Triangle problems

I am clueless as to what paper-piecing is. The problem is how to get a seam allowance on the sides so the points are not cut off by the next block added.......

OK, I understand the pic there, but that didn't happen on the one I made yesterday, Both bottom points were "cut off" when I added the sky pieces on each side, leaving them blunt - no points on either side. ?!?!?!?!

Then when you sew another piece across the

Odd.... I lost both points when I added the side pieces. Something when wrong........

Go back to my tutorial and look at the broken

ok, now I see what you are trying to do (I think). The unit you are making is called a flying goose, there are many many techniques for doing that, but if you want to make it out of 3 triangles you'd have to cut a quarter square triangle from a 3 1/4 in square (cut it into 4 triangles) and your other 2 triangles are half square triangles, cut from a 1 7/8 in square. It's actually fairly tricky to get them spot on with this method, you can place the first small triangle on to the big one fairly accurately by having the bits that hang over at either end being the same time, but after sewing and pressing that, what you have is no longer symmetrical, so placing the 2nd triangle accurately is trickier.

Another method is to cut a rectangle 1.5*2.5 and 2 squares, each 1.5, then draw a diagonal line across each of the squares. Place the first square on one side of the rectangle, sew along the line, trim the seam and press, then place the other square on the otherside, do the same, and ta da, you have a roof - I'd go for this method, with the size you are working with accuracy is essential and the waste isn't too great.

Cheers Anne

Yes, I checked out several flying geese sites. I need to find out why I'm losing the bottom points on mine when it's sown to other pieces (on each side).

Let us know when you find out.

--Lia

I just bought a new narrower foot with a 1/4" guide on it. I don't like the feet that came with this machine. It was much easier to sew on my old Singer machine.

????

I don't know what you mean...........???

I use the edge of a seam ripper. :^)

I'm going to try this. I'll give anything a try............ thanks.

Actually it's called "flying geese" as it's a rectangle. You probably read the other posts by now.

(There are lots of different names for them,

I wish my camera tool close-ups. It doesn't.

Those pictures aren't that great, they show none of the detail you need to get it all lined up right.

Assuming you have got the correct sizes, if your seam allowance is missing at one side, then you'll have extra somewhere else - did you get large dog ears that you trimmed off?

One way to teach yourself where to match things like this is to mark with a small dot at the location of all the finished corners of each shape. To figure out where to put this, go back to the graph paper, draw the finished shape, then using a ruler draw another line 1/4 inch away, this would be the fabric you cut, the corners of the inner drawn line are the points you mark.

Once you have your 3 pieces, take 2 of them and put a pin straight through the matching mark on each piece, this will show you how to place each piece on top of the other to get all the points in the right place.

Another thing to consider is the size you're working with, these units are pretty darn small, it's possible you're doing everything "right", but just aren't doing it accurately enough to work on this size, you lose the fudge factor of a bigger piece. I'd try it with 2" by 4" and see what happens. You'd cut your big triangle from a 5 1/4 in square (cut into 4) and the little ones from a 2 7/8 in square. Try that to see if you problem is accuracy or placement.

Cheers Anne

its like chain piecing. use something else (starter) to sew first, then continue with the block you're working on. continue without cutting the threads. then when you've done all your blocks, sew right onto another piece, then cut the thread between the block and the last piece. leave the last piece(ender) in the machine to use as the first piece (starter) when you start sewing blocks again. a bit like an assembly line. then you dont have those loose threads at the beginning getting in the way or worse, stuck under the blocks you're sewing. if it makes no sense, dont worry about it. one day it might make sense, lol.

j.

"Marie Dodge"wrote...

Sounds like this is where your problem is, yes you do want a triangle to have 1/4 inch seam allowance at each side, but to get this you can't cut it from a square that has only 1/2 inch added. Try this on plain (not graph paper), draw a right angled triangle as best you can, say 2 inches on the two short sides. Then take a quilting ruler and lay the quarter inch line on each side and draw along the edge. Now make the new triangle into a square, measure that square, it will be a little under 3 inches, a lot bigger than 2.5 inches. You can do the reverse, draw a 2.5 in square and draw a quarter of an inch inside each of the lines measure that triangle, it won't be a 2 inch one.

Cheers Anne

but you've only added the sky pieces, go ahead and add whatever piece goes below and your point will magically reappear.

Cheers Anne

I'm willing to try anything that works............ I think my mind is about ready for another jolt of caffeine.

These are 10" wide and 12" high:

I can't say they were really large, no.

I think it's a combination, = the bias edges worked with, the small size, the difficulty seeing with this new Janome foot, and I'm just plain exhausted at this point.

At this point I'm completely mind boggled with this. If I can't get the next one I'll give up on these lighthouses.

What happened to these then?

Not anymore. Sorry.

I took the above pics just a little while ago. The camera is old so I can't take good close-ups.

I'll try a few more. If I can't get it after all this wonderful help... I'll give up on these lighthouses and make something else. I thought the tops of the LHs were going to be a problem because of the small pieces and that I'd be working with triangles.

I've done assembly line sewing when I make a log cabin quilt. :-) One long, long string..........