Sweet Freesia for spring?

While the weather outside can't decide whether it's spring or winter, I'm pulling out Sweet Freesia because it makes me think of lilacs blooming in spring.  I know freesia and lilacs aren't the same thing.  Right now, while I'm wishing for spring to settle in and stay, I wish I'd named the pattern Sweet Lilacs, but I didn't and it's out in the world as Sweet Freesia, so...

Sweet Lilacs Freesia by Canuck Quilter Designs
Fabric: Heavy Metal from Island Batik
Photographed in summer 2023

Maybe I'm stuck on the lilacs because lilacs come in these colours.  These are fabrics from Island Batik's Heavy Metal collection.  Take a closer look.  The colors may suggest lilacs, but the prints have a different theme.

It has gears and bicyles and propellers.  It really doesn't scream flowers, but when you cut it all up into smaller pieces the colours take over and the rest is just texture.  That's my story and I'm sticking to it.  Here it is, all cut up.  I think the colours are prettier in the actual fabrics than in the digital swatches above.

Here's hint about what kind of piecing I used to make the quilt.

Corner Monster and Trimming Monster plotting
 to take over the world - or at least the sewing room

If you guessed some HST and QST oversized to trim to perfection, and some stitch-and-flip sewing, you win a round of applause. I know stitch-and-flip corners can be wasteful, but they open up so many design options, or at least simplify them.  If you're not familiar with this technique or struggle with it, check out this blog post for tips.

I just love these colours and the texture from the prints.  I find it hard to remember back to when I didn't like purples.

I'm thinking of making another version of this quilt in red and green prints for Christmas.  This pattern is fat quarter friendly and I have a bundle of red and green fat quarters that has been sitting on the shelf for far too long.  I just need to find just the right background to pair with the rest.

If you'd like to see this on a darker background, hop over to Connecting Threads to see how they kitted Sweet Freesia.

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I'm off to prep next week's Two-Colour Mystery quilt along clue.  This week's clue is ready to land in participants' inbox tomorrow at 9 am CT.  Hint below!

Thanks to Katie and her gift of googly eyes, my monsters have clearer vision now.
Should I be worried their takeover plotting might get more effective? 

It's almost time for the big reveal!  This week is your last chance to sign up for free.  After I reveal the block next week, you'll have to buy the pattern if you want to make the quilt.  It's a pretty one, trust me :)

Happy quilting,

Joanne

To make your own Sweet Freesia, buy the PDF pattern in my Etsy shop or ask for a print copy at your favourite quilt shop.  Island Batik's Heavy Metal is in shops now.

The Basics of Stitch-and-Flip

If you have used my patterns in the past, you may be aware that I use the stitch-and-flip method often in my designs.  This technique, also know as snowballed corners or lost corners, makes it easy to add a triangle to the corner of a unit without having to cut either a triangle or a non-rectangular/non-square shape to which to sew the triangle.  It also avoid sewing along a cut bias edge.

How It Works

1.  Start with a base shape, either a square or rectangle, to which you want to add a corner, and a smaller square of the fabric you want in the corner.  The sides of the square should be 1/2" larger than the short sides of the triangles need to be in the finished quilt. 

You'll be sewing across the square diagonally from corner to corner, so you may like to draw a line to guide your sewing.  I like to use a mechanical pencil because it makes a fine line, which shows me more precisely where to stitch.  (I have included links to alternatives to marking at the end of this post.)

2.  With right sides together, tuck the square into the corner of the base shape, matching the edges in the corner.

3.  Sew along the diagonal.

4.  Fold the fabric back over the stitched line.  

5.  The folded corner should match the original perfectly.  (If it doesn't, rip the seam and try again.) 

6.  At this point I like to finger press the seam by running my fingernail along the seam.  This helps me make sure the fold is right up against the seam, and I'm less likely to distort the shape of either layer of fabric this way than if I use an iron.  After I finger press, I hit it with a hot iron to set the fold.

7.  After pressing, open up the fold and cut away excess fabric from the corer, cutting 1/4" away from the seam.  (Yes, I cut after I press.  I have found that keeping the full base shape while pressing helps stabilize the shape and I'm less likely to distort the unit.)

8.  Now fold the corner back to fill the unit's corner and you're done.

Additional Tips and Thoughts 

1. When the square is the same width as the base shape

You can also stitch-and-flip a corner when the square is the same width as the base shape.  In this case I recommend starting to sew from the side (see white arrow below) rather than the corner.  Starting from the corner sometimes leads to the corner getting caught in the machine.

2. Pay attention to the corner orientation

No amount of rotating a unit with a corner at the top right will turn the unit into one with a corner at the top left.

3. Trim as you go

When adding a second corner and the seam intersects the first corner, make sure you have trimmed away the excess fabric under the first corner before you add the second corner.  That new seam will prevent you from pulling the first corner back all the way to trim away the layers beneath.

Oops!

4. Why you should sew accurately rather than count on trimming

You may be tempted to sew a little off the diagonal so that when you fold back the corner it extends a little past the corner of the base shape, then trim everything even with the base shape.

This is fine if the the points of the triangle in the corner do not need to meet a particular part of whatever unit will be beside it.

If the points are meant to line up with some other element, you need to be accurate.  Consider the example below (this is a random example, not from any particular pattern).

I've shown the seam allowance in green below.  The point in the finished unit will be where the seam intersects the triangle.  

Here's what the two units together will look like, with the seam allowance taken up in the seam.  You see that the point meets the seam in the unit on the right.

Here's the same unit, but with the corner just a little larger, from using a larger square as "fudge room".

You can see below that once the seam allowance is taken up in the seam, that larger triangles results in a point that is lower than the seam it needs to meet in the other unit.

Similarly, a corner that is trimmed  too small because the seam was too far over towards the corner results in a point that is slightly above where it should be to meet the seam in the other unit.

5. Ways to sew on the diagonal without marking

I personally get better results sewing along a marked diagonal line on my squares, but there are other options.  I encourage you to try different methods if you wish and use the method that gives you the best results.

In particular, you might consider the Clearly Perfect Angles seam guide or Diagonal Seam Tape.  I don't endorse either of these products, but I've included the links so you can explore options.  You might also use the edge of a piece of masking tape in the same way you would use the Diagonal Seam Tape.

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I've discussed everything I could think of regarding stitch-and-flip corners.  If there's anything else you'd like me to address, leave a comment or email me.  I'll see what I can do.

Until next time, happy quilting!

Joanne

My thanks to Northcott Fabrics for the fabrics I used in this tutorial.

Nesting Seams and Spinning Seams

I finnd that nesting seams when sewing, and spinning seams when pressing when possible, helps units look better.  In case you're not familiar with one or either of these techniques, read on.

Sample seam intersection

Nesting Seams

Nesting seams helps match seam lines that need to meet in the final unit.  It's just tucking the seam on one part right up to the seam on the other part when sewing the parts together.  It helps line up seam intersections. It also helps reduce bulk in the seam allowance by distributing the fabric in the seam allowances of the two previous seams on two sides of the new seam.  This only works if those two seams are pressed in opposite directions.

I'll use a 4-patch to illustrate.  

Here is the start of the 4-patch.  I've already sewn two squares together.

Here's a view of the wrong side to show you the seams pressed in opposite directions.

When I put these two units wrong sides together, I offset them a little then slide the top unit down until I can feel the bump of the top seam fall right next to the bump of the bottom seam.  

Here's what it look like from the side.  The white arrow points to where the seam ridges or bumps kiss.

When possible, I prefer to place the pieces under the needle in such a way that I stitch over the top seam allowance first.  I do this for two reason.  First, the seam allowance on the bottom unit will be folded away from the feed dogs and will be less likely to get caught on them and get flipped. Second, the feed dogs will pull the lower unit, keeping its seam nestled up close to the seam on the top unit..

Here's a diagram of the units seam from the side (I know the colors don't match the fabrics in my example.  I just chose colors that would show up clearly in the graphic.)

Once the units are sewn together, the seams should line up perfectly.

But wait!  To which side did I press the seam?  Both.  Read on to see how I spin the seams.

Spinning Seam Allowances (Spinning seams)

When several seams intersect, pressing to one side can lead to a very bulky spot.

Pressing seams open can alleviate that, but I'm not a fan of pressing open if I can help it.  Pressing open eliminates the possibility of stitching in the ditch later.

Spinning seam allowances is my preferred way to distribute bulk in seam allowances.  It's not always possible, but I always try that first.

As you can see below, I could press the two halves of the new seam of my 4-patch in two different directions.  Think of it as sweeping or spinning all the seam allowances in a circular direction.  In this case it's clockwise (as seen from the back), but if the seams in my original units had been pressed towards the light instead, I would simply spin things counterclockwise instead.

Placing my fingers on the seam allowance so that each half is flattened in the direction I want it to be, I slide my fingers to the intersection, tucking my fingers into the fabric folds, and push each half of the seam allowance until the stitches in the middle pop and let the seam allowance lay flat, in a different direction in each half of the seam. 

Sometimes those stiches may need the assistance of a seam ripper to let go, but they are inside the seam allowance, and the last seam I sewed secured the rest of the seams those popped stitches belonged to, so nothing is going to fall apart.

I press that pretty little patch at the intersection, and flip over the 4-patch to press with an iron.  You might like to finger press those folds to make sure they don't flip the into the wrong direction before you get the iron on them.

I made a short video.  Maybe this will make the process more clear.  (If you're reading this directly from your email inbox, you may need to click through to view this post in your browser to see the video.  I'm not 100% sure how all the technology pieces work together!)

I'm rather excited that I just filmed and edited my first video tutorial, so I hope you found it helpful!  Please let me know in the comments.

I'm also curious about pressing habits.  Do you press to one side or open, and why? Nest seams or not?  There's no right or wrong, just what works for each individual quiltmaker, so share what you do so we can all build our toolbox of techniques.

Happy quilting,

Joanne

If you're curious about the fabrics I used in the tutorial:  light is Crackle - Snow and dark is Stonehenge Gradations - Peacock, both from Northcott Fabric. Thank you to Northcott Fabrics for sending me the fabric.