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How to Keep Those Stretchy Bias Pieces in Line

By: Penny Halgren

Do those bias edges on your patches stretch as you sew, like mine do?

Here's a suggestion -

Cut freezer paper templates the size of your finished patch. Iron them onto the back of the patch, and then sew the patches together - with the freezer paper still attached.

Not only will this give you a great, straight stitching line that will guarantee an accurate seam allowance, it will stabilize the bias edges and keep your fabric from stretching out of shape.

Sewing circles and curves will be a breeze using this freezer paper secret. Just iron the freezer paper onto the back of the circle or curved piece you are attaching to your quilt top.

Merrily stitch around the curve, and then cut a little slice in the fabric behind the freezer paper to remove it.

I admit the first time I cut into a quilt top of mine in this way, I held my breath, and almost closed my eyes. It just seemed wrong.

After that quilt was finished, I ran across a book that suggested cutting out the entire area behind the appliqued piece, and trimming it back to the seam allowance, removing a lot of the bulk in the quilt.

That was the technique I used when I made the quilt pictured below. For each of the animal shapes, I cut a freezer paper template and ironed it onto the back of the fabric. In this case, I hand stitched each animal and plant onto the background fabric. Once the piece was sewn, I trimmed the background piece back to the 1/4 inch seam allowance and removed the freezer paper.

Yes, it's all a little extra work, but I have found the extra work is worth keeping the shape of my bias pieces.

 

giraffe applique quilt This quilt was made using the freezer paper technique described above. Each piece was added, and then the background fabric was trimmed away to remove the paper. This is still one of my favorite quilts.

 

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.

www.How-to-Quilt.com
Inspiration and Education for Beginning Quilters

 

www.Rag-Quilt-Instructions.com
Fast, Fun and Funky Quilts

www.Fabric-Postcards.com
Quilt Greetings Across the Miles

 

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©2006, Penny Halgren

Penny Halgren
http://www.thequiltingcoach.com/