This is for Melissa, too many pics to put it in your thread..

I made this block using the pattern from quilterscache.com and I will share some things I learned using this particular pattern and the changes or options you have in completing the block to your satisfaction.

This block should make a 12.5 inch unfinished block.

First of all, in looking at the pattern, there are lines drawn on the pieces indicating the direction of the straight of grain. The quarter circle is fine, having the grain lines on both sides of the 90 degree angle.

It is the other piece that has the issues, in my opinion. The first picture shows pins in the location of the grain lines printed on the pattern.. and where I believe you should place the grain lines when cutting your pieces.

My logic here is that if you cut with the grain line going down the center of the piece, you will have all bias edges when you sew, and, no matter how experienced you are, you will have trouble with these pieces stretching out of shape.

My advice is to place one side (the same side on all of the pieces) of the piece on the straght of grain...if you do this, you will always be sewing a bias edge piece to a straight of grain piece, giving you more control and less stretching of the pieces as you sew.

Next step is to flip one piece over the other piece, right sides together and pin in place. You only need two pins, one at the top and one at the bottom.. more pins will distort the seam line.

The directions say to sew with a scant 1/4 seam allowance. So, here are pictures of my sewing macine and how I usually do this.. Do you see the 1/4 inch mark on my machine? I align the edge of my piece with that mark.

Now, when sewing this seam, do not pull on the patches or try to manipulate them through the machine,,, just gently guide it without pressure.. Let the machine do the work, it will not stretch your seam....

sewing the seam

That makes perfectly good sense to me. I am planning to make a fan quilt one of these days and am collecting fabrics for that project.

I have looked at this design in several places but never gave much thought to the fact that one edge on the straight of the fabric would help stabilize the other edge which is more bias than straight. Good thinking!!!

That is the best tip I have gotten and I will remember it when I get to that project. I am making scrap quilts from bags and bags of other people's scrap bins. I love making something out of the things no one else wants.

I will be watching for the other phases of this project. Pleas share more.

June

Now its time to PRESS that seam.. so here is my advice..

You are pressing, not ironing.. keeping that in mind, here are the steps..
In the following pics, I want to press towards the green or darker piece,

I lay the piece on my ironing board with the green piece on top

First put your iron straight down on the seam line and press it.
Then, using your iron slightly above the fabric, open the seam, pushing the top piece away from you. As the pieces open up, lightly lay the iron on it and press it open..

Do not lay your iron on the first piece and push against the seam to press it open, this will distort the seam line.

Now you have four sets of two,,, flip one on top of the other one, right sides together and sew, repeat pressing step

Now, you have two pieces, made up of four patches each.. follow the same process, and sew them together and press..

Now, you need to check your fan for accuracy.. Lay the piece on your mat, lining up one edge with a line on your mat, then see where the other side ends up..dont stretch it now, just let it lay there...

Using a scant 1/4 inch seam on this particular pattern, mine ended up 1/2 inch too big... do you see it?

OK, something that you cant see in the picture, is that when you lay one edge on the line, the other side wont line up on a line.. the important thing is that it lines up with a perpendicular line,, it will be 1/4 or 1/2 inch past a line, but it should be even with a line.. does that make sense?

Thats a great tutorial, makes a lot of sense...thanks

So, what to do.. You have a couple of options..

You could trim it to fit.. but that is not the best solution, in my opinion..

Here is what I did.. I went back to my machine and resewed the seams with a fill quarter inch..you dont need to rip, as you are increasing the size of the seam...

I did one seam at a time, switching sides so that everything stays semetrical..when I got it the right size, I was done..

I had to do four seams to get it the right size..

You can use your pattern for the quarter circle to test it for size

OK, now everything lines up.. so its time to put that quarter circle on..dont be afraid now, this is not hard...

First, you need to sew a stablizing stay stitch along the inside curve of the fan, a scant 1/4 inch from the edge...

I tried to sew this curve seam without clipping and it was too tight, so, clip.
Only clip to within a few threads of the stay stitching.. dont clip through it..
And I only clipped once on each fan piece.. in the middle, so, eight clips...

Now, pin them together.. you only need five pins..

First, fold the quarter circle in half and mark the center by finger pressing a fold.. line up the fold with the center seam on the fan and put in a pin.

Then line up each edge and put a pin in each one..

Now, ease between the center pin and one side and place one pin in the middle of this section.. do the same with the other edge..and you are ready to sew.