Let the sewing fun begin :)
I hope you got all your cutting done. In case you are still working on it and need a push, let us all know and we will cheer you on :) Also please don’t hesitate to reach out, when you have a question.
The prompt for this week is of course to show off your sewing progress. Your goal is to sew about a ¼ of the blocks. But if you want to do a few more or less this week, do you! You know yourself and your schedule over the next weeks best.
If you want to divide it as evenly as possible, that would mean 10 or 11 blocks each week. Just in case you hate even very basic math ;)
This post is part of the All the Diagonals Sew Along! See all posts.
Task
This week’s progress
For my project, I decided to finish the blocks with the big triangles first. The fabric pieces for these took up the most space for just a few blocks and I wanted them gone so I could fit all the pieces on my window ledge ;)
So much for strange reasoning when picking your target number/blocks…
I will also give you a tip in the next week’s post on how to differentiate between cake and roof fabric pieces – just in case you were wondering. So if you are stuck there. Just start with the big triangle ones like I did ;)
Here are just a few of them but all aligned correctly.
Tips & Tricks
FPP Process
I thought I would share a few snapshots of my FPP process this week. There are a few ways out there to do it. And if you have been doing it for a while, just skip ahead, you have probably already found your version. But if you are new to FPP – do we have any newbies with us? – this might be an additional inspiration.
I like to pin my first piece. You could also glue it with a glue stick, but I prefer it this way because I hate tearing the paper off when part of it was glued to the fabric.
I prefer to work with “correct” seam allowances. So I trim at this step and then know that my next piece is placed correctly and will be big enough to cover the next shape. However I do overlap a tiny smidge when my next first piece was darker. That way I avoid a shadow line.
Glue basting is not strictly necessary. You could also pin or do neither and just hold the piece in place and then sew. I have had pieces move when I just placed them and dislike it for that reason. I also like the “stable” nature of the fixed piece especially as I am batch-piecing. I do use only two small dots per piece. If you look very carefully, you can spot them in the image.
If you do decide on glue basting, you need to set the glue. Use a high, no steam setting on your iron and just leave it sitting on the imaginary seam line (thus covering the glue dots) for a few seconds.
Not a lot of mystery going on here. My personal preference is to sew with 1.0 stitch length. And I always start and stop at the seam – not going over into the next shape. But I do backstitch! We will be tearing on the paper – so make it more stable. I only extend my seam line when it is through the seam allowance and then only for the last piece in that area – I want as few paper pieces to tear off as possible ;)
Pressing open or to the side might be a big debate for normal patchwork. But FPP can only be done by pressing to the side, so no hidden secrets here.
Cut-Offs
With FPP there is always a bit to a lot of waste. I discard the small trimmings but I save the bigger offcuts. Due to the triangular shapes in this design, you will have lots of bigger pieces. Those I save. I have used them for a different project before. They were the off-cuts from 6-inch blocks.
This time I plan to piece them together improv style and incorporate them in the back. No need to let them go to waste ;)
Community
My Instagram Highlights
Hmm, we are some people sewing according to the newsletter, but have there been really so few pictures on Instagram? Or is the “stupid algorithm” hiding your pictures from me?
Please do remember to tag me directly @mellmeyer and leave a comment on the weekly Sew Along post. I looooooove to see your progress! And I am sure everyone else does too ;)
I’m especially in love with the second picture. Another lovely idea to keep track of your fabric – in a project book!
Now I am hoping to see all your beautiful blocks pop up on Instagram. Remember to use the #mm_allthediagonals. Due to current changes with the hashtag feeds, please also tag me directly @mellmeyer. And leave a comment on the weekly Sew Along post on my feed so that everyone else can find you too!
See you next week!
Best wishes
xo Melanie
