Hi! I'm Beth with American Patchwork & Quilting and today I'm sharing tips for creating Block 4 of our Bright New Day Block of the Month. The link to the free pattern download is in the video description.
Are points a pain? Today, I'm sharing tips for getting perfect points!
In this block, it's really important to get the points of the flying geese unit and the square-in-a-square unit lined up. It's so frustrating when they are not quite matching! So how do you get those points lined up perfectly? You can use a positioning pin.
I have my square-in-a-square unit and a flying geese unit here. Stick a straight pin through the intersection of the point's seams on the wrong side of the flying geese unit.
Then, push the pin through the intersection of the point's seams on the right side of the square-in-a-square. You should see the tip of the pin coming out through the intersection on the wrong side.
Keep the positioning pin perpendicular to the fabric pieces as you align and pin the edges to be sewn. Remove positioning pin before sewing.
Sew a few threads shy of point's intersection to ensure that you do not cut off the tip. If your machine has a laser guide, this is a great time to use it! This way, you can see where the stitching will land before you start sewing your seam. Adjust accordingly so you don't sew into the point. So you can see we got nice point definition and it lined up well. No cut off points!
When you're adding the side and top units, you want to make sure you're not losing those flying geese points. I have one more tip for that. I know I usually would just sew with the smaller piece on top, but then it's a guessing game on the points. If you flip the piece over and sew with the point side up, you can watch the points just like you did before. Then when you're sewing, watch at that intersection and sew just shy of it.
Here are the two completed blocks. The block we were sewing today uses Pumpkins & Blossoms by Fig Tree & Co. for Moda Fabrics. I love how the plaid frames the star!
The second one is Joy in the Journey by Dani Mogstad for Riley Blake Designs. This collection has these super cute campers that I wanted to feature in the center.
As always, share in our Facebook group or on Instagram with the hashtag #APQBOM2021. We love seeing your blocks! Find all the links in the video description. I hope these tips help make points less of a pain!