Piecing with 1 1/2" squares
 

Lori Holt uses a lot of 1 1/2" squares for the 6" blocks in her tutorials. I really love to watch her and have tried a few blocks just for fun. However I find it difficult to work with 1 1/2" squares. I cannot get them accurate. I starch my fabric before cutting. The smallest size pieces I am comfortable working with and get the most accurate results with are 2 1/2" Are there any quilters out there with the same problem ? If you do use 1 1/2" pieces how do you get accurate results. Thank you for any comments.

Sorry my patient level does not allow me to do anything that small.

I’ve made a couple of doll quilts for my friend’s daughter’s American doll’s bed. They were fun, but also tedious. One was an around the world layout with 2.5 squares. The other was a zig zag with 1.5 x 1.5 or 2.5 or 3.5 strips. She loved them, so well worth the effort! I plan to make a couple more.

I have done it for a couple quilts. I suffer from lack of “precision “ regardless of how much I try so I usually make things a little bigger and trim them down hoping to be as accurate as possible.

Me, too. I have done 2.5 which was OK, but that's as small as I go.

I found that using wash away fusible featherweight grid to sew the small squares together is excellent to get perfect results. I can't find it anywhere now though. I took a class years ago and we made 1" square nine patches. We used the fusible and I bought it at the shop that had the class. The shop is long gone. It's the same method of making the Mondo Bags but the fusible washed away and was gridded for small 1 1/2" squares. I have contacted the ones I remember that took the class but they have no idea and most said they forgot all about it. Ugh. I guess drawing a grid on wash away fusible will be the way to go.

Six inch blocks can be tricky. Make sure you use very fine thread.

Such an interesting thread. I have never tried 1 inch squares and probably never will. Two inch is my limit. The fusible grid is still available. https://www.amazon.com/Pellon-Quilte.../dp/B00ILYSO82

It's not water soluble .

2 1/2" is the best I can do, anything smaller, don't even want to try.

I have been and likely will be a 2.5 gal, but in the past months while working on the Harriet's Journey sampler, I have done some work with 1.5 and actually enjoy the challenge. I am not an accurate piece maker but on the other hand 1.5 makes seam ripping petty easy.https://cdn.quiltingboard.com/images/smilies/smile.png They don't scare me like they used to.But, not ready for one of those OMG quilts that are all wee bitty pieces. https://cdn.quiltingboard.com/images/smilies/eek.png

Just finished making a postage stamp block with 1/2" squares. It was fun but crazy. Stuck it up on my design wall and walked away. It's like going down a rabbit hole when you work that small. I think nesting the seams is important as well as an accurate scant 1/4" seam. The reason for the scant 1/4" is for the turn of the cloth; the few threads that are taken up when opening the seam once it's sewn. Working with small pieces can be done but it takes time and patience. Or, if you're like me, some mean bull dog determination.

omg! I spent last evening designing a pixel art quilt for 1 inch squares! I finished my practice top of a simple seahorse. I used an old counted cross stitch pattern that I dusted off! I used 1.5 inch squares, but they make it seem too juvenile/minecraft-y. so, the next one will be 1 inch squares.

I often make 4" finished blocks using 1.5" squares and rectangles. I don't seem to have an issue keeping these aligned and true. I make sure my seam is an accurate 1/4" and use a sewing ledge. I just finished a Leader Ender project that used 1.5" squares and rectangles and made 300 finspished blocks during 2020. The Leader Enders were completed while making the School Girl Sampler which also fins in at 4". Blocks larger than 6" seem HUGE to me:-)

I try to tell myself that a 1/4" seam is a 1/4" seam no matter how much or how little fabric there is on the other side. But I start feeling pretty clumsy after about a 2" cut. One of my issues with the Bonnie Hunter Mysteries (other than why so many triangles!) is I just don't think a 1" finished square is really appropriate for the size of a queen+ sized quilt.

My solution to accuracy is cutting large and trimming down anyway. I wouldn't be doing this sort of thing on $12 a yard fabric, but from my stash and if I'm working on scraps, if it makes me feel less clumsy and is quicker/easier, and I'm not going to be able to use my trimmings anyway, yeah -- why not take two 2.5" jelly roll strips, sew them down the middle and then trim them to the correct width. even if you are trimming off an inch or 3/4". Always remember your seam allowance!

I've only done one quilt with very small pieces (an Elizabeth Hartmann). It was very difficult. I used a seam guide and got thru it, but tiny pieces are not my favorite. I'm good with 2 1/2 inch squares but 1 1/2 are awfully small. Depending on what pattern you are doing, it could be possible to use 2 1/2" squares and just have a larger quilt.

Anyone remember the Keepsake Quilts sample boxes? You could get a 1" square of every new fabric line in the store for that year. It came in a little square green box. I nine of these boxes I bought a an estate sale. Hundreds of tiny squares. Each one different. I may start a miniature postage stamp quilt.

I always use a fairly small stitch (1.8) when doing small squares and pressing and nesting the seams is really important. I have learned about making small squares from doing the Bonnie Hunter mysteries and look at them as an opportunity to improve my piecing, pressing, and general quilting. The hint she provides during the mystery's are very helpful on everything from cutting out the fabric, to pressing, to nesting the seams, and keeping everything organized. Yeppers, Bonnie's mysteries end up being a bit on the heavy side because of all the seams. Early on, I decided not every point would be perfect nor every seam perfectly lined up and that I would focus on doing my best and the most amazing thing has happened. Now most of my points are decent and most of my seams actually meet and the finished quilt is pretty close to the size it is supposed to be. I do sometimes quilt the bonnie quilts denser because I want to make sure all the seams are nailed down....I usually just follow her color scheme so I can concentrate on the piecing skills. Oh, and some of my machines are really better at piecing small pieces then others. I use a straight stitch plate always when piecing and I will switch to my walking foot for attaching long rows, borders, binding as that helps feed the fabric more smoothly on top and bottom.

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Somewhere I have a 15x15 square my grandmother started as a postage stamp quilt. She was an avid quilter but that's as far as she got. It became a doll quilt for me. Pieces were about 1 inch x 3/4 maybe?

A finer thread is needed for those tiny pieces. There is not much room for error. Especially in 6 1/2 inch blocks.

I recently made a sampler quilt for my daughter made of 4-1/2 inch finished blocks, so accuracy was a necessity! I found that my accuracy went way up when I used tiny drops of glue (plain old washable glue in a bottle with a tip that put out very tiny drops; I found a set of three on Amazon). I placed tiny dots of glue at the edges inside the seam allowance, put the two pieces together, pressed with a hot iron to dry quickly, and then allowed to cool before actually sewing them together. I used 50 weight thread in the top and 60 weight thread in the bobbin. I used a scant 1/4-inch or 1-/4 inch seam allowance - whatever got me the finished block size called for.
I wish you well with you sewing!

I usually cut a bit big and then trim. right now I'm making "nearly insane" but swapping or changing a few blocks so that I don't have less than 25 pieces per 6" block.

As usual, I found it by googling for it. Several sources came up! Hope it works for you!

I'm working on a quilt right now that has some 1 1/4 inch squares- pretty small!
I used a finer thread and sew just a tad inside the line. So far so good.

I have been making 4 1/2” Easy Breezy blocks, I use a 60wt thread on top and in my bobbin and I try to make a scant 1/4” seam.

I use a lot of 1.5" squares in sashing to make 4-patches at the join and I make sure they are starched board stiff so they don't distort and I also use a 60 weight thread and a smaller stitch. I also try to do as much strip piecing as I can so I don't have to handle the small blocks individually.

I use my Accuquilt system that lets me make the perfect 11/2" square.

That's actually a wonderful idea! I have tried tiny squares only for things like mug rugs, and I don't enjoy it. Right now it would be a tangent away from UFO's, so I'd better just bookmark this thread and save it for someday.

Okay so I am the odd one here. I love tiny pieces. Currently working pn Sue Garmen Oh My Gosh quilt using 1" strips for the 4p and 9p needed in the blocks.Need 440 4p and 550 9p. Have about 150 4p and 200 9p to make yet. Using all from scraps but using strip piecing techniques. This one uses 3/4 " pieces

Oops. No picture.

I usually sew small strips together in the fabric needed for squares, then cut them the other direction in the size I need.
Accuracy is necessary, but easier to handle.

I use 1 1/2" squares fairly frequently, as sewingpup mentioned, using a smaller stitch length is helpful. Sometimes I'll also cut the fabric an 1/8" wider and use a full 1/4" seam (instead of trying for the narrower scant 1/4") and then trim down if needed.

Love little blocks with tiny pieces! I'm currently working on Summer Samper Spree, a sew along with Moda. It's part of their Blockheads group, but unlike Blockheads, no free pattern. It uses Susan Ache's book, "Sampler Spree". Six inch blocks, I think the most pieces in one was 54.

Some of my fabrics were starched, but not many. It's really a matter of slowing down, both in cutting and sewing. Pressing is important, and I will press and trim more than once as I'm putting the blocks together. Everything really has to be accurate, with such small sizes, it shows up real quick if it isn't. I reduce stitch size by a couple of clicks; with such small pieces, it only takes a couple of stitches popping apart to have a seam fail.

Here are a few of the blocks done so far. There are 106 blocks in the book and I am adding another 14 so make another row. Just finding 6" blocks I like, either free ones on the internet or from Lori Holt's books. We are 8 weeks in, with 2 more to go. The Goblet block, the dark blue and white one, has 1" stitch and flip corners, so only a tiny little bit shows when sewn in.

These patterns are nice, as they are easier, I think, than some of the ones in Lori's books. The problem is that there are cutting directions for the blocks, but no assembly or pressing instructions. You kind of figure that out from the sketch of the blocks. Still, doable if you take your time.

I think you can get that fusible grid paper that small from TenSisters. She has many sizes and great patterns / videos. I took a class from Carmen at a quilt show a while back and it was fun and easy. Check it out here: TenSisters.com

Peace and joy -
Those are super cute!

When having problems lining up 1 1/2" squares, try using 1 1/2" strips instead. You have a little more control sewing strips together, and then can cross cut them into 1 1/2" units. Your seam allowance is critical. I use a magnetic seam gauge to line my fabric up against, like this one:

https://www.sewingpartsonline.com/ma...ide-gauge.aspx

Peace and joy: your blocks looks wonderful. Can’t wait to see the full quilt.

If you can move your needle over 1 spot from the seam line, (to the inside) sometimes that helps.

I'm there with you, OK!! I love working with small pieces. I also have an OMG in progress. Such fun! Using a smaller stitch and sewing a bit slower does help. :)