Welcome to July!
We are so proud of you for hanging in there and are honored to have you sewing along with us all these months! To enter to win prizes each month, post your finished blocks to Instagram or in our Facebook group (between July 15th and July 31st) with the #QP2019sewalong hashtag.
Each month, we post tips and tricks to help you with your blocks. We’d love to hear your feedback! Let us know if these tips have helped and what we can improve for next year. To see the Tips and Tricks posts from previous months, or to see the schedule for the year, visit our 2019 Block of the Month Landing Page here.
Which Block Should I Sew in July?
The block for July is Middle Ring Block 3. Instructions for this block are on page 19 and 20 of the QP magazine.
Snowflake Layout: Make two.
Pyramid Layout: Make one.
*A note for makers of the Pyramid layout: If you’ve looked ahead on the schedule for the year, you may have noticed that there are 4 blocks to sew in August. For many of us, August is a busy month! You may choose to work ahead during July since you only have one block this month.
Tips for making Middle Ring Block 3:
The Middle Ring Block 3 is fairly simple using techniques you are familiar with, but we do have a few more ideas to improve your HST process even more!
Tip #1: When marking the lighter squares to make your HST unit, instead of drawing a line diagonally from corner to corner, try marking ¼” out from the diagonal center line. This way, you can stitch right on the line you’ve drawn instead of trying to consistently stitch ¼” away from it. For many, this will give you a more consistent seam allowance. And remember from our February lesson: a sharp marking pencil will give you a more accurate line to sew on!
Tip #2: If you have tried all our tips for HST units and are still finding that they are a just a little too small when you go to trim them, try cutting your squares bigger than the pattern calls for and trimming the resulting HST units to the proper size after sewing. There is a bit more fabric waste using this method, but if it helps you to get your final block the right size, a little fabric waste might be worth it to you. Our pattern for this block asks us to cut (4) Fabric C squares and (4) Background squares at 3″x 3″ each. Try increasing that to 3 ¼” and see if that gives you the wiggle room you need.
3″ squares (left) and 3.25″ squares (right)
HST units made with 3″ squares (left) and 3.25″ squares (right)
HST unit made with a slightly larger square gives you more wiggle room when trimming up!
Tip #3: Spinning your seams is not quite as important as it was last month, but it will help your block lay nice and flat. See our June tips and tricks for a tutorial on spinning seams.
Guidelines to enter your sewn blocks into our monthly challenge (and win prizes on Instagram and Facebook)
- Between the 1st and the 7th day of each month, you’ll find the pattern for that month’s block and select your fabrics.
- Between the 8th and the 14th, you’ll get your fabrics prepped and cut.
- Between the 15th and the end of the month, sew up your block and post it to Instagram (please use the #qp2019sewalong hashtag) or to the Facebook group (using the same #qp2019sewalong hashtag).
As always, feel free to contact us on Instagram or on our Facebook group if you need any help or have questions about the block!
