Constructing a 6" CQ block

One of my ongoing projects if my flower quilt.  Here's one block that's completed to give you an idea of the size and construction.  Total size of the block is 8" square, but I only embroider 6" square.  The blocks all have a green centre and a flower.  The colour of the flower determines the outer fabric.  In this case shades of rust and orange.


I found a couple of really nice flowers on clearance. They are a little bigger than those I have already used, but they have fabric and lace petals and I could trim them later if I need to.

For this tutorial I will be using the pale green lace flower.

Here is the 8" muslin square.  I have marked the corners of the 6" square embroidery area.  I cut out a six sided piece of the green fabric and placed it in the centre.

Next I took pieces of green fabric to  blend with the green flower and laid them on three sides of the centre piece.  I tested it out with my cardboard frame.  

I carried on around the centre piece's six sides laying out fabric of my choice.  The final sixth piece of fabric was tucked under the first piece.

I tested to see if the flower looked OK. To begin sewing, gently pull out the muslin block from the centre , leaving the six fabrics in place.

Next, beginning with one of the six fabrics, lay it right sides together along one of the centre sides.  Sew only the length of the centre side, marked here with pins.

This photo shows the right side.  Press the seam flat.  I have  lined up my ruler with the second centre edge and drawn a straight lined across the first fabric.  Cut on that line, turn the block over and trim any overhanging fabric.

This is the block now.  First piece of fabric sewn down, pressed, trimmed.  Note that the first fabric that overlaps the muslin is not sewn down.  The last fabric will be tucked under this flap.

Second fabric lined up on second side of centre to the edge of the block.

Here's the second fabric sewn, pressed and marked for cutting.

This is the third fabric. 

Third fabric sewn and pressed.  Just a note to say that it makes a big difference to the finished block when you iron each seam.

Here is the third fabric sewn and the trimming line marked on the front.

Turn the block to the back and trim off the excess fabric. 

Carry on adding your fabric pieces,  sew and press, then trim.  Here five pieces of fabric are in place.

Here is the block ready to take the sixth piece of fabric.  The loose first piece of fabric is pinned back so that I can sew a little past the end of the centre block side.

This is the sixth piece pinned down ready to sew.

The sixth piece has been sewn down and I extended it about 1" beyond the end of the centre side.

Everything is sewn except that small pinned section where the sixth fabric was tucked under the first fabric.  I can either hand stitch this down, or machine top stitch with a big stitch that can be unpicked later.

The cardboard frame marks the sewing area.  The cardboard frame works very well.  This one is 8" x 8" on the outside, with 6" x 6" inside measurement. It was made especially for this series of flower blocks. 

Next I would machine a sewing line close to the edge to stop fraying, and then handstitch around the square on the 6" x 6" measurement.  

Coffee Sleeve

I made a coffee sleeve for a swap on crazyquilters-ca, a Canadian group that I belong to. It was my first attempt and a learning experience. I had another go and took photos at every stage, so it is an "on the fly" tutorial. Here it is finished.

These are the small and large sizes for a Tim Horton coffee.

I used the large cup, trimmed the top and bottom, cut about 1" off the top and 1" off the bottom., and cut straight down the seam of the cup. Then I marked on the pattern a 1/2" seam. (Note: I didn't need this seam allowance because I added it on to the muslin as you will see below.) I pinned the pattern to muslin and marked a line around the pattern and a cutting line on the muslin 1/2" from the pattern. Here's the muslin with the solid line being the actual size of the sleeve, and the dotted line the seam allowance. The extra fabric was my insurance, but was not needed.

Here I have placed the first piece of fabric (black) on the muslin.

I added a second piece of fabric, placed the two right sides together and sewed through the three fabrics. This photo shows the two pieces of fabric pressed and ready for the third.

The right sides of the second fabric and grey patterned piece of fabric are together ready to be sewn.

Seam sewn and excess black fabric trimmed.

Grey fabric sewn.

Next piece of fabric pinned, ready for sewing.

Fourth piece, sewn, ready for pressing.

As each piece of fabric is added, I trimmed the previous fabric to the shape of the muslin. I added two more pieces of fabric using the same method as before.

Trimmed

Embellish

I cut out a piece of black felt in the shape of the original pattern, pinned it to the embellished piece and tacked over the seams. I trimmed the seams to a bit more than 1/4".

Pin it around the paper cup. Neatly sew together. Embellish the joining seam. This is the smaller cup as I had cut up the large size for the pattern.

Cut out the lining with about 1/2" seam allowance. Sew in place.

Finish inside join.

Finished. This is the sleeve on a large Tim's cup. Just a note to say that the patterned grey fabric and the striped fabric are both from the skinny ends of men's ties.

Constructing a CQ Block from the centre out

I've had some good success lately piecing cq blocks from the centre out, so I thought I would document the steps that I took.

This little chicken scratch heart motif will be the centre. Chicken scratch was the first technique of SharonB's new "Stitch Explorer 2009". Check out other people's examples on Flickr's stitchexplorer group.

The colours I am using are purples and turquoises.

I placed the centre piece in the middle of my backing at a slight angle.  I will trim the gingham a little later when I decide how much of it will show. 

For the second piece, I tried it against the first piece to see where it would sit best. 

I pinned it to the centre piece at a slight angle, right sides together. You can see the extra gingham at the top that I decided I did not want to show.   

I sewed and pressed the second piece.  Now that I have the second piece attached, I cut the centre gingham patch down to the shape and size that I wanted.  (I often begin with the centre patch already cut to a 5 or six-sided shape.)

I lined up the ruler with the next side of the centre block.  This will be the cutting line. 

The second piece has been cut to follow the line of the centre block.

I am trying out the third piece.

Third piece pinned, ready to sew.  The end pins, top and bottom mark the end of the underneath fabric.  If you sew the whole strip, you will have to unpick the ends of the seam in order to trim the turquoise fabric.  So mark either end of the underneath fabric and machine sew only to the pins.  

The third piece sewn and pressed.  The ruler is placed along the centre block's third side. 

I marked the cutting line with a disappearing marker.

I cut the turquoise fabric along the cutting line I had drawn

Testing the fourth piece against the sewn patches.

The fourth piece pinned in place. 

The fourth piece sewn and pressed.  The cutting line is drawn, following the line of the gingham block.  

The lilac piece is trimmed, and trying out the fifth piece. 

The fifth piece pinned in place. 

The fifth piece sewn and pressed. 

The fifth piece trimmed, following the line of the centre block.  As you work around the centre piece, the seam line gets longer.  Up until now the new piece of fabric covered two pieces of fabric.  This new piece will have to cover three:  the dark turquoise, the gingham and the purple. The alternative to using one long piece of fabric, is to join two pieces together. 

Trying out two fabrics that will be joined for the next strip. 

For me, the easiest way is to fold one of the pieces of fabric over, pin it to the second piece so that the join is at an angle, and then top stitch with large stitches so that they can be taken out later. Here, the two pieces of fabric have been joined and are now being tested for placement. 

Now they are pinned in place.

Sewn and pressed.  It's a bit difficult to see the shape of the block here, but looking at it critically, the right hand lilac piece is too big, and the left hand joined piece also is too big. 

I played around with two pieces to cover up the two larger pieces on either sides of the block. 

Pinned and ready to sew.

When it looked balanced, I pinned, sewed and pressed the pieces.  

I turned it over and trimmed off the excess. 

The top edge has a bit of the backing showing.  It needs another strip.  The two triangles, maroon and turquoise (bottom left) also need something added. 

A piece of purple velvet is added to the top, reducing the size of the turquoise and filling in the gap.  And a long triangle of deep purple satin has been added at the bottom. 

When all the pieces were in place, I tacked around the edge, about 1/4" in, and then zig zagged all the way around to stop the fabrics from fraying.  Now it is ready for seam decoration and embellishment. 

Note added later:  Here is the post that shows the embroidered block.  (I tried to place it here, but it went up into the instructions.)  It was a "Hearts and Flowers" block that went to a crazy quilter who needed some cheering up.   
   http://tinyurl.com/ctvxrys

If the tiny doesn't work, it is the next post after this one.