Curved Block
And finally but definitely not least of the blocks I could create I
wanted to see how well the Quilt Expression 4.2 worked on a
curved seam. Curved seams are not nearly as hard as everyone
thinks they are. The key is to have a nice gentle wave.
Once again two contrasting fabrics are used in order to see the
curves. The key is to cut nice gentle curving lines in the layered
fabrics with a rotary cutter.
Once again I used the IDT system and a quarter inch foot with
the needle in down position to sew the curved pieces together.
They fed very well under the machine especially when the free
ends of the pieces are lifted up slightly off the sewing machine
bed. This just helps to guide the curves under the foot to maintain that ¼" seam allowance.
Two curved blocks
When pressing curved seams I press with steam to make sure
that everything lies nice and smooth. Using steam to press
seams is usually a no-no as it does tend to distort fabric especially cotton but because I usually make my curved blocks a bit
larger than needed I can square them off and all is good.
Voila! Two wonderful curved blocks.
Decisions, Decisions
Now with all of these blocks made in all these wonderful colors
and textures I have to decide how to use them in my placemats. At least the fabrics have been picked, as that’s always half
the battle.
Sewing Decisions Made
I decided that I would use only two of the shimmery fabrics to
go with my feature fabric rather than the quilt blocks I made
yesterday. I figured it would be easier sewing the first one with
plain pieces of fabric rather than with the blocks so I’ll put them
aside for now.
Feature fabric with complementary coordinating fabrics.
The next decision was which shimmery fabrics do I use? It was a
tough decision but I picked my favorite complementary colors
of blue and orange to use for sewing this first on the go quilted
place-mat.
As well I needed to decide how big I wanted the place-mat to
be so that I knew what size to cut the pieces. I foolishly didn’t
measure my friend’s place-mat so decided to go with a size that
would work with a dinner plate. My finished size is 12 x 18 inches.
Cutting Instructions
All the measurements include the ¼" seam allowance.
From the feature fabric (dragonflies)
Piece A – cut one piece 9½" x 12" for the center of the place-mat
Piece F – cut one piece 14" x 20" for the back of the place-mat
Piece H – cut two strips 2¼" x WOF for the binding
From the coordinating fabric (blue)
Piece B – cut one piece 4½" x 12" for the left side of the place-mat
Piece C – cut one piece 5" x 12" for the right side of the place-mat
From the accent fabric (orange)
Piece D – cut one piece 6" x 5" for the utensil pocket
Piece E – cut two pieces 4" x 5" for the napkin holding bands
Piece G – cut two strips 2" x 18" for the ties
Double folded edge at top of utensil holder piece.
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