Piecing in order
 

What is your favorite way to keep the right fabrics in the right place as you piece them?
I just about have the blocks the way I want them on the design board but I've never really been able to piece them in an efficient manner.
Thank you for your ideas.
Joan

I lay them all out on the floor. I tried the design board but I like them on the rug on my floor.

Have you seen the way that Eleanor Burns does it?? She stack them always sew them in a row. I prefer the good old take a scrap and place a number on it. I sometimes list thing as A1, A2 A3....... in a row and the next row gets B1, B2, B3. Great way to use small scraps cutting them into 1 inch squares.

I make one blck to use as a reference. Then i stack all my pieces in the block pattern and chain stitch. The reference block helps me to be sure i get everything in the right place.

i have tried to do it EB's way, but have never been able to get it right :o

Love this thread. I have made so many mistakes from the floor or design wall or table to the machine. I can't seem to get a consistent system that is mostly foolproof. That is why I am Stitchnripper.

Stitch, you're funny. I've been on the long-arm this afternoon. I'm thinking I'll have to take a lot of it out tomorrow afternoon. That's the story of my life.

Barny you are almost close enough that we could have "ripping parties"!!

I usually lay out the placement on my cutting table and stack everything. I then pin the maximum number of pieces I can and chain piece. Clip; set seams; press. Lay the block back out on my cutting table in the proper layout, stack again; pin max number of pieces again. Repeat as necessary.

I pin a block number at the top left of each block. I then sew 1 to 2 and 3 to 4 and so on... I can keep them in order odd number on the bottom , even on the top. I make my stack before going to the sewing machine. I don't take the numbers off till the whole row is done. Then I mark the row number in the top left corner.

I lay the blocks out on the floor or on the design wall if it's big enough. I print out a table that starts with 1A, 1B, 1C... 2A, 2B, 2C,... and progresses through all the numbers and letters needed for the quilt. I cut the labels out and pin them to the upper left corner of each block, so on the floor I see 1A, 1B, 1C,...across the first row, 2A, 2B, 2C,... across the second row, etc. Then I stack each row up with the A column on top and start sewing. As I add a block, I take the label off that block, but I leave it on the first block in the row. When I'm done with the rows, I have a label on the first block of each row, and it's time to start sewing the rows together. If the quilt is huge I might sew it in quarters (row by row in each quarter, then all the rows together for that quarter) but the method still works.

I use the same method as ManiacQuilter2 (A-1, A-2, A-3, B-1, B-2, etc.) except I write on 1" scraps of paper and pin to each block..

Since I tend to lay out a whole design before sewing into blocks, I have a lot of pieces to keep track of. I'd be afraid of just stacking the pieces as rows. So, I give each fabric a name and abbreviation (like NS for navy star), and record each one where it goes on a rough drawing. Then, I pick up each row in order, labeling the pile with a number on top. As I go, I name the fabrics out loud and try, anyway, to make sure the diagram is right. Sometimes the pile of pieces and the diagram don't agree, so I just skip over that part until later, so I can figure out which of the two is right. Or if either is. :) I use the drawing again as I sew, putting in arrows for the direction of the seams, etc. I would be leery of keeping a whole pile of pieces in the right order without a backup plan.

hugs,
Charlotte

Well this time, because I'm feeling lazy & there are only 42 blocks, I decided to take a photo & piece the first two blocks of each row. Then I'll press & piece the next two, & so on. There are six columns & 7 rows.

Hmm, a photo would solve the problem of having the diagram and the stack of pieces not agreeing. Thanks for the idea. I still need a diagram, taped to a cardboard, for assembling, so I can stick a pin in where I am working. But the photo might really help, too.

Hugs,
Charlotte

I do it the same way as Jo C: make one block as my trial run, then chain stitch several like pieces together to make 4-6 blocks at a time.

Someone on this board mentioned using the number and letter beads and safety pins to mark blocks and rows. If I have lots of pieces I may use a lot of ideas mentioned. I also made a flannel covered piece of foam core board to lay out my block pieces on to use next to my sewing machine like a mini design wall.

I forgot about that tip sewmom! I think I will try and get myself some of those beads. Know where to get them?

I usually use the post it's I slice through them to make four sections from one regular sized note and number and letter them for rows. They do need a small pin to hold them into place, but the color and size are great.

Same here. I always mess something up. I do it the way Jo C does.

i would stack row 1 and 2 .....sew them together then stack 3 sew it to row 2 stack and sew 4....etc leave them all chained together ....just cutting after the bottom row ...when done the blocks will all be sewn one direction ...i would lay it out and see if everything is in place then fold and sew the other direction .......kinda looks like swiss cheese but if i have something in the wrong place ....or turned wrong i just have to remove 2 sides and re sew instead of taking it out and on 4 sides and trying to get it back in that hole ...this also saves cutting all those blocks apart ...or loosing them

I bought the number and letter beads at Hobby Lobby

I cut row by row. I stitch block by block, row by row. Then I label (post-it notes with a pin) the row and hang it up (or lay it out on my "design board = our bed).

I have been webbing the blocks together. On Bonnie Hunter's Blog she has a tutorial how to do this. It's fast and almost fool proof.

In answer to the question about the beads, I believe I got mine at Michaels. I waited til I had a coupon because they were about $5.99 a bag. There are a lot of beads in the bag.

I have a TV tray I covered with batting and cotton duck. I sit it beside me at the sewing machine with each block laid out just as it should look finished. Then I can just pick up the ones I need. Now I need another one made so I can press on one side of me and pick up block pieces from the other. I am a press as you go kind of quilter.

On the design board, once I have the design laid out the way I want it. I use those round tags from the office supply store for pricing things. I chose I bright orange so I could see them. Then I number the tags and stick them on the blocks in the right order. They do not leave behind a sticky residue. But stay on fairly well. A life saver on a large throw I just did that had 16 square blocks made from Jelly rolls; sashed and set on point. No Pattern, well kind of. I bought the pattern but when I read the directions you were supposed to make the quilt as straight blocks than cut the whole quilt on the diagonal a couple of times and reconstruct it. Not my cup of tea. So I used their idea and made up my own directions.

I do it exactly like Yel does. It keeps everything where it is supposed to be, all connected. I learned it on a Craftsy class, and it really saves a lot of ripping.

So many great ideas it'll take me a while to digest all of them. Thank you
Joan

I take mine off the design wall by row. Start from the left and place it on top and then the next one goes under it and continue with the row. After the first row is sewn together I will take a small safety pin and pin it in the top left block so that will always know that is my first row. Then work on the rest of the rows one row at a time and will sew it to the bottom of my rows. Hope this makes sense.

I use cheap paper plates. I put the whole block on one, or if is like aDWR, I will lay the pieces for the arc out on one, the melons out, etc. on one. That way I can stack the paper plates up if I need to put it aside and go to something else. And it never fails, we always have to go to something till the quilt gets together.

Once I start sewing blocks together to make rows, I just use quilting pins in the upper left hand corner of the row. First row gets one, second gets two, etc. Helps me remember if the cat decides to play hide n seek on the quilt.

Check out Bonnie Hunter's web piecing. It is very easy and keeps you from getting all confused.

I pin pieces of scrap paper marked with letters and numbers on the pieces and stack them up. I chain piece, press and place the sections back in order on the cutting table. I re-label sections as necessary to keep the order. I know that it takes a bit more time to do the labels but it sure cuts down on the frog stitching (ripping). I keep a little box nearby with paper squares that I cut from random things that come out of the printer-like all of those pages that have three unnecessary lines of text printed on them. I do not save labels because it takes to long to try to organize them.

I use the pins in the upper left corner or a row method and the number of pins represents what row it is. I can chain piece up to a point. I have never been able to keep a chained piece together and sew it to another string of chained pieces. It seems like something always twists. The challenge for me is to remember which piece goes on top and what side do I sew on. I do take a picture once I have things arranged on my design board. I also take things down in order and pile them on a small board to carry over to my sewing machine. I have never been able to master the zip, zip, zip sew them together fast like I see in the tutorials but that's OK with me. I enjoy the journey as much as reaching the destination.

By the way, for those of you concerned about your weather, we have four to five feet of snow in our yard. Driving down the road if like a tunnel as the stacks on the sides of the road are six to eight foot tall. We expect another foot by tomorrow morning. And to think that March and April are our snowiest months. Love the increased opportunity to quilt.

Lay them out on a cookie sheet or large tray arranged exactly as they should be sewn. It makes it so much easier to keep them in order if you can see how the block is supposed to look when finished, and on a cookie sheet you can keep it near you so you don't have to keep jumping up and down to get the pieces. If it's too crowded on your sewing table consider using a TV tray for your cookie sheet so you can move it closer or further away as needed.

I too have to mark my pieces but the best method for me is when it's on the floor or the design wall I pick up each block and mark on the back, in the seam allowance, the row and the number of the block. For instance the fourth block in the third row would be 3-4 and if it's directional I put an arrow. Has worked for me and you don't see the writing in the seams.

I lay them out on the table then put a post-it note on it.

I label the top left block as #1 and then take a picture. I work left to right, top to bottom. Works perfectly.

I have taken a digital picture so that when I move the pieces, I know where the go in the block. You don't have to print it just keep your camera or phone by the machine.

Great idea!!