Originally Posted by pamabla
I've been working on my cathedral window by hand for years and also finished one by machine for a lady. By machine is MUCH faster, of course, but I still like the portability of handwork.
The squares are joined with a tiny whip stitch, but join them wrong sides together; this way the whipped stitches are later covered by the "window fabric". The corners are tacked to form a cross (tack stitch two opposite corners, then tack the opposite two). When you sew the curves, use a blind hem stitch (like for hand applique), going through all layers. This leaves stitches on the back of the quilt, which makes it more beautiful, I think. I have also made CW ornaments, even some in miniature, which are beautiful too. This is not a quick project, but so worth all the time.
Thank for your tip on whip stitching on the inside. I've put the first two blocks together by whipstitching on the back and I don't like it. My hand stitching skills need to be improved, but I don't want to practice on stitching that shows. I will have to practice the blind hem stitch through the layers as I was hoping to have a little something on the back of the quilt. I very much appreciate you taking the time to share this with me.