Back to the Hunter's Star

I haven't got any sewing done all week. Work was chaotic this week - next week I'm determined to get in some sewing time.

Today I cut up the fabric for the second half of the red and white hunter's star I'm making for my cousin. The finished half you can see here. The great thing about this project is that I can sew it in little bits of time which might be what I have this week.

Here's the fabric cut:

It doesn't look as big as the pile I cut for the first half so hopefully I have enough. There is a lot of leftover fabric in case I need it though. If you look closely, you can see my handprint in the white squares.

TTT - Your seam ripper

source: http://www.emblibrary.com/el/products.aspx?Catalog=Emblibrary&ProductID=d7490

Unless you're perfect, you need to rip out seams now and then. Here's a helpful way that will reduce your time a little.

From the BOBBIN side of your seam, rip out your stitches every 3-8, depending on how dense your stitches are. I usually go about every 5 stitches.

first ripped stitch, heading to the right to finish

Once you're ripped out your stitches, your seam will look like this:

about every 3-4 stitches ripped; this seam is denser

Turn over your fabric, so the NEEDLE side of your seam is facing up.

see the loop to the right of the seam ripper?

Starting at an edge, gently pull on a stitch. You should get a big loop. Pull on the loop gently and you should be able to pull a long thread. If you pull on the loop too much with the seam ripper, you'll rip the thread - pull with your fingers once you get it started.

You should end up with a long thread like this:

Clip your long thread and brush off/pick off your short threads and you're done. If your seam is really long, you might have to clip your long thread a few times to help it along. My seam here was only 1.5" long to rip out so my long thread came apart in one length.

What I like about ripping out seams this way is that it's less tedious than ripping every stitch and you don't distort your fabric by pulling it apart. If the sewing is really dense, it's never easy to pull out the stitches - take your time and you'll get better results.

Even more sayings

The end (for now)

More Sayings

Inspirational Sayings

I found these on a facebook page and want to use them in my job. I keep these things in pinterest and I can't pinterest from facebook so I'm posting them here so I can pinterest them for later use. Sources sometimes unknown - from facebook it's http://www.facebook.com/#!/BedeempledBrain
I think I need two posts cause there are a lot of pictures.

Stay tuned for more

Coquette, wide mouth pouch, and a week

What a week it's been. Work is back in session and it was super busy - no time to sew, write a blog, or read a blog! Hopefully next week slows down a bit.

This deliciousness arrived Thursday from Intrepid Thread:

It's called Coquette, and along with some white, will made a quilt for my cousin's little girl (E) who will turn three in October. I will use some variation of a drunkard's path.

I have several options in mind:

option one which I can't copy/pin and I think it might be my favourite

and these ones:

Option 2 from http://shecanquilt.blogspot.ca/2012/06/butterflies-ta-da.html

option 3 from http://www.needleandspatula.com/2011/09/announcing-drunkards-path-quilt-along.html

option 4 from: http://www.marriedtoabmw.com/2012/06/drunkards-path-top.html

Any thoughts or opinions on layout?

Last weekend I tried to make a triangle pouch for my purse - it was too small. I tried again this weekend and am successful. I blogged about the first pouch I made here; this one has different measurements than the first one, but same process.

all finished and closed

open with all my purse junk in it

I'm not sure what I'll work on this week. That bra pattern didn't get worked on before going back to work, so it might be that.

TTT - scant 1/4" seams

So far we've gone over cutting and pinning. We need to talk about 1/4" seams. It has taken me a lot of years to master the scant 1/4" seam, so I'm passing on my knowledge to you - and hopefully it doesn't take you as long as it took me.

What is a scant 1/4" seam?

A scant 1/4" seam is very slightly smaller than a full 1/4" seam - about a thread width smaller. In quilting, and any sewing, accuracy is important so that your seams match up, you maintain your points, and your finished product is the size it's supposed to be. If your seams are out even 1/16", then every time you add a seam, you're out another 1/16" - at 4 seams you're out 1/4"; over an entire quilt that can really add up. The reason you need a scant 1/4" seam is that when you press your seams to one side, thread takes up space - it's only a little space - but it can add up.


In the photos below, the seam on the left is a scant 1/4" - green arrow. It's hard to see, but look closely. The seam is just to the inside/right of the 1/2" mark on the ruler (which represents a 1/4" seam from my yellow orientation line. The centre line is my orientation line - yellow arrow. The right seam is just to the right/outside of the 1/4" mark - black arrow - this is a full 1/4" seam ( I think of it as a generous 1/4").

ruler oriented a different way

 

Test yourself. Sew/draw a registration line on a piece of fabric or paper. Sew a 1/4" seam along that line. Are you scant or full?

 

A test for scant 1/4" seams

Take two scrap pieces of fabric that are exactly the same width. Mine are 1 3/4" cause that's what's laying around. Sew a 1/4" seam - start with how you usually sew a 1/4" seam. Press open your seam like you would when quilting. Lay your ruler down on your fabric; your width should  be exactly double your original width minus 1/2". In my case, 1 3/4" + 1 3/4" = 3.5" minus 1/2" = 3".

 

I checked my seam before pressing open. If I line my seam up on my 1/4" mark on the ruler, my fabric falls just short of the edge of the ruler - about a thread width.

a 3" piece - my seams are a scant 1/4"

If your piece is not exactly the right size you need to adjust the width of your 1/4" seam.

How to get a scant 1/4" seam

I have two 1/4" feet. I like the metal one with the black guide the best. It's the one that came with my machine:

my favourite one

I don't use this one too much

 

If I just use my quarter inch foot and line the fabric up along the black guide, my 1/4" seams are too generous. To compensate, I move my needle position to the right of centre. On my machine it looks like this (I have a Janome 4100). Centre is at 3.5 and I move the needle to 4.3. Make sure your needle will still go through the hole in your needle plate - I need a zig-zag needle plate to do this.

 

 

If you can't move the needle, here is another suggestion.

You likely have a 1/4" mark on your needle plate. On my maching it's on the bobbin cover:

 

the arrow shows the 1/4" mark

 

If I sew following this mark, my fabric does not go all the way to the edge of the guide on the presser foot but I get a scant 1/4" seam. I feel like I'm not as accurate unless my fabric touches the guide on the machine; this method won't work for me for tiny pieces, such as in my Dear Jane quilt, because the registration mark is far away from the needle.

 

When I'm sewing a scant 1/4" seam, it looks like this:

 

 

 

 

 

I've move my needle to slightly right of centre, my fabric lines up with the guide on my foot, and I'm not on the 1/4" mark on my needle plate BUT I get a scant 1/4" seam.

 



What do I do now?

Now, you have to practice and play. Every machine is different so try the tests and fiddle around until you get a seam allowance that is a scant 1/4". Try the ruler test and sew two pieces of fabric together. Try a 1/4" foot if you don't have one. Your accuracy will improve and your quilts will look better.