Patchwork Breeze

While sewing the paper pieced blocks for Beaquilter's exchange, I discovered a way to get the seams to nest on two units making the alignment of the fabrics come out nearly perfect. 

Here is what I did: 

On the paper piecing pattern paper, I re-numbered the sections that will be joined first. By doing this, the seams on one side will be sewn going in an upward direction and the seams on the other side will be sewn in a downward direction. When I pinned the seams at each line intersection, the seams nested because they were laying in opposing directions. This made the points and lines on the block look nearly perfectly matched. 

When sewing two of these joined blocks together, I removed the paper from the stripes on one corner and pressed the two outside seams toward the center. This allowed me to match and nest those seams much easier. I was not able to press the seam of the longer strip toward the center because it created just too much bulk. 

Here is the 7th block I have finished for the block exchange:

An Internet Tip on Using the Ladder Stitch to Close Seams

While exploring some websites and blogs, I found a tutorial on Melly and Me that showed how to sew a seam closed on a stuffed animal. This could be used anywhere we have an opening from turning 2 sewn fabrics right sides out. I found the way she started the stitching with no tied knot to be very nifty. I am going to use non-tie knotting technique when sewing seams. 

Thanks for stopping and have fun sewing.