18 The seam allowances for ③ and ④ should lay in opposite directions on the front and back to reduce bulk before pin basting. Press the seam allowances in the direction of the arrows.
19 Repeat steps 6 ~ 10 to join pieces. Stop sewing about one stitch away from the corner marking and pull needle through.
20 Insert needle into the corner marking of the wrong side of front fabric A through to the right side (in the photo, the seam allowance of fabric B is flipped over for a clearer view).
21 Proceed to the corner marking of the back fabric A (the needle will be inserted diagonally from the front fabric A to back fabric A. Make sure to avoid stitching other pieces), pull needle through.
22 From the existing position of the needle on the back fabric A, insert needle slightly into the seam allowance and through to the same spot on fabric B (see illustration on right).
Dots indicate where needles will go in and out (slightly into the seam allowance from the corner markings).
23 The needle from step 22 pulled through (photo shows back fabric B on top).
24 Insert needle into the corner marking of back fabric B.
25 Continue to front fabric B corner marking and pull needle through (needle will be inserted diagonally from front fabric B to back fabric B).
26 Needle pulled through from step 25 (now the front side is shown). The thread is coming out of the front fabric B corner marking. Continue stitching.
27 Sew the corner sections as shown in steps 19 ~ 26. Backstitch at the end as shown in step 14.
28 The pieces sewn together in step 27 opened up. Repeat previous steps to join the next row to create a nine patch quilt block.
Basic Piecework Techniques
LESSON 2
Making a Triangle Quilt Block
This lesson features the Tree of Life quilt block pattern to join same-facing right angle isosceles triangle pieces. To prevent unwanted spaces where the corners intersect, the four-stop method will be used (see steps 8–12). Make sure to avoid accidentally sewing extra fabric pieces.
★ Refer to page 82 for drafting pattern pieces and marking.
★ Refer to page 10 for pin basting, backstitching and piecework sewing basics.
1 Trace the pattern piece on the wrong side of fabrics A and B. Add ⅜ in (1 cm) seam allowance and cut (seam allowance will be trimmed later).
2 With right sides of fabrics A and B together, pin the two corners of the longest side. Add a pin between the two corner pins. Align the markings and pin as precisely as possible.
3 Sew from the beginning to the end of the marking on the longest side. Backstitch (2 stitches). Trim seam allowance ¼ in (0.6 cm) from stitch line.
4 Piecework from step 3 pressed open. The sewn side is on the bias so take care not to stretch the fabric. For now, press seam allowance to the side.
5 Repeat previous steps to make 9 sets. Join three sets together per row. Then join three rows.
6 Place two rows right sides together, align markings and seam allowances, then pin in place (①~④ indicate pinning order; arrows indicate pinning direction).
7 As in step 3, sew from beginning to end of marking, starting with the right corner and ending about one stitch shy of the other corner (backstitch to adjust if stitch lengths don’t match up).
8 Shown: stitched almost to the corner. Make sure not to sew the seam allowance from the back side (it helps to hold the seam allowance out of the way with your finger).
9 Proceed to insert needle diagonally into the left front of the corner marking on fabric B. Avoid stitching other pieces. Pull thread through and continue stitching.
10 From its corner marking position on the left backside of fabric A, insert needle slightly into the seam allowance and through to the right back side of fabric A at the same spot (see illustration above).
11 Insert needle into the corner marking of right back side of fabric A (photo shows right back side of fabric A on the left).
12 Insert needle into corner marking of fabric B left front. Make sure to avoid stitching other pieces. Pull needle through and continue stitching.
13 Refer to steps 8–12 to sew the corner sections. Backstitch as shown in step 3 to finish stitching and cut thread.
14 Join another row.