Help in Measuring Sixteenth of an Inch for Quilt Pieces

When you start dealing with small quilt pieces, or making block with 1/4 square triangles you find eventually that you need to go beyond the small eight of an inch measurement and start getting into the sixteenth of an inch measurements.  Often I will try to avoid these by cutting a bit larger and trimming down to the needed size after sewing, but sometimes it really is easier to cut by the smaller measurement.

Today I made a block with one of these, so I though I would share how I deal with cutting at this size.

This block is in honor of the Kentucky Derby and I call it May Roses.  For some of the units in this block you need to cut two squares, one red and one green that measure 5 and 3/16 inches square to cut into four triangle units.

The first thing to realize is that 3/16 of an inch is just slightly smaller than 1/4 of an inch.  My first cut is to remove a square of my fabric from the main piece that is just a bit larger than this:

  I then rotate the square around so the two cut sizes are under the ruler.  The small hash marks on my ruler are 1/8 of an inch apart, so the 3/16 I need to cut is between the 1/8 (2/16) and the 1/4 (4/16 mark).

I make sure that both sides of my square are lined up between the two marks and trim my square to the correct size.  Now it is ready to cut diagonally both directions to give me 4 triangles.  The benefit to cutting this way is that it keeps the bias edges all on the inside of the square so that you have the grain of the fabric on the outside edges, keeping everything nice and square and stable!

 These triangles are sewn together on the short sides to make a triangle:

 The next step is to make sure your pieced triangles are exactly the same size as your large triangle:

 If it is not, you need to check your seam allowance and adjust if necessary.  Now sew the large triange to the pieced triangle along the long side:

 (I didn't notice before I took this picture, but I ran out of bobbin thread before I got to the end of the seam!  Whoops!)  Press the seam toward the larger side.

 Check to make sure your square measures 4 1/2 inches.

 Trim your dog ears (those triangles hanging off the edges!)  Voila!

I hope this helps you deal with those super tiny increments of measuring!  Just remember to count 2 sixteenths for every 1/8 mark and you can do it!  Who knew that fractions could be so useful?  Boy, am I glad I got A's in math when I was in school!

Here is the finished block:

Crazy Busy!

Yes, it's been a crazy busy week for me. The quilt shop asked me to come up with a new sample for Quilt Run and I ended up with two ideas that were just begging to be made. Of course, with the original samples, there had to be patterns as well, so I had to piece, and quilt both samples as well as writing patterns this week. It was a challenge, but I rose to the occasion and now have two new patterns to show you!
The first one is CityScape. I designed this to use the fat quarter bundles we have made up for the shop that use the Bear Essentials line of fabrics. This one is in teals and blues. I love the way it came out, and my daughter would like to have one for her bedroom! The quilting is really simple on it - just straight lines - yet it really adds to the overall effect of the quilt. I have included every size from baby to king size in this pattern, so whatever size you would like to make, I've got it covered!
The second one is Daisy Garland. It uses the Simple Pleasures line from RJR fabrics by Debbie Beaves. Such pretty prints! The border is purple daisies and it is as sweet as it sounds! I loved working with these fabrics, like a shot of sunshine on a rainy day here. It features strip piecing and an easy no waste technique for the flying geese that make up the stars. It goes together pretty fast and looks great!

Another neat announcement - I have been featured on Stitched Stories. Jenn just wrote up the neatest little article, and it just made my day to see all the nice things she had to say! (Made me blush, too! What a sweet-heart!) She has a wonderful Etsy shop full of great fabrics patterns and fabrics - Little Shop of Stitches. I think this charm pack would look absolutely fabulous in my Windmills pattern - I might have to try it!
Hope your weekend was lovely - my grandsons were here and I had a wonderful time with them (and their parents, of course). I'm looking forward to a good sewing week, and hope you are, too!

Giraffes...

Elephants, and hippos, Oh My!

What a cute pattern this is, and fun to make, also. I downloaded it and made if from fabrics we have in stock at Threads That Bind (the local quilt shop I work at). I actually talked my boss into buying the border fabric because I selfishly loved it and wanted to make cute things out of it. I know, I'm bad that way! I loved making this top. The only problem I had was that it was a little tricky to enlarge the templates, but I figured it out. (Yes, I could have just gone to my copy shop and asked them to do it, but I like to do things myself, especially if it saves me enough money to buy a fat quarter or two!)

I love the Amy Butler fabric behind the giraffe - I was pleased to find the right color of green to go with the orange giraffe! And the fairy frost behind the hippo is really great as well. I like the combination of bright oranges and greens with the earthy browns and greys. Really makes a nice quilt for a special little person. I'm sending it to the shop unquilted, so I will have some time to think about how I am going to quilt this.

The pattern is by Marinda Stewart and it is called Giraffes, Elephants and Hippos - Oh My! There are many other wonderful free patterns on the Michael Miller Fabrics website also - lots of fun to check out! Lots of the fabric manufacturers have patterns now, it's a great way to see how to use many of the wonderful fabrics they are making. We really like them at the quilt shop, they make wonderful samples!

P.S. My machine is sounding much better after a good cleaning and oiling. I think I'm just a little paranoid about it!