Quilt Qua
Helping to Expand Your Creative Expression
Chain Sewing
By: Penny Halgren
I always sew patches together starting with the patch in the top row, generally from left to right.
I’m sure there’s no rule about that, and maybe it’s just because I am left handed. I find that having a system like that, and sticking to it helps keep my patches and blocks in the correct position.
Place your patches right sides together and match all sides and corners.
Line them up next to your sewing machine, ready to sew.
Place the starting edge under the presser foot and stitch the patch together.
If you are stitching triangles, as shown below, take care not to stretch the fabric as you sew.
When you begin to sew these patches together, you do not need to backstitch.
One of the magical things about making a quilt is that because you will be adding pieces and stitching across seams, the cross-seams act as backstitching.
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After you have finished sewing the first pair of half square triangles, leave them in the machine.
Get the next pair, line it up (matching sides and corners), and get ready to sew!
Leave some space between the units; but without cutting the thread, sew the second pair of patches.
I try to leave about 1/4 inch of thread between each pair of patches to make it easier to cut the patches apart.
You may need to raise your presser foot slightly to get the second pair under it, be careful not to overlap the two pairs.
Continue sewing patches together, adding one after the other without cutting the threads.
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Because they are easy to separate, you can easily chain sew many patches together in one long chain before removing them from the machine.
After you have sewn all of the patches together, remove them from the machine and cut the threads.
Separate the patches and stack them up - ready to sew them into blocks.
Open the patchess and finger press them.
There is little need to press these with an iron at this point. And I have found that just finger pressing gives some flexibility to the patches as you sew them together to make blocks.
Finger pressing is simply folding the seam allowance fabric to one side (usually the darker fabric side) and using your thumbs and fingers to press the seam down.
Watch a shortvideo to see a demonstration:
Happy Quilting!
Penny is a quilter of more than 24 years who seeks to interest new quilters and provide them with the resources necessary to create beautiful quilts.
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©2007, Penny Halgren