Please don't tell me pin wheels are easy.....
07-31-2013, 11:19 AM
#42
Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: Roseburg, OR
Posts: 556
Your quilt will look great on your porch swing. Pinwheels can be a bit of a challenge to get the points to match up. The more of them you do the easier it will get. It really helps if the are pressed well & squared as each set of HST (Half square triangle) are joined. You did a great job !
07-31-2013, 05:24 PM
#45
Super Member
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: Dallas area, Texas, USA
Posts: 3,042
Your DH is helpful in exactly the same way as mine is. I have learned not to ask for his honest opinion when what I really need is a compliment. I love your pinwheels - very cheerful. I think it may need a border to tie it all together, so maybe ask him what color border would be best. If he's like mine, he will usually have a helpful answer to a question like that. And then I might or might not like his answer and will go off and do my own thing. 
08-01-2013, 04:29 AM
#49
Super Member
Join Date: May 2012
Location: Central Wisconsin
Posts: 4,391
I love making pinwheels! I learned how to do them at 4-H quilt camp with my granddaughter about 10 years ago.
The most important step is to square up the HST's. It's better to make them just a little bigger so they can be trimmed perfectly. Be sure to get the 45 degree line of the ruler on the diagonal line of the HST. When these are the correct size, lay the pinwheel out so all the diagonal lines are going the correct direction, and the colors are as you want them.
Sew two together, and then the next two. Press. When you sew the two halves together, line up the center seam with the seams nicely nesting. Pin here, maybe twice, one on each side of the seam.
Start sewing at one end of the seam. When get close to the middle, stop and take out the pins. Lift up the top piece and make sure the diagonal seams are nesting correctly. This is where you can move them a smidgeon to the left or right so that they are spot on.
Hold this point down and sew so that the needle goes in exactly where the other seams cross each other. Sometimes I sew one stitch at a time here to get this right. If the seam is covering the spot where the seams cross, poke a pin through that spot and mark it so that you can see it to sew through it. Then finish the seam. This last seam should be pressed open as there are a lot of seams hee.
When you can make pinwheels easily, and get them right, you will enjoy making them too. They are so pretty!
Have fun, and happy quilting.
The most important step is to square up the HST's. It's better to make them just a little bigger so they can be trimmed perfectly. Be sure to get the 45 degree line of the ruler on the diagonal line of the HST. When these are the correct size, lay the pinwheel out so all the diagonal lines are going the correct direction, and the colors are as you want them.
Sew two together, and then the next two. Press. When you sew the two halves together, line up the center seam with the seams nicely nesting. Pin here, maybe twice, one on each side of the seam.
Start sewing at one end of the seam. When get close to the middle, stop and take out the pins. Lift up the top piece and make sure the diagonal seams are nesting correctly. This is where you can move them a smidgeon to the left or right so that they are spot on.
Hold this point down and sew so that the needle goes in exactly where the other seams cross each other. Sometimes I sew one stitch at a time here to get this right. If the seam is covering the spot where the seams cross, poke a pin through that spot and mark it so that you can see it to sew through it. Then finish the seam. This last seam should be pressed open as there are a lot of seams hee.
When you can make pinwheels easily, and get them right, you will enjoy making them too. They are so pretty!
Have fun, and happy quilting.
Last edited by maviskw; 08-01-2013 at 04:31 AM.
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