Welcome to March!
For our Northern Hemisphere friends, winter was in full swing last month! We’re hoping that meant some cozy sewing days for you to work on your February Sew-Along blocks. We’ve been seeing some great things from you on social media! If you’re sewing along with us and want to enter to win prizes each month, post your finished blocks to Instagram or in our Facebook group (between March 15th and March 31st) with the #QP2019sewalong hashtag.
Each month, we will post tips and tricks to help you with your blocks. To keep up with the Tips and Tricks, visit our 2019 Block of the Month Landing Page here. You might want to make it one of your Favorites on your computer so it’s easy to find. You can also find it on QuiltersPlanner.com under the Patterns and BOMs tab.
To see a schedule for the entire year, visit our 2019 BOM Landing Page.
Which Block Should I Sew in March?
The block for March is Inner Ring Block 2. Instructions for this block are on page 17 and 18 of the QP magazine.
Snowflake Layout: Make two.
Pyramid Layout: Make three.
Tips for making Inner Ring Block 2:
Tip #1: The fabric B sections of this month’s block would be a really fun place to play with directional prints. Note that you may need to alter how you orient your fabric as you cut depending on the effect you want.
Tip #2: When you attach your 1½ X 4½ Fabric B rectangles to make your center unit (the end of step 2 in your instructions), they should be the same length as the sub-unit that you’re sewing them to. If they’re not the same length, that means your scant quarter inch seam was a bit off when you were attaching your 1½ X 2½ Fabric B rectangles. Check out our tips from January for help getting a scant quarter inch seam.
Tip #3: Take care to not distort your flying geese when pressing them. Try finger pressing the seam in place and then coming down with your iron directly on top of the seam instead of pressing from the side and moving your iron over. The less pushing you do across the seam, the better.
Tip #4: It’s important to properly trim your flying geese units to keep the points sharp and centered.
First, place your ruler over the untrimmed unit with the point facing downward. The point of your ‘goose’ should be 2¼” below the top edge of the ruler and 2¼” from the side. If your ruler has a 45-degree line, make sure your seam is aligned with it. The edges under the unit should reach at least to the 2½” and 4½” marks on your ruler.
Trim the first two sides.
Flip your unit and line the trimmed edges up with the 2½” and 4½” marks on your ruler. The point should now be ¼” below the top edge of the ruler and 2¼” from the side. Trim the remaining sides.
Tip #5: When assembling your block, nesting your seams can be helpful to lining up your points well. To nest seams, iron any seams that will be next to each other when you sew over them into opposite directions. In this block, rows 1 and 3 are pressed to the outside of the block, and row 2 to the center. As you sew, make sure those two seam allowances butt up next to each other. Pinning on each side of the nested seam really helps them to not slip.
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!
