Row Along 2018: Birds

Can you believe we are on Row 5!? Okay, so I know the birds strike fear in many of you, but we are going to conquer that fear and become experts in paper piecing by the time we are finished. If you follow the directions exactly, watch our videos and adhere to these tips in our post, I promise you will get great results. You may make a few mistakes and use the seam ripper a few times but that’s part of learning any new quilting technique, honestly I knew what I was doing and still did this a few times.

So here we go!

Templates:

Before you even cut your templates, go through and mark on each piece that is the White background fabric a big “W”.

Each bird has the white background plus 4 different fabrics, and a couple pieces share the same fabric. To ensure I remembered this as I was cutting, I marked the templates that were fabric prints, each with 4 different color markers. So in other words, the 2 leg pieces that are the same fabric will be marked with the same color (mine are both yellow) and  A2-2, A2-3 & A2-4 will all be the same color (purple) to help you remember as your cutting.  I just did a little dash, but make it bigger if you need.

Small Birds Legs:

For some reason the small birds legs ended up slightly off alignment once translated to the book pattern from our original. Most of you will not notice or care. If you are a person who this bothers, there is a very easy quick fix. I tried to upload one I fixed for you all to download, but for computer reasons that I do not understand , when I upload it to a PDF, the size of the block changes slightly, which will cause you major problems. There is already a post in our Facebook Group, added by a lovely lady (Georgette) who is quilting along with us, showing a quick How to Fix for your pattern.  I promise its fast and easy and I am truly sorry you have to do it. But if you don’t care, than carry on. I am keeping my birds with the little mistake, because it does not bother me, but I also appreciate those of you who want it perfect. See my imperfect small bird below to help you decide.

 

Cutting:

There are several tips when cutting that will help you immensely.

Cut all the pieces for all Large Birds first, than do the same for the small birds.

Cut all of your fabric pieces with a really HEFTY 1/4″ seam allowance (bigger is better here, even if your closer to 3/8″ or more, its fine, you will trim later). Also make sure you are always cutting with the template facing up, wrong side of the template touching the wrong side of the fabric as it says in the directions.

Cut all your white pieces together first, than move on to the colored fabrics. It is really key to STAY ORGANIZED. Here is what we did and it works GREAT.

Cut all pieces for each template piece for all 5 large birds and than later for all 7 small birds at the same time ( count the template pieces that are the same fabric as 1 piece, and do them together for each bird). Stack all of the fabric pieces for a a template on top of each other and than pin the template on top. See my pic below if your confused at all and it should make more sense.

These are all of my pieces for the Large Bird. Now I can easily work on them in an assembly line style.

Paper Piecing:

We highly recommend using velum for your paper piecing. It is easier to see through, you can unpick stitching from it without it breaking apart and it is easier to rip out at the end. We sell it in kits, but you can also get it online and at most paper stores, you will want a medium weight.

Start Piecing:

Follow the directions in the book and watch our videos in the Facebook Group , all of them before you start stitching and than again as you go if you need more help. We made several videos on the stitching process, that I promise will make all of the difference in the world!

Make sure to work in assembly line fashion! If you make 1 bird at a time from start to finish the row will take you FOREVER! But if you do each step, to all large birds at the same time, than the next step to all and so on (this is assembly line) it will be so much faster. Also if you work this way, you will make less mistakes, because of the repetition. Some people like to make a test bird, to make sure they know what they are doing and it works. If you want to do this, just make this 1 from start to finish and than move to assembly line sewing.

Also don’t worry if your bird looks a little crazy while you are in the middle of a section. At some points they look really weird, but it is probably correct.

Looks weird, right? But after I trim and add more sections, this is going to be perfect.

Trimming:

When trimming seams inside the section, you can trim to a scant 1/4″, with a ruler or scissors (see videos). But you MUST have a FULL 1/4″ seam on the outside edge of all sections and the finished block.

When trimming around each section that you MUST leave a 1/4″ OUTSIDE of the paper. This is your seam allowance, DO NOT TRIM UP TO THE EDGE OF THE PAPER. I did this on all of my blocks on my very first paper piecing attempt many years ago and to say I was bummed is a major understatement. But, on the bright side, it was a great way to ensure it has never happened again.

Ok, so watch the videos and get stitching. I promise you can do this! And post your pics in the usual places with the tag #row5giveaway to be entered in this month’s drawings.

 

Row Along 2018: Row 3 Dresden

Row 3 is here and I really think you all will be pleasantly surprised while making this one. It looks really impressive and in my opinion is much simpler to make than it appears. Follow the instructions in the book exactly, pay attention to these tips in this post and also watch our videos in the Facebook Group for extra help and you should end up with a beautiful row.

Fabric:

You will use 23 fabrics for the Dresden Spokes on this row, cut from Fat Quarters, Fat Eights or even scraps. You will also need a fabric for all of the center half circles, use your leftover solid red from Row#2 or a new fabric and it doesn’t necessarily need to be red ( I really wanted to use black but than chickened out at the last minute). Lastly you will use some of your background fabric.

Cutting: 

Background Fabric- In the book it has you cut the backgrounds 10.5″ X 6″, this is the intended measurement and will probably require small shims of the background on the outer edges once you see where your width ends up with all rows at the end (see page 15 in the book re: shims).You could also cut these backgrounds larger than our directions, at 11″X 6″. If you do this, you will end up with trimming a little teensy bit off both ends when you are putting all of your rows together. Either way is fine, I will be using the shims technique, as I like the look of them squeezed a little closer together, but you can do either.

Dresden Spokes- Make a template of the Dresden Spoke #1 pattern in your book from velum or something similar (I suggest even making a few in case you cut into one as you go, than you already have a replacement). This is a silly tip but actually really helpful, use a piece of scotch tape on the back of the velum to adhere it to fabrics when you cut. The tape can be reused over and over as you cut each fabric and holds just enough to make a huge difference. Its best to cut fabrics in pairs and a small ruler is really helpful, a 1″ X 6″ or a 2.5 X 4.5″.

THE NEXT STEP IS THE MOST IMPORTANT STEP WHEN MAKING THIS ROW! You must trace the Dresden spoke #2 pattern onto the wrong side of all of your spokes after they are cut. It is not exactly 1/4″ in all spots, if you trace 1/4″ with your ruler or skip this step all together you will have issues getting the finished dresden to fit and lay flat correctly. This traced line is also your stitch line later. It is REALLY IMPORTANT and will make all the difference in having this row work perfectly for you. Be sure to center the pattern as best as you can each time you trace it.

Making the Dresdens:

Follow the directions on page 21 in the book, they are great with lots of pictures. There are 3 videos #1-3 in our Facebook group that will help you to turn the Dresdens right side out correctly, get perfect points and press them precisely.

Putting the Spokes together: 

Follow page 22 instructions paying extra attention to the following tips.

Before you stitch your spokes together, I strongly suggest picking your fabric placement for all 5 blocks and taking a photo with your phone, or attaching a labeling system to ensure that the colors are all spread out evenly.

When pinning pairs together to stitch, make sure the top and side points are lined up perfectly. If the bottom ends are off slightly, it will not be a problem, but if your points (especially the side point) are off it will be an issue.

Next and most importantly, when stitching spokes together use your traced pencil line as your stitch line, not your 1/4″ foot. See our video #4 in the Facebook group for more assistance here.

Adding the Background:

If you follow our directions carefully, you should be able to fit a Dresden made up of 9 spokes onto a background easily. Make sure to line up your middle spoke point to the middle fold line you make in step 1. Use a basting glue to adhere all 5 to the backgrounds, do not worry if the beginning and last spoke is hanging over the background a little, this is totally fine and you can trim it after you stitch them into place. See our #5 video on the FB page for more help on glue basting your Dresden into place.

Machine Applique: 

We love our favorite machine applique method for attaching the Dresdens but you can also use Hand Applique or another Machine method if you prefer. Remember, when using a mono-filament clear thread, it is only used on the top, NOT in your bobbin, just keep your regular thread down below. If you have a needle down option on your machine it is VERY helpful to keep everything in place when you have to pivot to turn up and down the points while stitching (if you do not have this option on your machine, just hand crank the needle into place and it does the same thing).

Applique Centers: 

The Half circles are dynamite in red but could be any other color that you think sets off your Dresdens, I ended up switching to a polka dot last minute, just because, and I really love it. Follow the directions carefully on page 24. I suggest making 1 velum template before you make all 5 and make sure your piece covers your opening easily. If your piece seems a little too small, cut your velum template slightly outside the drawn line and this will fix this problem. There is a great little video (#6 in the FB group) that shows how the seam allowance in turned over with your awl and some glue stick.

YOU GUYS! Your pretty much done!

Optional Embroidery:

The outer red embroidery is totally optional, but I love it and think it really adds a little extra pizazz. You can also change the color to match your center if you did not use red. Someone in our FB group had black centers with black stitching and I really loved it.

I hope everyone really enjoys making this row! Also after all 5 are stitched together, remember to wait to add shims or trim, it is really best to do this to any rows where its necessary at the very end, once all rows are finished and measured. As usual we will have a giveaway for some of our favorite products we used for Row 3, you can enter in the FB Group or Instagram.

11277 Hamilton White F’17

Getting Ready to Row Along

Who is ready to row along with us starting next month!? I can’t wait, we are going to have so much fun.

I wanted to share with you some of the basics that you will need to be all set to start. If your an organized planner kind of person, you’ll want to start organizing some things now. Or if you are a down to the wire, last minute kind of gal, like me, grab it all the night before, either way here’s a list to help you quilt along

1. First of all, you need to know a few quilting basics, but you definitely do not need to be an expert! This will be beginner friendly , as long as you are excited to make the quilt and willing to learn, you can do it. Remember, you will have a whole month to complete each row and we will be here to answer questions and help you.

2. For the patterns you will need a copy of the Quilting Row by Row book.  You can purchase this as a paperback or an e-book, whatever you prefer, from many places online, from us or really the best place to get a copy is your favorite local quilt shop.                                    

3. You will need your trusty machine, and the basic tools such as thread, rotary cutter, a mat, ruler, pin, pincushion, iron ect ( and speaking of pincushions, if you love the one pictured in the book ,it will be a free pattern on our blog later this week). There is also a tool we use every day, one of our faves that we have noticed many quilters are not using. It is an awl. If you don’t already have one, we suggest getting it, we will show you its many, many uses once we get going (we promise, you will thank us later for this suggestion!). There is more info on tools in the book and as we get further along, we may suggest some specific tools and threads for certain rows.

4. So now lets get to the fun stuff, the fabrics!

You will need a white fabric for your background and sashing. We suggest purchasing this all at one time, to ensure you have the same fabric throughout. We used Riley Blake’s solid white, but any other solid that you love will be great. You need 4 yards, and that has a little extra built in for mistakes ( we all make those, right?).

Next, can you say Fat Quarters? Gather lots and lots of fat quarters, from your stash, from a shop, wherever ( I am willing to bet many of you already have exactly what you need, because if were being honest here, most of us have a little too much fabric on hand that we need to use up). One of the best parts of this quilt in my opinion is how scrappy it is. We mixed fabrics from many collections and different companies, and it looks great. You can also add some fat eighths to have even more variety, our kit is a mixture of Fat Quarters & Eighths. You will need a total of 36 Fats in an array of colors, with at least 6 of them in greens. There are a few rows, that require specific yardage that is a little more than a fat, these are listed in the book, but mostly its about the FATS! We used a variety of prints, really heavy on basics like dots and make sure you have a solid in practically every color you incorporate. If you want to splurge and make it really easy on yourself, we have a few kits left all hand picked by us to look just like our quilt.

So now we have what we need to get started. We are ready to, right?

One last suggestion, spend a little time and read through the Introduction and Getting Started chapters of the book. We think you will learn a few new things and it will give you a clear idea of all of the basics on the project ahead. We will be kicking off the first row the first Thursday in January.

P.S. Follow our blog or any of our social media so we can notify you when each months post is up.

P.P.S.  We have also created a Facebook Group, for everyone participating in the Row Along, click this link and press join and we will make sure you are added. This will be a great place for you to post questions, and share your pretty pics each month. Plus we will have a few special giveaways only for this group.

How to Attach a Bias Binding Edge

This is our Aiden & Ava Bib, we made these years ago and they are still one of our most popular patterns. It makes total sense that they are always a favorite because they are adorable, reversible, stay on your child and simple to make. The only part that seems to make people a little nervous is attaching the bias binding edge, but it is so simple! And to show you how easy we decided to make a little tutorial.  This bias binding edge is also a great way to finish off any bib you design, pockets, a neckline and many other sewn items. Click the following link to download our tutorial, and get sewing whether its with our bib design or one of your very own.  Simple Bias Binding Edge Tutorial

If you would like to give our Aiden & Ava Bibs a try, we offer them in kits with the same adorable fabrics we have used, plus pre-cut bias strips. Or if you like to pick your own fabrics, you can just get a PDF version of the pattern.

The picture below shows the back view of our bibs, which when turned inside out is the reverse side of the bib, it can be worn on either side.

My Beatrix looking pretty adorable in her Aiden & Ava Bib.

This is one of my very favorite dresses made for me by Jeanette (my MIL and the other Pipers Girl). It also has the same bias binding edge around the collar and on the edge of the short sleeves.

We have a BOOK!

We are sooooo excited to announce our first ever BOOK is coming out! It is being published with C & T Publishing who did an absolutely amazing job partnering with us to create our vision perfectly. In “Quilting Row by Row” you can learn and perfect many quilting techniques one row at a time, while making the most beautiful quilt. The rows are made in order of difficulty, so that even beginners can make it and will finish up being an expert.

The book will start showing up in stores near you in October (please make sure to tell your favorite quilt shop about it). Copies are available from us directly now and have FREE SHIPPING, YAY!  We also have fantastic fabric packed QUILT KITS with all fabrics picked by us available.

Stay Tuned, we will be announcing a ROW ALONG soon, where you can sew along with us one row at a time with lots of additional tutorials, videos and some FUN surprises and prizes. We can’t wait!