I was in the same boat you are .. consider myself pretty accompolished ... but its really its pretty forgiving. I spent more time than I needed to lining up the fabrics... cause I was soo paranoid.
Just go for it!!!

Go for it! It isn't as hard as it seems.

Reading through the book, and then read through cutebuns class, it will make more sense :wink: and you can always come back to us with questions and we will gladly help you.

Once you get the repeats figured out and how to line then up, the rest is a piece of cake :D:D:D

:thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup: And send them to me!!

If you haven't worked a lot with bias edges before, starch your fabric really, really well. It will be stiff, but the triangle edges will be very stable :wink:

Spray it heavily and then let it hang to dry, if you press it while it is still damp, you may slightly distort the fabric and make lining up the repeats more difficult :D
Once it is dry, you can press and shouldn't have any distortion :D

Flat, flower head pins are almost a necessity, traditional pins won't work nearly as well, as you will be placing your ruler on top of the pins and the ruler will rock.

Cutting the whole length of fabric in half first, makes cutting/handling the repeats much easier too. You only have to deal with 20-22" instead of 40-44" :D:D:D

I did one and have to agree it was a little intimidating to try to get the fabric lined up. I think I spent a lot of time on that part, but finally just started cutting and it all came out fine. There is a lot of forgiveness in that busy fabric too. Jump it you will enjoy seeing the blocks come together....that was my favorite part.

I took a class on Stack and Whack and you have to do the same pinning thru layers. She suggested using a half inch to three quarter inch piece of styrofoam sheet. Worked like a charm no
slipping or sliding and just stick the pin in the same place all the way thru the layer into the styrofoam and when you are done,
use big straight pins to secure the fabric layers together as you
leave the pins in the foam until all is very secure. Sorry I am not a very good explainer. Good luck it is a lot of fun.
Karen /wichypoo

I was a bit nervous too. I'm not a good rotary cutter and stacks of fabrics always seem to shift on me. I have a bar tack option on my machine (actually, it's the sew-button-on option). I pinned the fabric as she states in the book, then put bartacks all over. This way I could remove the pins and not worry about the fabric shifting or running into pins with my cutter. Also, put a fresh blade in before you start. As another poster stated, it's pretty forgiving.

DON'T PRE-WASH! Then just follow the instructions in the book. When you have sewn together three triangles to make your half hex, line it up next to a ruler or the edge of your mat. If it is straight, no cupping. If it isn't straight, re-sew. No problem.

Don't pick a fabric where the elements are too small. A medium print with movement in the background is best. Also go for the 24" repeat. You will have more variety in your quilt.

Some recommend cutting your fabric in half, but I don't like to do that, because the designs are not the same on each side. Pick a long table or the floor. If your mat isn't long enough, just slide it up under the fabric for the second half.

Just re-read the matching and cutting instructions until you are comfortable with them, then keep the book open as you do each step.


You can always PM k3n or myself or anyone else who has done the OBW, and we will be happy to help you. You CAN do this.