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Tutorial: How to make a perfect four-patch quilt block.


Piecing a perfect four-patch block is just one of those things a quilter should have under their belt, if you know what I mean. Luckily, it’s a quick and easy process (nevermind that it took me about a billion pictures to show how easy it is…). Once you get the hang of it, you can crank these babies out in no time flat, and you’ll want to, they’re in a TON of patterns. I apologize in advance for these colors. They’re pretty much clashing with everything else here…

Start with 4 squares of fabric, all the same size.

Take the squares on the left and flip them over so they are face down on top of the fabrics on the right. The “right sides” of the squares should be facing each other. In quilting terms, this is called “right sides together”. I know, we’re a creative bunch. Pin, if necessary. My squares are only 2½” square, so it’s not needed in my case, but if you’re working with squares bigger than about 3″, I suggest pins.

Using a 1/4″ seam allowance, sew both sets of two squares together using a straight stitch. To make things easier later, do NOT take a double stitch or backstitch on the first and last stitches.

They’ll look like this. Only with your fabrics, of course.

Put your sewn squares on your ironing board without opening them.

Press the seam allowance with a hot iron. I know this seems weird, but it’s called “setting” the seams. It makes the thread lay more flat so that when you open up the block and press it, it lays, well, more flat.

See? Looking flatter already.

Now, open up your pieces and lay them face down.

Decide which way you will press your seam allowance. Ideally, you will press in opposite directions, toward the darker fabric. So, see how the block on top is being pressed to the left, while the block on the bottom is being pressed to the right? This makes it really easy, later on, to make a perfectly aligned intersection. To make sure you don’t “lose” any fabric in the seam, gently pull both sides of the block away from the seam while using your fingers to press and hold the seam allowance the direction you will press it with the iron. Work slowly and carefully so you don’t skew or stretch your blocks.

Press with hot iron.

Now, place the right sides together again. You will notice that your seam allowances are facing different directions, directly opposite each other. You will also notice, that if you use your fingers to gently slide the blocks against each other, you can feel when the block “clicks” into place. This is usually called “butting” or “nesting” your seams, and is a great way to not only get precise intersections, but also to distribute bulk.

Pin. Usually, I will pin at the top, at each intersection, and at the bottom. If there is more than 3 inches or so between, I will pin there, too.

Using a 1/4″ seam allowance, sew. Be sure to remove your pins before they go under your presser foot.

Lay flat on your ironing board, and set the seam.

Open up the block, face down on your ironing board. Push the seam allowance in opposite directions on the top and bottom.

Since you didn’t take any backstitches before, pushing the seam allowances will loosen those middle stitches, allowing them to come out and open up, like this. Isn’t it cute? Besides being cute, it is also much flatter than pressing your seam allowance all to one side. (There ARE situations where that is a better option, though, so follow your pattern’s instructions.)

Press it. (And when I say press it, I mean pick up your iron, and place it on the block. Straight down. Don’t move it around. That will just stretch and warp your block.)

Now, flip it over, and give it one more press. Voila! A perfect four-patch block!

I knew you could do it.

Any questions? Tips or tricks? Share!

Land That I Love–a FREE patriotic block pattern

I love my country, and I am so grateful to those who stand in harm’s way to protect my freedoms.

Thank you, veterans, military and servicemembers–my words are small but my gratitude is very, very big.

Please enjoy this free foundation paper piecing block pattern to aid in expressing your patriotism. This is not a traditionally pieced block, so there are no fabric measurements or cutting instructions. Although it could be pieced traditionally, keeping the proportions of our flag accurate was important to me, and that didn’t translate into numbers that are easily cuttable. :) SO, if you’ve never used the foundation paper piecing technique, here’s a quick tutorial I wrote a few years ago on Foundation Paper Piecing.

You can download the printable block pattern here.

xoxo

April

Quilting Basics: Foundation Paper Piecing 101

Paper Foundation Piecing, commonly called paper piecing, is a method of piecing quilt blocks using a printed paper for stitch lines. It allows a sewist to make blocks with small sized pieces or complex angles that would be difficult to cut and piece otherwise.

It sounds harder than it is, promise. Once you get the hang of it, you’ll fly through it without a second thought! Stick with me through making a unit or two, and you’ll get it :)

Take a minute and click on the picture directly below. It will open up a PDF file you can print and follow along with.

You will need a printed paper foundation for each block or unit you are making. Papers can not be reused. Also, pay attention when you print that the “Do Not Scale” box is checked on your printer pop up window, or however your printer pop up interface words it. You may have to choose “Actual Size” or something similar so that the file isn’t resized–this will make sure that your foundation prints at the right size. Many patterns even have a box marked “1 inch” so that you can print and measure this box with a ruler to make sure your print is the right size.

Here’s a few things you’ll want to remember: The printed side of the paper is the “stitching side”. This means that anytime you sew pieces together, you’ll be doing it with the printed side of the paper facing up and your fabric facing down. Your fabric is always placed on the unprinted side. The numbers on the paper refer to the order you will sew the pieces together. The lines on the paper are where you will sew.To get started paper piecing, cut out the foundation templates just outside the seam allowance edge (that’s the dashed line.) Make sure you’ve got a sharp needle in your sewing machine, and set your stitch length to small–I usually set mine to just larger than 1. The idea behind a short stitch length is that the smaller stitches will perforate the paper closer together and that makes it easier to tear away and remove later. 

With the printed side of the paper foundation facing you, place the appropriate piece of fabric–with the wrong side of the fabric facing the unmarked side of the paper–over the area on the foundation that is marked as the first piece (A1, B1, etc.). You may need to hold the paper up to a window or light in order to place the fabric correctly. Make sure the edges of the fabric piece extend at least 1/4’’ beyond the stitching lines of the area. It’s okay if the fabric is significantly bigger than the area you are covering. You can trim away excess later.

Pin (not recommended)or glue stick the piece in place, avoiding the stitching lines. In the picture below, you can see I used a very small amount of glue stick on my paper. Less is more here, lovies, you’re going to want to pull this off later so don’t overdo it on the glue. 

Choose a piece of fabric that is the correct size to cover the second piece (A2) generously, extending at least 1/4’’ or more past the stitching lines. Fold the paper and fabric on the first stitching line (the black line between pieces A1 and A2).

Folding the paper and fabric shows you where the stitching line will be. This will help you see where you have to sew, and so, where you need to position the next piece. In the image below, the seam goes on the fold, so all the fabric above that fold is seam allowance. 

 

Place fabric A2 right sides together with the first piece, making sure you have enough fabric extending over the seam line so that your stitch is stable.

Hold the second piece in place, or use a little glue in the seam allowance (don’t get glue outside the seam allowance, trust me–and again, less is more.) Flip over the paper so that the stitching side (printed side) is facing up. Place under your presser foot, beginning the stitch 1/8″ – 1/4″ away from the stitch line. 

Stitch on the line between pieces A1 and A2.

Extend the stitch 1/8″ past the stitch line.

Cut threads. (See how those tiny stitches perforate and nearly cut the paper?)

Flip over the paper and open the seam you just stitched, making sure your 2nd piece covers the entire 2nd area accurately, extending beyond the sewing lines at least 1/8’’. If it doesn’t, carefully unpick the seam and reposition.

If it does, close the pieced seam,

fold back the paper foundation,

and trim seam allowance to 1/4’’. Be careful to avoid cutting the foundation paper.

Reopen the seam and press in place with a dry iron–no steam. Steam will curl your paper and make it harder to work with.

To place the next piece, repeat the steps above. Fold on the next seam line–in this case, A1/A3.

Open up the fold.

Position a piece of fabric cut generously to cover the area, maintaining enough seam allowance.

Hold piece in place, flip the paper over, stitch on the seam line, being sure your seam extend past both ends of the seam line. Open up, make sure the fabric covers the area appropriately with enough overlap to allow for future seam allowance. Close the seam again, fold back the foundation paper, trim seam allowance, then open up and press. Move on to folding between the next seam. Work this way from piece to piece, in numerical order.

When working on the pieces on the edge of the block, make sure when the piece is attached and folded out, that it extends past the dashed/dotted line. This is the edge of the block’s seam allowance, so you need the block to extend across that distance. Be sure your stitching also extends past that line.

Once all the pieces are placed, press the whole thing. It’s gonna look a little rough around the edges, but don’t worry. We’ll fix that.

Flip the block over to the paper side…

and use your rotary cutter, ruler, and a sharp blade to trim just outside the printed dashed line. Be careful not to let your ruler slip on the paper.

 

There, doesn’t that look better?

Paper should NOT be removed if the block will be sewn to other paper pieced blocks. Once Paper Pieced blocks or units are stitched together, carefully remove paper. You may find a small pair of tweezers helpful when removing small pieces of paper from intersections. If you’re sewing a paper pieced block to another piece of fabric, remove the paper first.

When the block is complete and the paper is removed, you may choose to use a very long stitch length to baste around the edges of your block, particularly where there are seams that intersect the outside edge. This will help reinforce weak areas or bias edges.

Congratulations! You just made a Foundation Paper Pieced block! See, I told you it wasn’t too bad. Practice makes perfect here. Nowadays, this technique takes very little brain power for me, and is a super mindless and relaxing way to make really precise blocks. I hope you take a chance and try it!

xoxo

April

Goody Goody Binding Kit

gg4I made this adorable pouch in a few hours one night two weeks ago. Literally, it came together super fast, the instructions are nice and clear, and hey, it turned out adorable, so that’s a plus. gg7I used Meadowbloom to make it, and I love that I got to use a big enough piece of the text print, that I can actually read the text!gg6Miss Vanessa Goertzen of Lella Boutique fame designed this little pattern, and lucky for all of us, it’s a FREE tutorial on her blog. She did a little collaboration with the Fat Quarter Shop, and filmed a video or two of some techniques in case you’re, for example, afraid of zippers. :) Also, check out #goodygoodybindingkit and #goodygoodysewalong on Instagram to see along or see other people’s kits. There are some darling ones out there!
gg3Let me be clear: this was SUPER EASY. As in, I’ll be making these for basically everyone for Christmas. If you’re my mom, mother-in-law, sisters, craft night ladies, or other sew-y type friends….pretend you didn’t read that.
gg1You should make this, because it’s fun, it’s cute, and gosh darn it, you need to sew for yourself sometimes.
gg8Plus, it has a pocket for treats.gg2Another thing: how nice is it to have all the supplies for binding in one place, that ISN’T a ziploc bag? (<—Guilty.)
gg5Tutorial is here. Head on over. :)

xoxo

April