Originally Posted by leggz48
I'm working on a new pattern I purchased last weekend. It consists of three 1 1/2 " strips sewn together and then cut on a 45 degree angle to make eight 3 1/2" long strips....ultimately making a star. It isn't difficult, but time-consuming. I finished out 3 full blocks today and each one is bulky in the center....almost bowing out in the center. The background fabric is cut on a diagonal, but I've been careful to NOT tug on it. What am I doing wrong????
If you haven't cut all of your fabric, I would recommend heavily starching the fabric before cutting the strips. The way I do this is to mix a 1:1 solution of Sta-Flo liquid laundry starch and water, "paint" the solution on the yardage with a large wall painting brush until the fabric is saturated, toss in the dryer, then iron with steam. It comes out with about the stiffness of cardboard. This will help prevent your bias edges from stretching.
It sounds as if the "poof" you are getting in the middle of your stars may be caused by stretched fabric. In this case, spraying with spray starch and pressing up and down with an iron may help shrink the stretched areas back into position.
Also, when sewing stars, are you aware of "fanning" the center seams? This helps reduce bulk at the very center. I think the Eleanor Burns website has some diagrams that show how to do this; there must be other tutorials online too. It's a simple technique, but it helps a lot with the center bulk in stars.