Welcome to Week 4 (FINAL WEEK) of the Sew Along. Did you miss out on weeks 1, 2, and 3?
Visit them here:
Week 1 – Learning about the pattern and acquiring materials
Week 2 – Planning Fabric, Cutting, and Staying Organized
Week 3 – Making 2-at-a-time Half-Square Triangles
This week, we will re-arrange our organized pieces and HSTs into rows, then finish the quilt top. If you are making the Half Yard Version, you will make (2) identical halves of the quilt, then sew those (2) halves RST. If you are making the FQ Version, you will be sewing (32) individual rows, then sewing those rows RST. To avoid errors in piecing, lay out your pieces on a design wall or floor space before sewing pieces RST. If space is limited, lay out the pieces 3-5 rows at a time, and sew those rows together into ‘quilt top chunks.’ Then, sew the quilt chunks together to complete the top.
There are two different ways you might want to approach this final section. Whichever method you choose, please lay out all the pieces and check fabric arrangements before sewing RST:
1. Follow the order of the pattern by sewing all HST 1 rows, HST 2 rows, and band rows in order, then sewing the rows RST in accordance to the Quilt Assembly Page.
2. Skip straight to the Quilt Assembly Page and layout all pieces (or 3-5 rows at a time) before sewing all pieces and rows RST.
[videopress cHErTGzX]
In the video above, we are piecing together the rows to make the Sweetheart Medley Quilt. I have my bottom row which happens to be an HST 1 row, and the band row that sits above it in the quilt layout. These two rows are about to be sewn right sides together. When I show you the back of this half square triangle row, I want you to notice that I did press each of the half square triangles to the darker side, but when I pressed the half square triangles right sides together with each other to make the row, I pressed the connecting seems open. And by doing this, I created these V seams that open up and show you the intersecting points of fabric. These points are great to look for when you sew the row right sides together with its band row. The best way to prepare for sewing these rows together is to use pins. As with all things handmade, there is a chance that our rows are not exactly the same length, and we are talking about measurements in millimeters, maybe centimeters. If you start sewing with the assumption that the rows are indeed exactly the same length, there might a be tiny bit of shifting of the design, and some missed points. To compensate for this, it will help to pin and match the change of fabrics when the band rail fabrics change. That is also where the half square triangles meet and create these angles in the hearts. Watch as I continue to make sure that the change of these band row fabrics are matched with the opening of the seams created by the half square triangle row. Another good safety measure is to add a pin in between each of these distances, just to help ensure that between these sections, that all fabrics that are right sides together are being lined up evenly.
The last thing I want to point out is that when I go to sew the rows right sides together, I like to sew with the half square triangle row on top. When this happens, it will be easier for me to make sure my quarter inch seam goes through the intersection of the fabrics created from the half square triangles. And when that happens, you’ll get nice points!
Here’s what the back of my quilt top looks like:
[videopress vlxkthfh]
Did you finish making the quilt?! I would LOVE TO KNOW!
1. Send a photo of your make to [email protected]
2. Let me know if there are any steps I could have covered more thoroughly to help future quilters complete this quilt.
3. Share on social media! Post your make and tag me so that I can share =)
4. A simple wish and hope that your quilt ends up being snuggled with love until the end of time.
Cheers!