Surfacing sewalong week 2
The top row
Over the next couple of weeks, we’ll be sewing the top row of our Surfacing quilts – sections 1, 2 and 3.
If you’re making the queen-size quilt, section 1 is easy-peasy – just a single piece of fabric. When we get to section 2 however, we’ll all be sewing curves.
Piecing curves
If you’ve been following in the Instagram channel or Facebook group this week, you’ll have seen my reminder to check out the additional PDF included with your pattern. It covers sewing with Jenny’s templates, with a linked video where Jenny demonstrates how to use them. There’s nothing like learning straight from the creator of the tool!
With that sorted, I’m going to share with you how I join the curves together, and to other pieces, for (near) perfect seam matching.
Matching seams
Let’s start by sewing a curve block (aka drunkard’s path) to a square. Always sew with the curve piece on top so you can see the seam line you need to sew through. Sometimes it will be at the beginning of the seam and other times at the end.
When sewing over the curve seam at the end of a line of stitching, the curve has a tendency to bunch up under the needle. I raise my presser foot and hold the seam flat with a pin, before resuming sewing.
Remember that your needle should hit the pieced seam not at the fabric edge, but 1/4” in. See image at right below.
When sewing pieces together, always backstitch at the beginning and end. There’s nothing worse than blocks coming apart as you’re trying to sew sections together. It isn’t necessary when creating the curves initially as those will be trimmed off anyway.
At left: sew with the drunkard’s path on top.
At right: A quarter inch in from the fabric edge is where you should sew through the seam on your way down the edge of the block.
Now is the more difficult step… sewing one curve to another and matching seams.
Once I have the pieces right sides together, I fold the top one back a quarter of an inch to check that the seams match at that point (below left). Next, I pin in on either side of the seam. Apparently fork pins are the way to go for this now, but I’m still using normal pins (below right).
Next, I use a hump jumper to sew just three stitches over the seam (below left). Transitioning from two layers of fabric to four can cause the presser foot to drag, which can pull the seam out of alignment. The hump jumper helps prevent this.
After that, I check the seam to see if it matches well enough (below right). If it does, I sew the full length of the seam from beginning to end.
This might seem like overkill – and I’ll admit I don’t always do the three stitches – but I find it actually saves time by preventing mismatched seams. Since this pattern relies on well-matched seams to be effective, it’s worth the extra step.
Coming up…
Those sewing the queen size won’t be able to join sections as yet, so we’ll leave discussing that until next time. For now your task is just to complete sections 1 to 3.
Have a question?
If you have any questions about curves don’t hesitate to reach out. You can leave a comment below, send me an email, or get in touch on social media. I’m here to help!
Share your progress
I’d love to see how you’re going with your fabric cutting. Share your progress on social media using #SurfacingSewalong or #SurfacingSlowalong.
If you’re yet to join us, you can start your Surfacing quilt at any time – the posts will always be here for reference, so grab the pattern and get started.
