Thursday, September 5, 2013

On Precise Piecing

I consider myself to be a pretty good piecer. My blocks fit together well, and even fit well with other quilters' blocks in exchanges and such. But if I'm brutally honest with myself, I have to admit that I could do way better. Although my results are consistent, they are often consistently just a bit large or small, which works out fine for all practical purposes but is not by any means precise.

On Tuesday, I'm filming a short video on tips for precise piecing, so it's time to step up my game. This morning I spent 3 hours working on samples, trying out ideas I found in Sally Collins' books and some things I've heard from my coworkers that help with accuracy. I could definitely see improvement, but my work isn't nearly perfect...yet!


Those little units finish at 2" square. Seems like accuracy becomes even more important with smaller units. I'll be doing lots more work on this over the weekend, and I'll share my favorite tips as I master them. For now, let me tell you it is VERY important to cut VERY accurately and on the grain line. Carefully straightening fabric before cutting patches made a big difference in my results. Piece, everybody!
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2 comments:

  1. Crow Calling WomanSeptember 6, 2013 at 8:03 PM

    I use glue basting on ALL my piecing projects. It makes a HUGE difference in the accuracy. My sewing machine is weird and it tends to distort smaller pieces as it is fed through. It's supposed to have auto-tension...so I don't mess with it. Fancy computer machines now-a-days. Glue basting eliminates the problem for me. :D It takes very little extra time to set the thread thin line of Elmers with the iron.

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    1. Kathy PattersonSeptember 7, 2013 at 8:29 AM

      Wow, I've never heard of that approach before! Thanks for sharing the idea. I may have to give it a try this weekend.

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