Sewing 60 Degree triangles so hexagon lays flat

[Mailmanldy]

Florence, if you get a chance, be sure to check out the book. There are some amazing quilts in there!

Chelley

[Mailmanldy]

Okay, started feeling better today (had what ever crud was going around for the last two days, stayed home from work but didn't want to do any sewing), and I got back in my sewing room.

I checked my triangles more closely, and noticed that some are off just a nudge enough so that when I sew with an accurate 1/4 inch seam allowance, they wouldn't make 360 degrees around, so therefore, would never lay flat.

So my conclusion is, if I want my hexes to be flat, I need to be more careful when cutting my triangles.
I need to make sure my fabric or my ruler doesn't shift when cutting, or I need to mark my seam line, even if it wouldn't be exactly 1/4 inch.
OR, I need to stop being OCD about it when making these quilts, as no one would probably even be able to see if the centers don't line up exactly, and once the top is quilted, probably wouldn't be able to tell that they weren't flat.

On my next OBW, I think I will starch the fabric, and see if that helps keep it from shifting, and keeps the strips lined up when cutting. And I think I will try the Creative Grids 60 degree ruler, or get those things you can put on your own rulers to keep them from shifting, and see if that helps as well.

Thank you, every one, for all your suggestions. Once I get the top together, I will post a picture of it. Not sure how long it will take me to actually finish the quilt, so won't keep you waiting THAT long. LOL

Diane, who is getting off the computer, and heading back into the sewing room.

[Margo]

I've just replaced one of the quilts on my Profile with the OBW that I made for my sister. (My 6 quilt spaces are full, so it won't show up in the Quilt Gallery :cry: ) We had an absolute blast playing with these blocks, and decided as each one was pieced that IT was our favorite! They all turned out absolutely beautiful!
SEW LONG!
Margo in SE Tennessee

[Mailmanldy]

Margo,

I love that quilt. How did you do the cubes in there? I saw in the book where she had some quilts with those, and mentioned it breifly, but I couldn't see HOW they were made. Any suggestions??

Diane

[Margo]

Thanks, Diane!
There are real clear directions for the hollow blocks in Sara Nephew's book:
http://www.clearviewtriangle.com/boo...dingblock.html
However, it is now out of print. :?
In fact, it is Sara's 60 degree ruler that is shown in the directions for the One Block Wonders, and she also offers a couple of books on Serendepity Quilts, which are similar. She also has a newer book called the Big Book of Building Block Quilts. Maybe the directions for the hollow blocks are now in one of those books???
At any rate, the shape of the hollow blocks are the same as the OBW blocks, so they fit together easily!
If you just need the directions for the hollow blocks, let me know and I'll try to e-mail a copy of them to you.
SEW LONG!
Margo in SE Tennessee

[Margo]

Margo, your quilts are all gorgeous! I love the way you included the hollow cubes. I have made a bunch more OBW blocks this weekend and will start putting it together on 6/4 when I go to the 2nd part of the class I'm taking. It's really bright -- orange, yellow, red, purple, magenta, and brown. It's going to be interesting.

Chelley

[Margo]

Thanks, Chelley!
Your quilts are great, too!! Have fun with your OBW quilt....and post it when you can!
BTW...I love the name of your blog site and the quotes on the home page are great!
SEW LONG!
Margo in SE Tennessee

[Mailmanldy]

Margo,

I will do a search and see if I can find her book, but I'm heading out of town for the weekend, and won't be able to do it until I return. If you don't mind emailing me the instructions, just in case I can't find the book any where, I would really appreciate it. No rush on it, I won't be able to get back to my quilting until Wednesday (5/30), and I do have other quilts to work on, so I don't need it YESTERDAY.

Thank you for at least giving me a place to start looking for how to do that. I just love those cubes in the OBW quilts, and I would like to incorporate them into the ones I will be working on over the next 18 months. (I decided that I was going to make one for every one in my family for Christmas, but I won't get them all done for this year.)

Diane

[Margo]

Diane, I'll scan them and e-mail them to you this afternoon.
In the meantime, for those having trouble getting OBW blocks to lay flat, here is a tip I just ran across on Sara Nephew's web site that may help!
SEW LONG!

TECHNIQUE: A tailoring technique, the wet press cloth, can help ensure success when sewing 60° triangle quilt designs. Press with a dry iron while you are sewing pieces together. But when a whole block is assembled, place the block on the padded ironing surface right side up. Wet a piece of white cloth and wring it out. (Pieces of old 100% cotton sheets are great.) Place the wet cloth over the block and run the hot iron over it to dampen the whole block. Remove the cloth and use the hot iron to dry the block, pulling at the corners to straighten as necessary. This is like "blocking" a knitted sweater, because it flattens the block and shrinks out the bulk in the seams. Then it's easier to deal with the extra seams produced by the 60° angle. After the block is pressed, turn it over to see if any of the seams on the back have flipped over in the wrong direction. (Usually they go the way they should.) Correct as necessary, pressing from the back.

For those interested in the Hollow Cubes, you might be interested in this note I just got from Sara about the pattern!
Gorgeous! Hollow Cubes is one of the patterns in my book "Big Book Of Building Block Quilts". Just for your info, my company, Clearview Triangle, has a new owner, Marci Baker of Alicia's Attic. Marci has figured out how to adapt my size of Hollow Cube and Maxine's size of block, and vice versa. I'm sure if you are interested in buying my book she would also give you this info. You can contact Alicia's Attic at 888-901-4151. Happy Quilting. Sara Nephew

[Margo]

or get those things you can put on your own rulers to keep them from shifting, and see if that helps as well.

my 2 cents: If your ruler is slipping, get the flat "invisigrip" or something similar, NOT anything like rubber or sandpaper "dots"... they'll grip where they are, but not in between, and they actually lift the ruler off the fabric, which really can mess with trying to cut a straight line! (Plus you can't see thru them)

Here are links to what I'm talking about--(pictures are worth 1000 words!)
invisigrip:
http://www.bighornquilts.com/cgi-bin...;pid=1#nog2101
dots:
http://www.bighornquilts.com/cgi-bin...pid=1#nfabgrip

[Margo]

I bought some Invisigrip a few weeks ago and hadn't used it until last night. All I can say is, "Wow!" That stuff is awesome! I thought it would be a sticky film that would adhere permanently to the ruler, but it's more like those vinyl window clings. It sticks, but you can easily remove it. And, it really does grip the fabric! I'm going to put this stuff on all of my rulers!

Thanks for all of the tips and info!

Chelley

[Mailmanldy]

I just got some of this Invisigrip at my local JoAnns, using my 40% off coupon. I put it on the ruler I was using to cut out my OBW quilts, and it worked great. I'm sewing the blocks on my next quilt now, and will see how well they lay flat now. So far, the few blocks I have done, it looks much better than my last set of blocks.

Diane

[Mailmanldy]

That's great news! I can't wait to see pics!

I'm going to the 2nd half of my OBW class on Monday. She's going to help us lay out the blocks and start sewing them together.

Chelley

[Mailmanldy]

I'm going to post a picture of my OBW in my profile. I've moved a few more blocks around since the picture was taken. I'm going to start sewing it together tomorrow night.

Diane, have you tried looking at yours through binoculars or a peephole? It makes a HUGE difference!

Chelley

[Mailmanldy]

Another reducing tip is use your digital camera! Just looking at the camera screen as if you were going to take the pic helps get that "distant" perspective.