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Need helpful hints for a Winding Ways block

Need helpful hints for a Winding Ways block

Old 03-22-2016, 02:24 AM
  #1  
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Default Need helpful hints for a Winding Ways block

I have always wanted to make a Winding Ways quilt. The accu go die seemed to be the best way for me to cut it out. I sprayed a layer cake with plenty of Mary Ellens best press. I even watched Ebony Love's video on sewing it together. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WXdnEJXFh_c I had heard that it was easier than some other curved quilts to piece so I was feeling pretty confident when I sat down yesterday to put a block together. Boy, was that short lived!
Ebony Loves order for putting it together was very helpful and the pieces are cut out so perfectly. I did find it very difficult to get the pieces to stay matched perfectly as I slid them under my presser foot. Do you start these with a pin at the beginning?
My block is not very flat and my edges are not perfectly straight. The mostly likely culprits I think are the skinny little centre pieces. They are a sharper curve than the other pieces.
Can anyone offer any more tips for this block? It will be stuffing my dogs bed if my blocks all look this wonky.
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Old 03-22-2016, 04:13 AM
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I am very old school when it comes to quilting and sewing which probably stems from learning to sew garments long before I ever attempted my first quilt. I would not attempt ANY curved seams without pins and lots of them. Winding ways is on my bucket list. At a minimum I would use 3 pins for every seam, probably more. The first pin to match the center point of the curve on each piece and one for each end. More than likely I would insert two more pins at the half way point between center and edge.

Some people have the curve master foot for their machine and I have seen it demo'ed at many shows and they don't use any pins. In order to use this foot on my Bernina I would have to buy a special adapter to fit my shank which drove the price of the product up quite a lot and quite honestly I don't mind pinning and I get good results with pinning.

If I were you, I would try a few units with pins and see if your results aren't more to your satisfaction.
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Old 03-22-2016, 04:23 AM
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I have not yet started my NY Beauty but I would have made some test blocks to get the technique down. I am also old fashion and use pins.
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Old 03-22-2016, 05:11 AM
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I was mesmerized by this quilt and purchased the studio die as soon as it came out. I have made several quilts, and actually have one in progress right now. It's almost my go-to quilt.
http://www.quiltingboard.com/picture...s-t273566.html
http://www.quiltingboard.com/picture...s-t261037.html
http://www.quiltingboard.com/picture...s-t198142.html
I have the book "winding ways: a practically pinless approach" by Nancy MacDonald, which I actually purchased before I got the die:
http://www.amazon.com/Winding-Ways-Q...s=winding+ways
I also did a lot of garment construction, but was a bit intimidated with curved piecing. I did some online research but found the instructions in the book to be the best technique. She has sewing and pressing instructions that will make the block lay totally flat. Also lots of ideas on setting the blocks in patterns I would not have thought of. I would highly recommend purchasing it or tracking a copy down at your library or quilting guild.
Two tips I can give you are: make sure that you know exactly where your 1/4" seam is. Verify it with the thread and fabric you are using for this project in case you have to make a slight adjustment. Here's a good way to check:
http://www.quiltingboard.com/tutoria...ce-t89997.html

Also, make sure that you don't sew the petals to each other when you join them to the long skinny piece. There should be a thread of the long skinny piece between them. You may not be able to see it from the right side, unless you gently stretch the block, but it should be there. Hope this makes sense!
Let me know if you have more questions.

Last edited by PaperPrincess; 03-22-2016 at 05:14 AM.
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Old 03-22-2016, 08:03 AM
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Have you tried fabric glue on the corners and dead center of the curve?
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Old 03-22-2016, 08:11 AM
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My Winding Ways quilt is all cut out and up on my design wall. I have to take the plunge soon for sewing it together. Eagerly reading suggestions here, and I'll post anything I learn once I start.
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Old 03-22-2016, 08:41 AM
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Don't know this particular block but when doing drunkards path blocks I found that when pinning the sides/ends I get better results if I pin along the side, a bit down from the seam, either instead of along the seam or in addition to along the seam depending on the size of the piece. My ends match up better that way. If I just pin along the seam the pieces can twist at the end and then not match up.
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Old 03-22-2016, 11:46 AM
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I only pinned at the centers of the curves. I used those long angle pointed tweezer like things to hold the beginning and ends. Like this one from connecting threads:
http://www.connectingthreads.com/tools/Sewing_Machine_Tweezer__D82294.html
I have made several curved quilts without all that pinning and had no problems. I put a finger between the top and bottom curve so I can meet the edges appropriately. You an pin the beginning and end if you want, but I found the tweezers worked better for me.
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Old 03-22-2016, 12:24 PM
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Its a very precise block, but with the dies it has made it so much smoother. Remember, it's curves and you have to go slow and steady and I agree with all paper princess has stated in her post......the first few are the toughest, then suddenly it will be ok.......
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Old 03-22-2016, 04:34 PM
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Finished my first block, and I'm pretty happy with it! I have the Marti Michelle templates, but rather than marking the center point on each piece through the template, I'm just making a crease to mark center before I sew them. 3 pins (center and one at each end), plus liberal use of my awl to keep things lined up and feeding evenly seems to be working. I need to make my seams a tad more scant - I'm about 1/8" shy on my block size with this one.
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