Joan in AK

I am making a heart block for a wall hanging. I cut 10 1" strips and sew those into a strip set, then subcut into blocks the depth of the set. I sewed my strips in sets of two, then sewed those together. I pressed carefully, I thought, so as not to distort, but the set came out so wavy that I couldn't cut my smaller blocks. I know that one thing to do is to change direction when sewing strips, which I thought I did. These strips are skinny though. Maybe I don't iron so well ! Any tips for getting it straight.

Dawn Hendrix

STARCH.. probably before you ever made the 1st cut would have been best that way the fibers are sort of locked in place.. this is the only thing I can think of.

BellaBoo

Pressing the seams open when sewing small strips works for me. I was told at a class it was impossible to not have some curve in a strip set. Pressing the seams open, starching before sewing, reverse directions when sewing and using a larger stitch length will minimize the curve.

Joan in AK

Thanks for the tips. I don't usually starch, but maybe I need to start!

Pam in WV

Hi Joan. I'm not sure how long your 1" strips are, but if they are not too long, try to avoid cutting on the bias. I have found that my strips do a lot of waving at me if I cut them on the bias. Good luck. Pam

Joan in AK

Hi Pam,
My strips were cut from a fat quarter in the usual way. I really think I need to use starch. It seems a number of people here on the board use it.

Ginaky

When you sew the strips together, start from opposite ends--that helps eliminate a lot of the waviness. It's especially helpful if you are sewing strips together for Bargello.

beachlady

I have just recently started using spray sizing and it really does help keep the fabric straight.