CaleyH

Thanks so much, but I actually did order the "Invisigrip" already. One thing about tape with adhesive like "Invisgrip" is that you need to clean the area where you will be sticking it.

I tried to redo the alignment boo-boo, but didn't have enough material to make that adjustment. I ended up just replacing the whole side that had the problem. Came out looking very nice. And it was due to that cutting error, which I didn't see until things were sewn together.

CaleyH

Right now I have a few different solids and prints of fabric in a few yards of each. I also have two fat quarters, and the remnants of a jelly roll, and of course, my first cotton fabric purchase which was almost a total disaster.

Since I am limited in quantity of my fat quarters, I have been trying to carefully cut out the blocks exactly, one at a time. Many of the star blocks I am doing usually have only one or maybe four blocks of a particular size.

But, what do you do when cutting from such a small piece of fabric? Do you just cut a strip the width of that one block, or do you carefully cut out only the fabric needed for that block? When I have four or more blocks, I usually just cut a strip the needed width, then cut out the blocks from that strip. I usually have a short piece of fabric I throw into my scrap box, but really wouldn't want to throw most of a strip from the strip of fabric I just cut one block out of, into that scrap box.

I've not been able to successfully make another star block the past few days. For some reason the dimensions of the blocks and triangles haven't fit together properly. I've had this problem on two star blocks so far. The edge has a big triangle with two small triangles attached, but they always seem to end up being too long by about 3/8 inch on either side. I get the feeling I am not aligning the small triangular pieces properly on the big center triangle, that eventually is supposed to create a three triangle rectangle. And the finished rectangle, not only is longer, but is also too short width wise. I've triple checked my cut sizes, and they are correct, so something I am doing is wrong. So I eventually just cut up all the bad blocks, and put the remnants in my scrap box. Any thoughts on what I might be doing wrong? Sorry, no pictures of what I put together. Was a bit disappointed, and that's why I just scrapped the problem..

bearisgray

When attaching a triangle to a square or rectangle - there will be "extra" - or "dog ears" - sticking out.

Maybe ? the attached drawings help.

If you match the circles (inside the seam allowances) - parts of the triangles are sticking/hanging out. They are supposed to.

Those "ears" are usually trimmed off after the pieces are sewn together. The "ears" are eliminated on Marti Michell's templates.

If/When limited on fabric, I have drawn (in pencil or chalk marker) on the back side of the fabric to see if I can eke out the necessary pieces and then cut them one at a time.

bearisgray

Can you post a picture/drawing of the block you are making?

Or of the pieces you are trying to put together/

I am fairly good at drawing visuals - not quite so good at visualizing from other people's descriptions.

CaleyH

Hmmm, I guess I must be doing something else wrong, though I'm not sure what.

Below is what I should have, but for some reason, the side triangles aren't large enough to give enough material above the big triangle point so that when sewn to the block above, that center point sits perfectly. It ends up being cut off by about 3/8 inch.

I'm getting the idea something in either my measurements are wrong, or the figures on the web page might be incorrect. I have to assume it is my measurements, as the person who posted the web pages wouldn't make that kind of mistake.

bearisgray

The notorious Flying Goose/ Flying Geese.

There are about a zillion ways to make them. It is a tricky one to get right.

CaleyH

The block I have been working on for the past few days is called a "Sawtooth Star".

This one in the picture is the third try. I'm sure I just don't understand how to position the listed sized pieces, but I just couldn't figure things out, so I did a bit of a change. Actually there were two. First was that I increased the size of the blocks of the small triangles from 3 7/8 to 4 1/4. The second change was instead of a 1/4 inch seam, I had to increase it to 3/16 in order to get the proper final width.

Seems things worked with my madness.

I ran out of the orange brown material, so I had to substitute another print that was fairly close to matching the other colours.

If I run into this "Flying Geese" pattern again, I will be looking closely at the dimensions. I don't want to go through the frustration of having two tries go into the scrap heap.

bearisgray

What size (finished size) are you making?

CaleyH

Finished size is 12 inches (12.5 with 1/4 inc border). Actually, two opposing sides are about 1/16 inch short. I probably goofed on one or more of the 1/4 inch seams somewhere.

CaleyH

Here's my version of the "Trailing Star" It's a 12 inch block (12 1/2 actual). Only problem is that when I trimmed things down to 12 1/2, I nipped two of the tips on the edges. Guess I will just have to live with it. It turned out OK, and I learned from it.

Also learned that one of my square rulers just happens to be for 12 inch blocks, giving an actual 12 1/2 template. I'm slowly learning about my tools.

Also learned that I need to keep my ham hands away from the sewing machine buttons. I manage to hit two of them, which caused the needle to move to the left, and change the stitch pattern. I ended up bending that needle, and had to replace it. I think that's what has happened before, when I've accidentally hit one of those buttons. Kind of wish Singer had put them behind a little door, as with my neurological troubles, I don't even know I've touched something until it goes haywire.