Mini Modern Heart tutorial video is live!

This pattern is just too perfect for beginning foundation paper piecers to pass up! I HAD to record a video tutorial for it, too. ;) I'm kind of on a roll having uploaded the series for the Fierce Feathered Star less than a week ago. AND I have an unreleased pattern and video tutorial just waiting in the wings for you all, too! But that'll have to remain a tease for now.

Back to the Mini Modern Heart. I love this pattern for using up scraps. These templates allow for small scraps to be used, too.

I can't help loving scrap quilts! There's an economic element at play for me, it's like a bonus quilt because you didn't "buy new" [fabrics] for it. And it's always fun to revisit some really great prints that you've used for quilts from your past. It's a trip down memory lane!

But you don't HAVE to use scraps, charm squares (5" squares) would be perfect for this pattern if you're into buying and/or collecting pre-cuts. 

The video that I recorded is just under 30 minutes and will cover everything to need to know for successful foundation paper piecing, even if it's your first time!

Video series for the Fierce Feathered Star pattern is now available!

I love the Fierce Feathered Star block! There is no paper piecing involved, there are no y-seams to negotiate. But even so, it has intimidated some quilters. I know because they tell me. :) Haha. I'm here to remove the mystery about sewing this block. What better way than to show you every step?

The videos are all completely free, you just need the Fierce Feathered Star pattern for your own templates and cutting dimensions.

Click here for the entire video playlist.

Here's a breakdown of each individual lessons:

Part 1: intro, templates and sewing the star tips

Part 2: making HSTs the Magic 8 way

Part 3: making the corner units

Part 4: making the side units

Part 5: making the center unit and assembling the block

BONUS: Making a 60" lap quilt (shown below) using two 36" FFS blocks

Before quilting...

After quilting!

I hope watching the steps will you give you the confidence to tackle a project that might challenge and grow your current skill set. That, my friends, is so exciting to me! 

Happy learning! Happy quilting!

Attaching appliqué to a quilt top

Thanks for joining me in Part Two of this applique tutorial! Part One covers preparing the appliqués by turning their edges with starch prior to attaching them to the quilt top.

In this tutorial, we'll take a look at the process I used for attaching the appliqué to the quilt top for this Purple Petals baby quilt.

I had 23 of these petal shapes to work with, so I began by playing! This design definitely evolved as I began working. I can't tell you how much it helps me to not only step back from my design wall as I'm working but to TAKE A PICTURE! Seeing a picture of your work will help you gain a new perspective. There is such a thing as getting too up close and personal with your work!

Playing with petal placement ideas

Trying a more organized approach to arrangement

Trying different placement of appliqués on my design wall

This was the first time it occurred to me that my petals looked a lot like orange peels!

Design evolving...

This is the placement I landed on (after a few picture texts to my sister asking for advice)!

Once I decided on a design and placement of the applique, I pinned the appliques to the background fabric and moved it to my cutting table/workspace. I started by aligning the middle row of petals so that I could off-set or stagger the appliques in the row above and below it.

Appliqués pinned down in their designated space

Petals are staggered or off-set from row to row

I used a Frixion pen from Pilot and a ruler to mark registration three straight lines horizontally across the width of the quilt. Ink from Frixion pens erase with heat or friction from the attached eraser but I would not use them on any parts of the quilt that would ever be visible. Since I knew these lines would be covered by appliqués, even if the marks would come back, they'd be covered. I needed to include that disclaimer! These pens can be a great tool if used appropriately, but since there have been accounts of the lines reappearing in cold temperatures, I would never risk using them to mark quilting lines, for example.

Registration lines made with a Frixion pen

On the back side of the appliqué, I used an Elmer's purple washable glue stick and applied it around the seam allowance area. I didn't have to use any on the middle of the shape, although you could if you wanted or needed to.

On the bottom row of appliqué, I began by placing a petal that I wanted to be right between the petals in the row above. I also tried to get the end points of the petal shape to align with the drawn line. After the first petal was in place, I continued gluing and sticking the rest of the petals one by one across the entire drawn line. I pressed each petal down with my fingers so the glue made contact with the background fabric. I waited until all petals were glued and positioned before ironing.

Appliqué shapes positioned end-to-end with no space between

After I had all of the petals glued and stuck into place, I and trimmed the petals that extended beyond the quilt top.

I carefully moved the quilt top to my ironing board and used a hot, dry iron to press each petal into place. 

Your milage my vary, but I wanted to share a photo of my sewing machine display so that you could see that I used a zig zag stitch and made it narrower and shorter than its default setting. You could use a different size of zig zag stitch, blanket stitch, satin stitch, invisible hem stitch, straight stitch... whatever you like! Experiment on a fabric scrap until you get the look that you like.

I positioned the quilt sideways so that the petals were aligned vertically and the 3rd (bottom) row of appliqué was under my needle. I stitched all of the way down the right edge of the appliqué petals. I did not travel all the way around each shape, but instead I continued along the right edge of the next petal shape as shown in the photo below.

When stitching applique into place using a zig zag stitch, I aim for the right position of the needle to land just beyond the appliqué shape into the background fabric as shown in the next photo.

As the stitch progresses and the needle transitions to its left-most point, the needle should come down on the appliqué shape as shown in the next photo. With this particular design, I was able to steer around the gentle curves without a whole lot of stopping, starting and repositioning. In other words, it was PDQ (pretty darn quick)!

Petals sticthed continuously along the right edge

Instead of stitching along the left edge next, I worked on the right edge of the 2nd (middle) row of petals. I did this because the rhythm of the zig zag stitch and its orientation to the needle and the appliqués is exactly the same. You would hate to kill the flow, too! :)

After the second row of petals was stitched, I moved on to the first row of petals, again, stitching along the right hand edge of the appliqués and working my way down the entire row.

If you can set your needle to be in the down-position when it stopped, it's very handy when doing this kind of work, especially if you do need to pivot or rotate.

Once all three rows of right edges were stitched down, I rotated the quilt 180° so that the unstitched edge of the appliqués was positioned on the right. I continued stitching in the same manner as before: petal after petal without stopping. 

First petal row is compete

Second petal row is stitched

All appliqués secured with stitching

After all the edges were stitched down, I folded the quilt in half. With the folded edge close to me and the selvedge edges from the bottom and top layer carefully aligned, I used a rotary cutter and 24" rotary ruler to trim a clean edge. I finished the top by trimming the other side and lastly the top/bottom edge.

At this point, I loaded the quilt top on my longarm frame and went to town on all of that yummy negative space! I recorded a video tutorial about how I do the overlapping spirals design shown, if you'd like to give it a go. The overall texture can be so amazing on solid fabric with that expansive "canvas"!

I hope that by giving you a peek inside my studio for the making of this quilt, it'll inspire you to try something out of your norm! It can be so refreshing and fun!

Four tips for making the Modern Heart block even easier!

I wrote the Modern Heart block pattern and photo tutorial after making it approximately 4 times. :) There's nothing wrong with that or with the instructions. But as with anything, the more times I made the block, the more efficient I became.

I'd love to share these four tips with you to increase your efficiency AND your enjoyment factor!

1. If possible, use the same sewing machine presser foot for paper piecing and block seaming.

Normally when I paper piece, I keep my papers in until the quilt is all sewn together. I usually don't need my 1/4" foot at all because I just sew on the solid outer lines of each template when seaming. With this block, I think it's much easier to remove the papers before seaming the block parts together. When you remove the papers as you go, you also remove those solid sewing lines and it becomes important to be able to sew an unmarked 1/4" seam (as with traditional patchwork). 

When I began making this block, I used a special open toe foot so that I could clearly see the printed template lines of the foundation paper. When I was done with the foundation piecing parts, I switched the foot to my 1/4" foot to seam the parts together, therefore completing the block. 

Eventually, after switching the feet back and forth several times, I tried foundation piecing with my 1/4" foot and guess what happened?? It was perfectly functional and more than fine. I had a clear line of vision and everything came up roses. :)

If your 1/4" foot will simply not work for foundation piecing, another idea would be to do all of the foundation piecing for ALL the blocks and then seam them all together at the end, only changing your foot once. A little "batch processing" action won't hurt. Unless you really like the satisfaction of seeing each block to completion before moving on to the next one... like I do.

2. Trim each template down to the seam allowances (dashed lines) first.

All sides of template are trimmed including the 1/4" seam allowance.

If you're having difficulty with your fabrics not covering the entire section after stitching and pressing, you might benefit from trimming around the templates first. It'll give you a better idea of position from the wrong side of the papers if you have the perimeter well defined.

Keep in mind you will still have to trim the fabrics after the sewing is completed, so pre-trimming is an extra step. However, if this simple step prevents you from having to having to touch your seam-ripper, the extra step is worth it.

Another point worth noting is that when doing any trimming around a paper piecing template, I always trim by aligning the 1/4" mark of a rotary ruler with the solid line around the outer perimeter of the template piece. I do not align the ruler edge with the dashed line as there can be inaccuracies with the placement of the dashed lines in some cases and patterns.

3. Trim the fabric covering section A1 before aligning the section A2 fabric. (The same concept applies to Part B, as well.)

Another option to begin Part A or Part B is to trim the first fabric before adding the second fabric. I'll show you with pictures:

In the photo above, I've placed my A1 fabric right side up on the back side of the template paper and secured it with one straight pin.  You could also use fabric glue. I would use one securing method or the other when doing the trimming first. Placing the pin toward the bottom of the fabric and paper will allow it to stay more "out of the way" during the next step.

In this photo, you'll see that I'm following the trimming steps shown in the pattern—only—instead of trimming after a seam has been sewn, I'm trimming the first fabric before any sewing is done. This way, the angle will be in perfect alignment for the A2 fabric to be added. Actually, if you choose to follow this pre-trimming method, you really wouldn't need to cut the A1 fabric at a 45° angle at all. You could pin or glue the full 4" x 7" rectangle to the paper and trim the extra away at the exact angle in one shot.

4. Cut your fabric pieces bigger than given in the pattern directions.

People: we all have different levels of skill and experience! If you are consistently having trouble getting fabrics to cover their given sections, it might make a world of difference to cut your initial fabric shapes bigger than the dimensions given in the pattern.  For example, cut your A5 fabric at 5" x 7".  Sure, you'll have a little more waste, but if it helps you sew right the first time, that extra fabric is well worth it! We want this experience to be enjoyable! I'd much rather trim more away and have a little bit more waste than have to rip tiny stitches out of paper and try again. Can I get an AMEN?? :)

What about you? Do you have any other paper piecing tips to add? Please post your tip in the comments! The more I paper piece, the more I realize there is room for flexibility and adjustments, so don't be afraid to do what you need to do to have a great experience!