THIS WEEKS ASSIGNMENT - TWISTS ON TRADITION UNITS
Today we are going to have so fun Strip Piecing. If you have never Strip Pieced before you are in for a treat. It is a great time saver ;) So let's get to it :)
STRIP PIECING
So first off, we need to match up our strips. Your 3" Print Strips are going to be sewn with the 2 1/2" Background Strips and your 2 1/2" Strips are going to be sewn with your 3" strips. Group them together like I have shown below and keep them separate, because it is super easy to mix them up ;)
And now are strips matched up, we are going to do some strip piecing. In strip piecing, you don't have to worry about ends lining up perfectly. I already trimmed my prints selvages but didn't on my background selvages. So when I sew, I will just overhang my selvage ;) And a quick double check for you each time, you should always be sewing a Print and a Background strip and the widths shouldn't match up ;)
When I Strip Piece, I always turn my stitch length down a bit. It doesn't have to be a lot, but it is best to use a slightly smaller stitch than normal. This is because when you sub-cut them you are going to be cutting right through your stitching, so you don't want it to unravel ;)
So, with your stitch length smaller, you are ready to start stitching. I started with the 2 1/2" wide Print fabrics and 3" Background Fabrics. I find it easier to put the wider strip on the bottom and the skinnier strip on the top with right sides together. Now just Stitch a 1/4" seam along the long edge of your first matched strip set. And again, it doesn't matter if the edges match perfectly. Just align the two fabrics as you go, stitching all the way down the length of the strip.
And when you get to the end of one strip, oh ya, more chain stitching ;) Just feed the next strip set through, sewing a 1/4" seam and aligning as you go ;) Repeat this for all of the 2 1/2" wide Print fabrics and 3" Background Fabrics sets. Clip your threads when you are done.
And then, it's time to move on to the 2 1/2" wide Background fabrics and 3" Print Fabric Sets. These are sewn the exact same way as the previous strip sets. Just align as you go, this time with the Print fabric strip on the bottom and the Background fabric strip on top ;) Chain Stitch all of your strip sets and then clip your threads.
And now it is time to move to the ironing board. Now, let me start with a disclaimer here, you will be ironing a lot of long strip sets, and it is very easy to get going to fast. Slow down and really take the time to press each set perfectly :) You will be pressing the seam allowance towards the Print Strip. To do this, I like to press strip sets from the front. This helps me from pulling and stretching the long strip. I run my finger along the seam, just in front of my iron to ensure that I don't have any little bubbles creeping into my seam allowance. Use lots of steam and keep them nice and crisp ;) And just press, press away ;)
SUB-CUTTING UNITS
And with all of your seams pressed, you are ready to move on to sub-cutting your strip sets. We will start with your
2 1/2" Print and 3" Background Strip Sets. Double check that these are what you are working with as the different strip sets are subcut at different widths. It would be so sad to cut the wrong sets.
Fold a strip set in half, aligning the smallest raw edges and lay it out on your cutting mat aligning the top of the strip set with a horizontal line on your cutting mat. Now, you might think to stack these up on top of one another to speed up your cutting, but it often ends up with crooked cuts. You are already cutting over 4 layers where the seams meet up ;) So rather than stacking up, spread out as shown below. You can easily fit 3 strip sets on a large cutting mat ;) Just be sure that your raw edges are close to matching up on the left hand side of all your strip sets.
To start your cutting, you will need to make a straight edge. Place your ruler along the Vertical line of your mat that is just over the raw edges of all 3 of your strip sets. Cut along the edge of your ruler to create a nice straight edge. Discard the scrap.
Now, measure in 2 1/2". You can check your measurement in 2 places. The raw edges of your strip sets should align with the 2 1/2" mark on your ruler (white arrows) and the edge of your ruler should align with 2 1/2" in on your mat. I like to double check both to ensure I am getting a super straight cut ;) With your measurements double checked, cut along the edge of the ruler.
And now, it is just rinse and repeat ;) Once again, move your ruler in 2 1/2", double-check your 2 places of 2 1/2" measurements, and cut along the edge of your ruler.
You will repeat this process a total of 8 times and have a little bit of scrap left at the end that can be discarded. This will create 16 2-patch units per Strip Set :)
Repeat this process for all of your 2 1/2" Print and 3" Background Strip Sets. You will end up with a pretty pile that looks something like this ;)
And then, you are ready to move onto sub-cutting the 3" Print and 2 1/2" Background Strip Sets. This is done using the same process, there is just a little extra at the end ;) So once again, align 3 folded strip sets along the horizontal lines of your mat with your smallest raw edges aligned.
Align your ruler along the Vertical Line closest to your smallest raw edge and cut a straight edge.
Now measure in 3", yes a different measurement!! We will be cutting 3" wide this time :) Once again, you can double check your measurements. The raw edge of your strip sets should align with the 3" mark on your ruler and your rulers edge should align 3" in on the vertical line of your cutting mat. And with your ruler aligned, cut along the edge of it.
And then again, move in another 3", double check that you are aligned, and cut along the edge of the ruler.
Continue in this fashion sub-cutting 6 times. This will create 12 units per Strip Set and have a larger piece of scrap at the end of your strip set. We will be using that piece of scrap ;)
Unfold the scrap and lay it on your mat open with the raw edges all aligned on the same Vertical Line on your mat ;)
One last time, measure in 3", double check your measurement, and cut along the edge of your ruler. Now you can scrap that little bit of leftover ;)
So in the end, you will have 13 2-Patch Units Strip Set. Repeat this process for all of your 3" Print and 2 1/2" Background Strip Sets.
And now you have a pile of 3" Two Patch Units and a pile of 2 1/2" Two Patch Units and you are done for the week!!!!
So here is the summary. This is how many 2 1/2" subcut units you made up and how many 3" subcut units you should have made. As you can see, you are going to have a few extras depending on the size you make. (just hold on to them for now, more on them next week ;) If you were using Fat Quarters, these charts might just come in handy. Depending on your sub-cutting, you might find you need a few extra units that you will just need to stitch up by cutting 2 1/2" and 3" squares ;)
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