Anybody have tips for sewing itty bitty squares together
#2
Power Poster
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Northern Michigan
Posts: 12,859

A new sharp needle, shorter than normal stitch length and using ( leaders & enders) will help your success. And starting out slowly. I would also place a pin at the end of 2 squares together to keep them from separating, becoming skewed on one end
#3
Junior Member
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: Guam
Posts: 160

Fusible grid works great and is available in various sizes, down to 1" squares which make a 1/4 inch finished square. Pieces are fused to the the single sided fabric and then folded and sewed in vertical rows. Then horizontal folds are
made for the stitching in the other direction.
made for the stitching in the other direction.
#5

Fusible grid works great and is available in various sizes, down to 1" squares which make a 1/4 inch finished square. Pieces are fused to the the single sided fabric and then folded and sewed in vertical rows. Then horizontal folds are
made for the stitching in the other direction.
made for the stitching in the other direction.
#6
Power Poster
Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: Ontario, Canada
Posts: 17,468

What size itty-bitty to you?
When you have not shared any info as to what sort of a pattern you are doing, it's hard to know what tips might help.
No matter what you are doing, IMHO making sure that the single hole plate is in your machine can make a big difference to end quality.
Some use tweezers when doing small work.
Sometimes it helps to oversize and trim down to keep all square ... again, without knowing what you are doing, unknown whether this is even a possibility.
When you have not shared any info as to what sort of a pattern you are doing, it's hard to know what tips might help.
No matter what you are doing, IMHO making sure that the single hole plate is in your machine can make a big difference to end quality.
Some use tweezers when doing small work.
Sometimes it helps to oversize and trim down to keep all square ... again, without knowing what you are doing, unknown whether this is even a possibility.
#8
Power Poster
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: Michigan
Posts: 11,276

I use a tear away embroidery stabilizer. Although they do tear away all around your embroidery, they have a grain and will tear much easier in one direction. I cut about an 18" piece (width doesn't matter, but I usually work with 4 to 12 inches) and make sure there's a good straight edge going in the direction of the grain. Lay your pieces so the raw edges match the edge of the stabilizer all along the length. Sew your 1/4" seam, like you are chain piecing down the entire length of the stabilizer, then carefully tear away. Because you sewed down the entire length, you can usually tear the 1/4" piece off. Lay the next group of pieces on the remaining large piece and repeat. I often do this if I have a bunch of small HST, as this prevents the leading edge from being pushed into the needle plate.
#9
Power Poster
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: Southern California
Posts: 19,131

I watched a F&P episode where someone was demo small blocks like Dear Jane. One of her suggestion is to oversize the individual pieces, press and then trim down to the correct size. It was an older episode with Liz Porter. It works for me.
#10

There's a wash-away grid that you can use or you can draw your own grid on a wash-away foundation/stabilizer and use it like the gridded ones. Because they wash away, no bulk is added to the finished product...important with "itty bitty" squares of any size.
Are you making a pixelated quilt?
Are you making a pixelated quilt?
Last edited by ghostrider; 04-08-2015 at 05:49 AM.
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