jcarilyn

Hi everyone. I know I'm famous for doing things that are WAY beyond my skills, but I thought this would be easy.

I have 1 1/2" strips, sewing 6 of them together, then cutting them all 1 1/2", then sewing those strips so the block is 6 1/2 x 6 1/2. All of my seams are going the right way, but I just can't seem to get them all butted correctly. Could be because I've been sewing most of the day, so my visions probably a bit crazy....but is there a secret to these? I thought small would be good, maybe not so much.

Thanks!

katier825

Are you pinning the seams when you sew them? I do, and if they don't exactly line up, I give it a little tug to stretch the smaller one to fit the larger one.

watterstide

after you pin the seams together..and one is a little longer than the other..the longer one goes on the bottom..does that make sense?.

jcarilyn

I am, though, I thought I could skip that being as it was so small. I have 3 blocks done, just the last one was pinned on each seam, and it's still wonky.

jcarilyn

It sort of does! :)

raptureready

It's probably just because the fabric has stretched a little. If it's just a tiny bit, I wouldn't worry about it too much, most people's joints fudge once in awhile. Just tug it a bit and pin.
BTW, small is not easier. I did some Bear Paw blocks that the finished center sq was 1/2" and the finished "toes" were 1" HSTs. They were hateful little things and if it had been something for myself I'd have tossed it.

jcarilyn

I'm already thinking of changing the blocks...instead of 36 in each square, maybe I'll make them bigger, might be easier...well, except for NOT having bigger fabric pieces that is! Thanks for all of your words of wisdom!

Prism99

I don't think the smallness matters as much as the number of seams you have to match. That's what makes it difficult. Of course, the smaller the pieces, the more seams you usually have to match and the less space you have for easing.

Someone on this forum posted about using Elmer's glue instead of pins on seam joins. I tried this the other day and found it works better than pins for me. It does require some time at the ironing board. What I did was place a pin straight down through both pieces into the ironing board cover, lifted the seam allowance next to the pin, put just a tiny dot of white glue in there, then ironed the seam allowance closed. It held really well, and my joins were as good as it gets with me.

I did find the glue migrated a little past the seam so, when ironing the pieces open, I first had to tug a bit to unglue the front. I have since gotten out one of those little glue bottles with the tiny tip and plan to use that for smaller glue dots. Also plan to place a piece of damp sponge in the bottom of a jar so I can leave the little glue bottle upside down when not in use and still have the tip stay clear.

dakotamaid

Are you reversing the direction as you sew the strips? Sew the first 2 together, than when adding the 3rd one start from the bottom of the other 2. Keep reversing your sewing direction until you have sewed all 6 together. Clear as mud? Your strip set will be straighter.

Deb watkins

dakotamaid has this correct, the smaller the pieces, you need to reverse the direction when you are sewing the strips. And be sure to press, not iron your strips.