Preparing to make a Mini Quilt part 2

Let's talk a bit about fabric today.  When I am working on a mini quilt, I try to make sure that I am using a fabric that has a nice tight weave and isn't a floppy, fraying mess.  If you have actual yardage, you might want to wash it - I confess that I don't always do this, but it is helpful to avoid having your work spoiled by unexpected shrinking or color transfer later.

If you don't pre-wash your fabric, definitely do give it a good hot pressing with steam before you start working with it.  And a spritz of starch or Best Press will help give your fabric a nice crisp finish and make it easier to work with for cutting and sewing those smaller pieces. 

One thing I missed in my last post - take a few minutes and get the dust bunnies out of your machine! I'm good about doing this while I'm machine quilting because every time I change the bobbin I sweep out the bottom  of the machine, but I don't always do that while I'm doing regular piecing.  Take off your feed dog plate and make sure everything is nice and clean in there.  If you have a plate with a single hole for straight stitching, install that on your machine and it will help prevent it from eating those triangle corners.  We'll talk about seam allowance as we get started - you'll want to be accurate when you sew them so your blocks all come out perfectly sized!

While you are at it, oil your machine if appropriate and give it a nice wipe down to get all the stray fluff and threads.  Now you are ready to tackle some Mini Madness!  Tomorrow I'll have a few instructions for cutting some strips to get ready for sewing, then we'll be ready to start this adventure!