I don't pretend to be an expert. But Nancy asked me; "How do you center the triangles against the square and the next round? The only way I've found that works is to fold the square in half two ways and press the edge that will be sewn, and do the same with the triangles, and even then they come out crooked. Is there an easier way?"
I think the way it was described is the most accurate way to do it. I (like you said) usually just eyeball the triangles on either side and do my best to make them the same size.
Then I sew them with the triangle on the top and use the edge of the triangle as the guide for my 1/4" foot. When I get two triangles sewn on top and bottom of the middle square I press the seam.
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When I have the two sides sewn on I again just eyeball the next triangle. Turn it over . . .
and sew on the long side of the triangle.
I press the seams to the outside and then trim the rabbit ears off. You can see that the edges aren't perfectly even (top right). I just trim them straight.
Then I center the next size triangle and line it up with the beginning and ending edges. You can see that there is a slight curve of the underneath seam on the right of the triangle. Again, I use the triangle as my guide for the 1/4" foot.
When all the sides are sewn I press it and then trim it to size. Sometimes I have to use the iron to make it square. You can see once again the the edge on the right is not even.
I line up my ruler so there is a 1/4' seam allowance all the way around and the black diagonal line on the ruler (45 degrees) is lined up from corner to corner of the inside square.
The block above had to be slightly repositioned (with the help of the iron) so the bottom right triangle is big enough to meet the edge of the ruler.
And this square shows how much I usually trim off. Now, every block is not perfect so sometimes I trim more on one side than another to get it the 4 1/2" size.
The key for me is to not be in a hurry because my seam allowances always suffer if I rush.
I hope this helps. I figured it would be easier to add all the pictures in my blog instead of trying to send them through email.
Happy Sewing.
Robin
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3 comments:
Great technique to get an accurate square in a square.
Love those fabrics too!
It may be for Nancy, but I enjoyed the tutorial - lol! Folding for centering is the only way I know how to do it too. This is a pretty block!
Thank you for such a detailed tutorial, Robin. I sew the same way you do, but I'll have to stick with pressing a center fold because I do a terrible job of eyeballing. I especially appreciate the tip about using the iron to help the shape and using a cutting ruler with a clear diagonal line and lining it up across the diagonal of the center square. Maybe I can make some progress on these economy blocks now.... Again, thank you, Robin!
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