January Feathered Star - it ain't that easy!

[LadybugQuilter]

Well, I am having a crack at the feathered star - I am usually a hand sewer and cut fabric with scissors! Add to that an illogical mind and there you have it! I will persevere but am finding the technique quite difficult - it is the back to front, flip things over that is getting me I think - the instructions are very good and hopefully I'll improve as I work through it - but it just doesn't seem to click with me. I also struggle with angles on rulers etc! By the way, I'm pretty sharp generally, but my mind doesn't work this way - any tips? :roll:

[Margo]

Jacky, I am dyslexic and also have a lot of trouble with the upside down and backwards stuff with paper piecing. When I did my tutorial for the feathered star I used the ADD-A-QUARTER ruler, and was able to get through the block with lots less mental gyrations! Check it out...maybe it will help!

http://good-times.webshots.com/album...ost=good-times

[Margo]

Hi all: One tip that I found out the hard way - make sure that your printed paper is "printed side out" before sewing. I had printed the pattern on very see-thru paper (foundation paper piecing paper), and that caused me to not realize that the paper was wrong side out! I could still see the notations because it was see thru. I ended up making 4-5 of the portions backwards and had to redo them! Quite frustrating.

Another tip, leave the paper on until the last moment. By the last moment, I mean... never cross a seam that has paper in it (it's too difficult to pick out). But if I have two long seams to sew together, it is much simpler with the paper still intact. It becomes much, much more accurate (I'm a beginner with this!!). Again, I right away, remove that paper within that seamline I just sewed, as you don't want to cross that seamline with another row of stitching. HTH

[Margo]

A couple of things I concentrated on while doing the January block:
Go slow. I found that if I let myself get in any kind of hurry at all I would make mistakes. Also, when I was ready to sew a seam I would put a pin right in the seam line. Then I would flip it over and fold the fabric piece into place to make sure it was landing right.
Hang in there! I agree totally that it is sometimes hard to get your brain into paper-piecing gear. I certainly did my share of ripping out and re-sewing. Had to re-print a couple of foundations. Had to walk away from it a time or two! But I stuck it out and made a decent feathered star.
Sherry

[Margo]

Hey Sherry. We have like minds. I have a test block done and will make another because of short pieces on the outer edges and not enough seam allowance for star tip seaming (1/4 inch).Everything you have said is quite true, especially not trying to hurry through the whole project.

[Margo]

Thanks Margo for that link - I'll have a look at that in a bit - yes, quite right about taking time and stepping back for a break. Trying to do a feathered star while cooking for six is probably not the way to go!! I will definitely persevere with it though, because although slowly, I am getting there. I also pin through the sewing line to make sure I have got the pieces round the right way before I sew, thats a great tip. Hey ho - thanks for the replies ! :wink:

[Margo]

Once I've got the first two bits of fabric sewn onto the foundation, I like to press them flat, then fold back the paper along the line of the next seam to be sewn. I then use my rotary cutter and a small 6"x1" ruler to trim the fabric sticking out to 1/4". Fold the foundation paper flat again, and line the edge of your new patch up with the trimmed edge and sew the seam. You then have a nice 1/4" seam and no further trimming is required. I also use the tip of pinning along the seam line so that I can flip the fabric over and check it completely covers where it's meant to. I find these two techniques make foundation piecing much quicker for me, I hated it before I did it this way :lol:

[Margo]

The folding and trimming sounds good - I think Margo does it that way doesn't she? I have called a halt for today (it's 10 in the evening) but will try that tomorrow! :wink:

[Margo]

Just thinking further forward - do most pieced blocks lend themselves to this method?

[ajclapp]

I solved the problem of thinking in reverse by figuring out a way to paper piece by placing the fabric on top of the paper instead of underneath. If you lived a little closer I could show you how. I wanted to write a book on the subject but Leisure Arts wasn't interested because it took too many pages to write the instructions then life got in the way and I haven't been able to pursue it yet. I wish I had Margo's talent to do webshots but maybe that will be something I can do in the future. My computer locks up everytime I try to open the webshots so it looks like I may need an upgrade again! Good luck on your block.

[Margo]

The folding and trimming sounds good - I think Margo does it that way doesn't she? I have called a halt for today (it's 10 in the evening) but will try that tomorrow! :wink:

Yes, that's the way I did mine. It sounds like Alison is using a regular ruler, which certainly will work, but the ADD-A-QUARTER ruler has a lip on it so that it snugs right up to the seam line and you don't have to look for a 1/4" mark!

As for doing ALL blocks this way....I don't think so. At any rate, I'm not a huge fan of PPing except when it makes a complicated block more do-able and more accurate!

[Margo]

I wish I had Margo's talent to do webshots but maybe that will be something I can do in the future. My computer locks up everytime I try to open the webshots so it looks like I may need an upgrade again!

Annis, I wish you would do a tutorial!
I'm just working with a (cheap!) digital camera and my 5 year old laptop, and Bridget talked me through setting up the Webshots page. Trust me, if I can figure it out.....it can't be too hard!!! :wink:

Also....reading the preview for tomorrow's new show, it looks like Gregory Case is going to talk about self publishing! Maybe something that will work for you???????

[quilting101]

i too am having the most difficult time with this block. i am struggling with the upside down and backwards pp but i am going to persevere and get it done i just know it will be worth it.
Jenny in Oz where it is extremely hot

[ajclapp]

Margo, by the time I could get a tutorial ready everybody's blocks will be finished. It's something I am considering for the future though. I'm glad to hear about the self-publishing. That will be interesting. I'm actually already doing some self-publishing but only selling to local stores as everything is printed one at a time on my home printer. There aren't enough hours in the day to do everything by myself so I really do need to put together another book proposal and submit it to other publishers. Maybe next month I will find the time. The rest of this month is going to be busy.

[ajclapp]

It helps to organize your cut pieces such that they are stacked with all right sides up. This was especially helpful to me since I used a batik and a white on white print, which are both difficult to discern the right and wrong sides of the fabric.

Also, I used a thin laminated business card to crease the paper back on the next to be sewn seamlines to trim the 1/4" seams of the last added pieces. An index card would also work for this--probably even better on the longer seamlines.

Lay the next to be sewn piece of fabric right side up over the section to be covered, ensuring it is large enough and positioned to cover both the section to be covered and all of its surrounding seamlines, then flip the piece over aligning the next to be sewn edge with the corresponding edge of the last sewn piece. Since you have already trimmed this 1/4" seam edge of the last sewn piece, you can be assured that you'll catch enough fabric in the new seam. (I hope this is clear.)

I learned late and the hard way how to avoid chopping off the tips of the small triangles when sewing the long seamlines. First, sew with the triangles on top so that you can see the tips. Second, sew a hair or two to the right of the tips, rather than touching the tips. Because of the bulk of the seams, you'll need those hairs to allow the seams to lie flatter so that the tips will show.

Prior to this project, I had little experience with paper piecing and the pieces were not nearly as small.