making 4 patch blocks
#12
Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2017
Location: Vancouver Island / Arizona
Posts: 458
Bonnie Hunter talks about this. Go to Quiltville.com and under her Tips and Techniques scroll down to "Spin Those Four Patch Seams"
I have just made 21 4 patches and I was thrilled because they all are nested and all my intersections are wonderful. I just ironed to the dark side and then as I fed them through the machine made sure that one seam pointed in each direction. I have done them over a weeks time as Leaders/Enders. Now I have to go back and check if they are all going in the same direction.
I have just made 21 4 patches and I was thrilled because they all are nested and all my intersections are wonderful. I just ironed to the dark side and then as I fed them through the machine made sure that one seam pointed in each direction. I have done them over a weeks time as Leaders/Enders. Now I have to go back and check if they are all going in the same direction.
Last edited by Kelsie; 02-17-2020 at 06:24 AM. Reason: additional information
#13
Super Member
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Upstate New York
Posts: 1,231
Once I learned to use a glue stick, I never looked back ! Perfect matches every time. You just run a line of glue, nest them together, flip the top piece back estimating your 1/4"..if it's lined up, pinch it, if not, the glue lets you easily slide the pieces to get them right. When you're doing many of them, they dry before you get to your machine, if just a few, hit them with a dry iron before sewing. The glue looks unsightly on your blocks sometimes, but it always washes right out.
#14
Super Member
Join Date: May 2012
Location: Central Wisconsin
Posts: 4,391
When you sew the pairs together to form the 4 patch, the top seam allowance should point towards the needle and the bottom seam allowance down. You may need to hold the top allowance with a pin so the foot doesn’t catch on it as you sew over it. This makes the intersections lock together when you sew for a nice match in the center.