Pinwheel Stack & Whack

There are a few things that can help with a bulky centre, René; and it is worth mastering, because so many lovely patterns have components that meet in the centre. Starting right at the beginning, you must be sure you have either cut accurately, or marked your sewing line accurately. Then, make very sure that you keep your seam allowance exact, especially at the ends - some machines have a tendency to 'waver' when there is not much material under the feet. At the centre end, finish sewing the seam at the centre point *not* at the end of the piece - it does mean marking that point, but it is worth it. You could start at the centre point, so that you don't forget and whizz off the end! Join the pieces in pairs first, then fours. That seems to work better than just adding one to another etc. The technique of pressing to the same side is the one to follow, having trimmed off a bit off the 'dog ear points' - not the whole! Then a little magic: gently pull the centre ends upwards, place your index finger (usually the most powerful!) in the centre of all the ends and twist/turn them in the *opposite* direction to that in which you pressed the seams.

You didn't mention whether you got them meeting nicely, at the one point. The better they meet, the better they will lie. In fact, it is a good idea to sew the centre couple of inches first, to make sure the points are matched. Sew with a long stitch, check the matching, unpick if necessary and try again - it only takes seconds to unpick with a large stitch. When you have them matched the best you can get them, you can sew the whole seam, right over the long stitches. You can take them out if you wish, but it isn't usually necessary.

HTH . In message , René writes

Pat told you all the important stuff, but I can add one small suggestion. When you have half of the unit/block assembled, lay the edge of a ruler along the edge of the half block and make sure the half block unit is straight. Then would be the time to take up or let out the seams- rather than trimming unless it's just a sliver off. If the two halves are not straight, then you'll end up with a lump or dip or some kind of uh-oh at the center.

Bummer about the kit- they are usually more expensive than cutting your own pieces and you *should* be able to work with them without needing to adjust everything. grrrrrrrrrrrr!!!

Leslie & The Furbabies > There are a few things that can help with a bulky centre, Ren=E9; and it

What Patti and Leslie said! And I would add that it is very easy when sewing bias-cut pieces to stretch them without realizing. Especially if the fabric is maybe a little on the light side, which pre-cut kits may well have been. Then you have built-in curves, even if they don't look particularly curved, and the centers will act up. Roberta in D

"Leslie & The Furbabies in MO." schrieb im Newsbeitrag news: snipped-for-privacy@o5g2000hsb.googlegroups.com...

Pat told you all the important stuff, but I can add one small suggestion. When you have half of the unit/block assembled, lay the edge of a ruler along the edge of the half block and make sure the half block unit is straight. Then would be the time to take up or let out the seams- rather than trimming unless it's just a sliver off. If the two halves are not straight, then you'll end up with a lump or dip or some kind of uh-oh at the center.

Bummer about the kit- they are usually more expensive than cutting your own pieces and you *should* be able to work with them without needing to adjust everything. grrrrrrrrrrrr!!!

Leslie & The Furbabies > There are a few things that can help with a bulky centre, René; and it

Is this the sort of situation where it would help to use starch, Roberta? I mean when the fabric is "light" (I presume you mean in weight). I have never used it (as I like a softer feel), and have often wondered when it would be a good thing to do. . In message , Roberta Zollner writes

I would like to say how right on you are. While making my Dresden Plates, I always sewed towards the larger end. When I got the plate done, it was really wonky and the outer edge was way too wavy. I checked the stitching, and each end was just slightly short of 1/4", making that outer edge too large. So, I went back and restitched (no, I didn't tear out the old stitching because it wasn't much) and low and behold the plate now laid flat. Such a little bit, barely a stitch width, but it made all the difference in the world.

It helps to get some of those bent tip tweezers for holding the ends when stitching. That way you can hold that 1/4" line all the way to the needle. When sewing long strips together, I have been known trim off that last little bit where the seam allowance wavered. That was before I started using the tweezers.

I've never used starch either, except for the one time I followed the S&W book's directions! Must say that quilt went together smoothly with no distortion. But the fabric was starched before cutting. And for S&W, one would have to be especially careful not to pull it off grain while ironing in the damp starch.

I did mean light weight fabric -wondering if pre-cut kits would use the really good stuff. Anybody have reliable info on this issue?

But normally I sew triangles, press, then trim the squares to the exact size. Starch is slightly irritating to the skin. There's a spray can of the stuff around somewhere for the odd occasion when DH's shirt front has to look perfect, but it's not a normal part of laundry or any other routine! Roberta in D

"Patti" schrieb im Newsbeitrag news: snipped-for-privacy@quik.clara.co.uk...

Ah! Thanks. Well, I think I'll stick to soft, then! Actually, I have found that, if fabric is ironed dry from quite damp, it does become quite stiff, almost as if starched. But, I would think there might be a tendency to 'iron' instead of 'press' and risk getting grain wrong - not that it has ever mattered for me, yet. . In message , Roberta Zollner writes

Yep, that works great too! I do that for a while, then forget about it again. I think maybe that goes back to the Duh! thread we had recently!

Howdy!

Depends on where the kit is from, I suppose. (Most) Quilt shops use the same fabric in kits as on the bolts.

I've used starch in more complex patterns, like S&W and Dresden Plates and DWR, esp. w/ curves. The trick is to let it dry well before using the fabric, and, as you say, to not distort the fabric when pressing it. After the quilt is Finished I wash out the starch. I've had several quilt tops show up here w/ lots of brown spots and smears of dusty streaks; read in a couple of older quilt books that old starch would draw the dust and dirt like a magnet. Once those tops were quilted and washed they were brighter and sharper in colors; it was like washing off a layer of grime, the old starch.

Thanks for all the reminders, ladies. Pati, I've always used the trick of twisting the seams in the center, but if the quilting seam is off, well, it's just off-full!

Cheers! Ragmop/Sandy--figuring I could use one of those crook-neck tweezers... ;-)

Howdy!

Pat, please remind me to use the ender scraps! I can remember the starter bit because sometimes Janome wants to eat the starter end ; but when chain piecing I don't keep enough ender scraps at hand. *sigh*

p.s. Pat on the Hill: beg pardon; I typed "Pati" for "Pat" in former post of this name. I really do know y'all names.

R/Sandy-i-ie-ra

I don't know how to remember to use the scrap at both end either Sandy. Maybe I should put a sticky note on my machine.

That's perfectly fine, Sandy. There are quite a few of us to keep straight, on the run! . In message , Sandy Ellison writes

You've received tips from the experts. The only thing I can offer, which was shared when I took a Stack N Whack class is to take a hammer & hammer those bulky seams in the center. It's been so long since I made mine, I don't remember if I had trouble, but one of the ladies in the class brought her 1st block in & it looked like one of those pointy bras from the 50's. Very funny example of what you do not want your block to look like!

Pauline Northern California

Leslie, I go one step more and, if you are doing an 8 point pinwheel, check when you have 2 parts together. There should be a true 90° angle at the center. Takes a little time to do the checks but well worth it. Also, when pressing seams all the same direction around the center, use all the seams to help line up the center. Each pair of seams should nest together and checking this at least a couple of inches out from the center will help that center come together smoothly.

Pati, > Pat told you all the important stuff, but I can add one small

I've been caught out by this, but one time recently when I was cutting some curved pieces and the material was slipping all over the place, I starched it and let it dry, twice before cutting it, no irons and wet starch!

Anne

Cut 2" squares from all your leftovers and keep them by your machine. Use pairs as your starter and ender piece, and soon you'll have enough to make 4 patches or add another piece to make rows of 3 for 9 patches. I have done this for the past year, and have finished blocks for at least 6 scrap quilts while sewing other projects!

Well -- I have finished 100 -- yes, really!!! 100 pinwheel blocks. I never want to look another pinwheel in the face again!

I printed out all your great tips, and tried something each time I started a new block or two. Very good way to experiment, because it's easy to remember what works and what doesn't. I also kept notes in a special binder I have for that kind of thing.

I discovered that not all the pieces from the various kits were cut exactly the same. So -- any notion I had of matching those little guys up in the center had to be quickly disposed of.

I settled for not ending up with too many of Pauline's pointy 50's bras. LOL When I read her post it came to me that it was exactly what they looked like!

I also saw that I did best with pressing all the seams open. I also trimmed seams and that helped, too. Shaving that little bit off made a difference in what overlapped.

Some are quite pretty, and it's easy to see why they can be so interesting. It's amazing what beautiful patterns can be evolved from simple "splotches" of color. The fabric that has the most contrast and neutral space between color blobs work best. It doesn't really matter what the print is because once it's cut up and put back together, it's all brand new.

Now I'm looking thru my stash to find proper sashing. I like the look of sashing between the blocks, rather than just putting each block up against the next one. It gives the kaleidoscope more definition and emphasis. It reminds me of something my Gramma used to say about something being hidden by a long coat and a scarf. lol The sashing helps the blocks that ended up being a smidgen off the original

It made me appreciate my little travel iron even more. I have a little pressing mat (somebody recently talked about theirs and liking the grid -- very true!) that I put on a little table about the same size and height of a TV tray. It fits just right for me, on my left hand side. I keep the little iron on all the time I'm sewing and the small size is so nice when working with small bits and pieces. It also helped when I needed to fudge a little here and there. And I found out how wise it is to press the seam just sewn before opening it up. I think Eleanor Burns taught that, and it's a great clue to smoothing the seam line out.

I figured out that it doesn't work to unsew. Those triangles don't like it! They get all bent out of shape, and I found that, for me, it was better to just leave it and try to fit the rest around it. I did sew one piece wrong side to right side, though, and had to redo that one. Out of 100 blocks, that wasn't too bad.

By the time I was down to the last 50 blocks or so, I didn't have to look at any pattern. I knew where those pieces went in my sleep! And I will never do them again. Well, never say never, huh?

Doing so many of the same pattern was a good learning experience. It allowed me to experiment and figure out what worked best for me.

It didn't get too boring because each block had its own challenge, getting points matched and seeing a unique pattern emerge.

Now I'm planning an appliqué project. I want to do 3 quilts at once. For example, I'm planning a basket block -- 12 blocks per quilt. Each block will have the same basket, but with different flowers. And the thing I'm going to tackle, having survived 100 pinwheels, is doing each quilt in a different pattern collection. One will be all solids. One will be all 30's reproductions. And one will be all scraps. I figure that as long as I'm doing them together, I will just layer everything as I cut it. Cut it out. Separate the layers into its respective quilt, then sew each block 3 times, in the 3 different fabric collections. I learned that doing the same block so many times actually makes it easier and better. And as long as I'm doing it, I might as well get 3 quilts out of it. The thought just occured to me that it might be neat to do a 4th quilt in Christmas colors. Hmmm...

Now, I have to go to bed and rest up! :)

René

PS -- Thank you all for the great suggestions! I was amazed at the detail and great descriptions. This bunch is really the best. :)