!


Good morning!
Here's another blog post to help y'all
"Bee Prepared"
for the Bee Happy Sew Along!

If you are just joining us..
Click HERE 
and then
 to get caught up on all info so far:)


As you know...
the majority of the blocks in the quilt are appliqué...
but there are a few pieced ones and so I thought I would show you how to do those 
before the sew along begins on August 28th just to get a good head start:)


Keep in mind that 
just because I am
 showing you now...
does not mean you have to
 have them finished before the 28th.

After you get your kit...
and you have done all of the cutting...
and if you have time...
great! 

If not...
when it's time to start 
you can always 
refer back to this post 
because it will remain here 
and you can find the link 
to each and every week 
on the right sidebar 
here on my blog:) 


First up is the flag:)
It's easy peasy simple piecing.



You already know the
 sizes to cut the
 pieces from the 
instructions in the 
Sew Along Guide
to download it 
if you haven't done that yet.


Lay out all of your pieces
 on your design boards 
and make sure that you 
have them all cut and ready:)

Before piecing...
you will need to 
appliqué the star 
onto the blue 5" square. 

Trace the 
D-14 Sew Simple Shape 
onto the co-ordinating size of
 Sew-In Interfacing
(size chart is in the guide)

If you are new here 
and this is your first time doing
 my easy appliqué method...
to see the video tutorial 
from my last sew along ...
for the Sweetie Pie Quilt:)

FYI - I'll be doing 
another video tutorial 
on week one of this
 sew along as well!


After you you have sewn and trimmed...
you will need to give each 
cleavage area between the
 star points a quick clip. 

Clip just once...with small sharp embroidery scissors ...
all the way to your stitch line 
but not into your stitches.

You will need to do this
 in order for your
 star to lie flat:)


After turning and 
shaping with the 
point to point turner...
Press your star on 
the front side only:)


Center it onto the 
5" background square 
and appliqué 
by hand or by machine.

Either way...
I always use thread 
that matches the piece
 that I am to appliqué.


***NOTE***
There are several rectangle blocks
 as well as square blocks in this quilt.

For all of the rectangle blocks
 I have given you instructions 
to cut each background
 the exact size 
that they need to be 
when sewing the blocks together 
after appliqué is completed.

For ALL square blocks...
I have had you cut the 
backgrounds bigger...
 and then after appliqué
 trim them down.

I much prefer to cut
 backgrounds bigger when appliquéing 
and so for the square blocks 
that is entirely possible... 
because they are super easy
 to trim up afterwards 
because of "exact size" 
square rulers available to us.

However...
the reason I did not 
have you cut backgrounds larger
 for the rectangle blocks 
is because there are NOT
 "exact size" rectangle rulers 
for these and so I cut mine 
the exact size needed 
and was just very careful 
when doing appliqué and embroidery 
so as not to fray the edges:)


I used a 4 1/2" Trim-It Ruler 
for the star block.

After using the lines on the ruler
 to center the star...
I always trim along the 
top and the right edge first...


Then turn my little mat and 
trim the two remaining edges.


Now that your star block 
measures 4 1/2"square...
go ahead and sew your
 strips together into 
2 sections like this.

Make sure that you 
cut accurately and use an 
accurate 1/4" seam allowance when piecing your blocks throughout making the quilt. 
If you do...
 your blocks will be the 
size necessary to sew into the quilt:)


Finish putting your flag
 together like this...
and you have your first block
 for the Bee Happy Quilt completed.

YaY!!

It should measure 
8 1/2" x 10 1/2" 
at this point.

Now put it in your pile of
 "Fun and Done" 
and lets move on 
to the pinwheel blocks!


There are 8 pinwheel 
blocks in the quilt.


I have had you cut 
2 -  3" squares from print
 and 
2 - 3" squares from background 
for EACH pinwheel block.

Pair them up like this 
and I'll show you how to
 make the red pinwheel!


Grab a background square 
and a print square 
with right sides together 
and sew 1/4" on each side 
on the diagonal 
from corner to corner.

You could draw a line 
from corner to corner 
before sewing...
 but I don't have to 
because I use my 
Seams Sew Easy Guide

I simply place the corners
 on the line to the left side
 (which is exactly 1/4" 
from the center line) 
and sew.


Then I turn my square around 
and do the same thing again 
on the other side.

(I always chain piece and do all of my squares at the same time)


I end up with two sewn lines 
exactly 1/2" apart...
or in other words...
1/4" from each side of 
the center of the squares 
on the diagonal.

Give them a quick press 
to set the seams.


Cut apart between the
 sewn lines like this.


Before you press them open...
use a 2 1/2" square ruler 
to trim them up.

Place the center line 
of the ruler directly onto 
your sewn seam like this.

Everything that you see 
sticking out from beyond 
the edges of the ruler 
will need to be trimmed off...



Like this!
Using a cute little 
small mat 
that is easy to turn 
really helps during this step:)


Now you can open up your 
half square triangle 
and press the seams open.


And now you have a 
super cute and super accurate
 half square triangle 
that measures 2 1/2" square.

Trim up the other half and...


You will have two!

Repeat the trimming and pressing
 on the other matching sewn square...


until you have a total of 
4 half square triangles.

Lay them out on your 
design board like this...


And sew them together
 to make a pinwheel.

YaY again!

Your pinwheel should measure 
4 1/2" square at this point.


I really LOVE pressing my
 seams open on small blocks 
because they lie super flat!

Sometimes we quilters concentrate 
so much on the sewing...
 that we can overlook how important 
the pressing is. 

  Good pressing 
is an important step for
 keeping your blocks accurate!

If you have bulky and unevenly
 pressed seams...
chances are that your block 
will be smaller than it should be:)



***Another Tip from Miss Bee***
Do not use steam or starch 
on your pieces AFTER 
you have cut them 
because when you apply moisture 
and then heat to cotton fabric
 it shrinks!

You don't want your blocks 
to be too small...
so only use starch or steam
BEFORE cutting your pieces out...
and after they are cut...
keep them dry:)

Remember:
Moisture + Heat = Shrinkage 



I really love this method on
 making quick and accurate 
half square triangles...
and it's the method that I teach 
in my books as well.

Inside of my 
Scrappy Project Planner 
you will find a chart on 
what size squares to 
start out with for all different
 sizes of half square triangles:)



With easy cutting...
 and just a little bit of trimming...
the results are perfect every time!


Here are all eight 
of the pinwheel blocks 
needed for the 
Bee Happy Quilt.

Next Monday...
I'll show you how to 
do the Churndash Blocks!


Now that the 
Bee Happy 
Sew Simple Shapes
are here...
as well as the
 rest of the fabrics...
y'all should be getting
 your pre-ordered kits soon!

If you have not 
ordered a kit yet...
check with your local quilt shop 
or 
simply do a google search 
to find out who 
has one near you:)

If you need any other supplies 
for the quilt...
(all supplies needed 
are listed in the guide)
check with your quilt shop
as well to see if they stock them.
Chances are...
if they are cutting kits 
for the quilt...
they will have all of the 
supplies needed as well.

If they don't stock them ...
I do have some (not all) 
of the supplies needed 


I hope you are happy
 with this weeks 
"Bee Prepared" tutorials 
and are as excited to be 
starting the quilt.

I'll be back next week!
xx
Lori


6 comments:

Unknown said...

Thank you Lori!

Rosa said...

Wow,, so cute blocks and great tutorial!!

gi quilt said...

Wow we better get going! Thx for all the work you did on this.

Susan W said...

Sew glad to have a great quilt to work on now. Looking forward to receiving my quilt kit soon. In the meantime I have to can red haven peaches in my kitchen. I'll think about this quilt while blanching, cutting, peeling and cleaning up sticky syrup.

robinnan said...

Thanks Lori!
I'm a little late on the "jumpstart," but I have 6 of my 8 pinwheels done! waiting for the fabric for the other two and the red for the flag. I'm so happy to "Bee" Sewing this with you! I've started a basket for my fun and done and there are 6 blocks in it! Sweet! Thank you for your fun blocks and quilts!

Hotquilts said...

Now the quilt top is finished and I will eat the peaches for a snack while I quilt it and put on the binding. It was fun to work on a different method and the quilt looks pretty great! Thanks!

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