Three Essential Steps Before Starting Any New Project!

This week I want to talk about some essential steps before you start any Studio 180 Design Project or just any sewing project at all.  Doing these steps will help you make your projects a success. 

Step 1: Read through the pattern

Understanding a pattern, I feel, is the first step when starting a new project. Read the pattern thoroughly and take note of the following.

Skill Level - Ask yourself, can I make this pattern? Is it at my current comfort or skill level?

Tools Required - Do you have the tools, and do you know how to use them if the pattern requires them?  If you are using the Studio 180 Design tools and haven’t used that tool in a while, you may want to read through the tool or technique instructions.  You can also refer to the Studio 180 Design YouTube page for more help in using the tools.

Fabric Yardage – The fabric yardage is usually on the back and on the first page of any pattern.  You also should look at the Width of Fabric the pattern is based on.  Many patterns these days use 40” – 42” width of fabric. This is important when you go shopping for fabric because if you buy 40” wide fabric and your pattern using a 42” width. You may want to add a little more yardage to that required amount, just to ensure you have enough.

Step 2: Prepare

Now that you have a grasp on making the project let's talk about preparing your sewing area, sewing machine, and fabric for cutting.

Sewing Area – I recommend cleaning your sewing area if you have one. I know many of you out there just don’t have a dedicated sewing space, so you are just setting up a space to sew.  Now, if you have a dedicated space, let's put away those projects you are in the middle of.  Better yet, finish those projects first.  That way, you don’t have any UFOs sitting around.  Then once complete, clean your area and put everything away that you will not need for the next project.

Sewing Machine – prepare your sewing machine. Make sure it is in good working order before you start any new project. Ask yourself these questions as you prepare a sewing machine for a new project.

•  When was the last time you cleaned it? You should be cleaning it every time you start a new project, or if you are in the middle of a couple of projects, clean every couple of weeks. Trust me, it will need it.

•  When was it last serviced? My local quilting shop recommends getting your sewing machine serviced every year.  This also depends on how much you sew.  You want to take good care of those machines.

 

• One more thing you need to do to your machines is to oil (if required) and change the needle. I change my needle when I clean my machine. The sharper the needle, the better the project will be.

Fabric – The biggest debate is whether to pre-wash your new fabrics. Now, I will say that I pre-wash all my fabrics before starting any new project to remove any chemicals, dyes, and wax on the fabrics. I do this because I have seen quilts after the first washing, and some have bled.  The only fabric I do not pre-wash is the pre-cuts because I really don’t want to shrink this fabric too much. However, I feel the decision to pre-wash or not is up to you, the quilter; it is really your choice. 

One more thing you must do with your fabric, regardless if you pre-wash or not, is to make sure your fabric is pressed and all the wrinkles are removed. Ironing your fabric before you start will help with accuracy when you rotary cut your fabric.

Step 3: Gather your Essentials

Now that you have your fabrics ready, a clean sewing area, and the sewing machine prepared, here are a few more things you may need depending on your project.

Special Tools and Tool Instructions – Layout any special tools or tools, such as the Studio 180 Design tools that your pattern calls for.  Now I recommend that you have InvisiGrip™ on the back of any tool. InvisiGrip™ is a thin clear plastic that you place on the back of your tools to help prevent them from slipping on your cutting mat while you are cutting. The plastic adheres to your tool by static cling, so there is no adhesive element used. This makes the product easy to change out when it gets dirty and needs replacing.

Quilter Magic Wand - is a wonderful tool that provides you with an exact 1/2″ reference. In addition, this ruler has an etched line running down the middle that gives you an accurate 1/4″ on each side.

Marking Tools - When it comes to marking tools for your project, I recommend using fine lines mechanical pencils, such as Sewline Fabric Pencil, or a fine pen such as the Ultra-Fine Pigma Micron 01 pen. Make sure your marking tool is easy to see and will give you a nice fine line at the same time.

Rotary Rulers - These thick acrylic rulers are made primarily to be used with your Rotary Cutter and Cutting mat. In addition to the Studio 180 Design tools, it is recommended that you have standard rotary rulers that measure 6″ x 24″ and 6″ x 12″. The 6″ x 24″ ruler is great for cutting strips that are the Width of Fabric (WOF) and for large blocks. The 6″ x 12″ is excellent for sub cutting all your strips into squares. I also recommend having a 12″ x 12″ or larger square ruler for squaring up blocks.

Rotary Cutter and Mats - A good quality rotary cutter and mat are highly recommended for any quilting project you do. When I cut out my pieces for my project, I prefer to use a 45mm rotary cutter with a new blade. I recommend closing or retract the edge every time you set your cutter down on the mat. Safety first!

Iron and Ironing Surface - An excellent clean iron and ironing surface is key to getting a crisp seam and making the blocks lay flat. I use a lint roller periodically over my ironing surface to keep the loose threads from fusing to it. Each day before you start, check your iron before turning it on. Wipe off any excess dirt and lint. If your iron plates are dirty, refer to your iron instructions to clean the surface.

Additional tools and Accessories – Beyond the specific tools above, you’ll need some general quilting items such as a 100% Cotton 50 wt. Thread, needles, 1/4″ piecing foot, scissors/snips, pins, seam ripper, etc. Remember when buying your supplies to look for the best quality equipment you can afford. Doing this will make you happier with your final product.

Now that we have completed all the steps, we are ready to start our projects.  Please remember that organization is a critical element in making your projects a success.  I will be covering this topic soon.  

See you next Friday, with a new tutorial on the latest Block Party Block. 

Journey to Nebula - Rock Candy - Cutting the Star 60 Way!

 

Now that I have finished my Jaw Breaker pillow, it was time to move onto the next project in the Journey 2 Nebula Quilt Along.

The next project is Rock Candy Tabletopper.  This is a fun quilt that is made by combining diamonds and side triangles.  The pattern calls for the use of 5" charm squares. I choose to use black background Island Batik fabric and 6 Coordinating fabrics; all were cut into 2 1/2" strips.  The reason I used 2 1/2" strips over the 5" charm squares is that not every 5" charm square package is actually 5", and we needed to cut each of the squares in half.

I started cutting 36 diamonds from the 6 coordinating fabric strips using my Studio 180 Star 60 tool. 

Right Handed

Left Handed

Starting by trimming off a 60° angle off one of the ends of the strips.  

Right Handed

Left Handed

Next, I located the 2 1/2" diamond point guidelines and aligned the guidelines on the strip edges and cut. Continue to cut 36 diamonds from the coordinating fabric strips.

Right Handed

Left Handed

Finally, I trimmed off the tips by lining up the 4 1/2" horizontal line so that it lines up on the bottom of the diamond. 

Right Handed

Left Handed

Now it is time to cut out the background side triangle pieces. Placing the strip on your cutting mat.  If you are right-handed, you will be cutting from left to right. Left-hander will cut from right to left.  Position the 2 1/2" horizontal line of the tool on the bottom of the strip and the tip line on the strip's top.  Cut up one side of the strip and down the other.

Right Hand

Left Hand

Rotate the tool 180°, so the tip is facing you this time. Realign the guideline used previously on the top and bottom of the strip and align it along the trimmed edge. Cut the next triangle shape. Continue rotating, aligning, and cutting until you get 24 triangles. 

Now the fun part begins with arranging my pieces into a pretty table topper.  Stay tuned; I will be sharing my finish table topper soon.

Journey to Nebula - Finishing Jawbreaker pillow

I'm a little behind on my Journey 2 Nebula projects; life seems to change your plans when it involves quilting.  

The last blog post on my Journey 2 Nebula project was cutting Jawbreaker triangles using the Studio 180 Design Star 60 tool. Read the first post Here.

Then I arranged the triangles according to the directions spinning the triangles as you would be arranging your blocks for a One Block Wonder Quilt, so they make a shape, but you will also notice that they are also set up rows. Adding the extra pieces to fill in the gaps.

After I had the pillow top arranged with the triangles, it was time to start sewing the blocks together.  Starting with the first row, sewing each triangle to each other. 

Once I had the triangle pieces sewn into individual rows, I started sewing all the rows together to match up all the seams.

Once this was done, I trimmed the pillow top to be 15 1/2" square and add the border, and quilted it.  With this pillow top, the directions were to add a 2 1/4" binding to finish it off.

Here are the finished Pillow and the coordinating  Seaside table runner and Lucky Charm Pillow top. 

Now off to get my new Journey to Nebula project.

Tina

Journey to Nebula Quilt Along - Jawbreaker - Cutting Star 60 way

 

Week 5 in the Journey 2 Nebula has started with the making of the "Jawbreaker" pillow by Jaybird Quilts. When finished, this pillow will measure 20".  

This pattern is written by Hex N More Ruler by Jaybird Quilts, but I will be using the Studio 180 Design Star 60 tool to do all my cutting. I'm using fabrics from the Island Batik "Islander Batik" Collection that I have been using for the last 2 projects.

The pattern calls for eight 2 1/2" x WOF strips, so I pulled out eight coordinating strips that I could use as strip sets. 

Then I began making four strip sets.

Once my strip set was stitched, I press the seams open to reduce the bulk.

Right Handed

Left Handed

Now that I have my strip sets ready, it was time to start cutting the triangle pieces out using the Star 60 tool, starting by carefully placing the strip on your mat.  If you are looking for the direction on the 

Position the mark at the tip of the tool with the top of the strip set and 4 1/2" horizontal line on the tool on the bottom edge of the strip set. Right Handed quilters will move from left to right. Left Handed quilters will cut from right to left.  Trim up one of the sides and down the other to get your first triangle.

The cutting technique we will be using can be found in the Star 60 instructions under the Cutting the Side Triangles.  Link to the Star 60 PDF Instructions.

Right Handed

Left Handed

Rotate your Star 60™ tool 180°, so the tip of the tool is facing you. Aligning the tip line on the bottom edge and the 4 1/2" Horizontal line on the top edge of the strip set. Trim up the side. 

Continue this process of rotating and aligning with all the strip sets.

Now all my triangles are cut using my Studio 180 Design Star 60™ tool.  Now its time to play with the pieces and their arrangement.  Next week I will show you my finished product.

Tina

Journey to Nebula - Lucky Charm Finishing

 

Welcome back to my Journey 2 Nebula blog posts. I got a little behind on my blog for Week #3, finishing the "Lucky Charm" pillow.  If you would like to see how I cut my Half Hexagons pieces check out my blog post on Cutting the Star 60 way, HERE.

The first thing I did after I finished cutting out my pieces was to arrange them the way I wanted the pillow to look in the front. 

Once I had them all arranged, I still had 10 of the Half Hexagons leftover, which will be filled in on the sides.

I found the halfway mark on the Half Hexagon pieces and cut all 10 pieces vertically.

Then place them on the sides of the pieces.  I choose one color of the Half Hexagons to give them all a border effect.

I figured out a way to make the stitch of the row go faster and to stay organized.  I started by pulling two rows that I had placed on my small design board and placed them into stacks. 

I then started stitching the Half Hexagon pieces from each of the stacks one from the first stack.  Once the first pieces where sewn, I then grabbed pieces from the second stack.

Once I had the second match piece sewn, I snipped the first row pieces off and Pressed all the seams open.

Then continued the stitch on the next piece from the first stack. Repeating the steps over and over until the rows were complete, pressed thoroughly.  Then started sewing the next couple rows until all the rows were ready to be sewn together.

Once my rows were ready to be sewn together, the process of sewing the rows went fast.

My pillow-top is now complete, ready to quilted.

Here are my finished pillow and the back of the pillow.  I had fun machine quilting this project; these projects have been great for practicing my skills.  

I can't wait until today to start my next project in the Journey to Nebula Quilt Along.

Tina

Journey to Nebula Quilt Aong - Seaside - Assembly

Week 2 of the Journey to Nebula Quilt Along. This week we are to sew our Seaside diamonds that we cut out last week.  If you missed last week post of how I cut the diamond shapes out with my Studio 180 Design Star 60 tool, you can check out that post right here.  

Trimming the Tips:

Before we begin I want to show you how to trim the tips of the diamonds using your Star 60 tool.

Right Handed

Left Handed

Place the diamond on the mat so the diamond lays on its side. Position your Star 60 tool on the diamond so the 4 1/2" line sits on the bottom of the diamond.  Trim the tip off.

Next, rotate your unit 180° and place the Star 60 tool on the diamond once again, aligning the 4 1/2" lines again and trim the tip off.

Now your diamonds are ready to assembled together easily by just aligning with right sides together and assuring to align the tips to the other diamond.

Assembly

Note, I choose not to trim the tips of my diamonds, so the rest of this blog will show you how to stitch your SeaSide tablerunner together with the tips still on your diamonds.  

Start by laying out our diamonds into rows. Arranging the diamonds in the order of which I want the colors to be placed with the background colors in between.

After they were all laid out I started to sew the diamonds together.  I choose to sew my rows one at a time, by pairing two diamonds together at a time. Start by flipping one of the diamond on top of the other with right sides together.  Slide the tips of the diamonds roughly a 1/4" inch up so you can see the bottom diamond tips.  If you choose to remove your tips of your diamonds the alignment is a lot easier and you just align the edges right side together and start stitching.

Once the pieces are sewn, I then press the seams open with my iron. I like to use the hot steam to press those seams open.

Then continue sewing all our diamonds together to get 5 diamonds across. Remembering to overlap those tips slightly and to press the seams open.

The first row is now complete.

I laid each row out the way I want to sew them into the tabletopper.

Now, to sew the rows together I decided to sew two rows together at a time. I left all the dog ears on each of the rows because this help in lining up the diamonds.

Press each row's seams open.  Then assembled all the rows together.

Once all your blocks are together, we then cut the tips of the diamonds shaped off to square the tablerunner up.  Now all I have to do is to baste and machine quilt to finish it all up.

Next week, we start an all new pattern in the Journey to Nebula, I can't wait to see what Julie from Jaybird Quilts has in store for us.