Ready to SEW something finally!? I am! Welcome to Week 4 of the Italian Tiles Sew Along.
We are starting with the Star Points. These are the trickiest bit of this quilt I think. So, you've got everything marked from last week. You've got your Star Point squares and all those background rectangles ready to go.
First Tip: I have found that my piecing is much more accurate when I use a walking foot. Especially for this step! When I use the walking foot and a single straight pin, my star points turn out perfectly.
Second Tip: To make sure the rectangle is centered, you can use a 6" square ruler to measure approximately ⅝" on either end. This isn't exact, but it will be fairly close.
After you attach the first rectangle - I recommend trimming the access fabric. That will be easier than waiting until the second is attached. If you are using a dark background you don't have to worry about trimming. I am trimming mine so the pink doesn't show through.
Third Tip: When you go to attach the second rectangle - you can mark the center dot again. When you sew on the first rectangle, you will cover the center dot. You don't have to do this, but it may make piecing go a bit faster. (I eyeball this too!)
Once you get that second one attached - don't trim the extra fabric from behind the background fabric just yet. Press the background fabric open. Then use flip the piece over to square it up, and use the colored fabric as a guide to make your 4 ½" square. After that you can trim off the extra fabric. Make sense?
When you get your star points assembled they should look like so:
Next are the Star Centers. These are honestly pretty straight forward so I don't have any extra tips. The instructions in the pattern will guide you safely through!
Another fun tool I am trying this round is a wool pressing mat from Project Wool Mats. Here are my thoughts:
- I LOVE it!
- I used mine on top of my ironing board, but you could use yours anywhere! If you don't have room in your studio for an ironing board - try this!
- One tip though - don't use it on top of your plastic cutting mats. The wool absorbs the heat so you don't want to melt your cutting mats or rulers.
- Because the mat absorbs the heat - it presses both sides of your piecing! This created the PERFECT flat seam.
- The wool texture also helps to hold your project in place. This is particularly helpful with this pattern because there are a lot of angles. The mat held everything in place so that it didn't stretch!
- You can also starch and steam on this mat. It's my new favorite tool!
Guess what?! Since this mat is such an awesome little tool - Project Wool Mats is giving away a mat to one of you lovely people! Yay! To enter: post a photo of your progress, tag me, use the hashtag and follow @projectwoolmats on IG! Good Luck!
