A member of the Inklingo Yahoo group asked a good question about how to sew curves by hand.



4 PIECES, 4 SEAMS

There are four identical pieces in a Yin Yang block and the seams are curvy. They are fun to piece when you know how. It’s not hard to sew a very impressive, unusual block like Yin Yang.

I lay the pieces out in order, wrong side up (above) before I start, whether I am sewing by hand or by machine.

Curves are easier with Inklingo than with any other method because there are perfect matching marks printed all along the seam to help align the pieces correctly.

There are instructions in the Inklingo Yin Yang Shape Collection on page 8 which show how I clip the curves. I make one short clip between the matches. It is better to have several short clips than it is to have fewer deep ones. This is the same whether you are hand piecing or machine piecing.

Also, whether you are sewing by hand or by machine, start at the center of the block so you stitch the tightest part of the curve first. Sew with the clips on top, so you can see the clips and the fabric can curl. 

BY HAND

I start at the crosshair with one stitch.

I only pin one match at a time. There is no need to pin the whole curve at once the way I do for machine piecing. I actually don’t use any pins—just two needles, one as a needle and the other to pin the next match. I move the “pin” along when I get to each match.

I like this method because I don’t have a whole row of pins to catch my thread and scratch my hand. This method also simplifies my sewing kit because I don’t carry pins.

Next, I go back down through the crosshair to make a backstitch and load the needle. (A hand pieced seam always begins and ends with a backstitch at the crosshair.)

I would normally load 3 to 5 stitches on a straight seam, but on a curve I only load two small ones on the tight part of the curve.

Make a backstich about every half inch or so by inserting the needle before the previous stitch.

As I go along the curve, the fabric curls down around my finger.

I don’t necessarily need to pin at every match.

Pam in Oklahoma says she uses a pressing roll to curl the pieces so the two curves match. (Thanks, Pam!)

I find this method for Yin Yang very relaxing and meditative because I have to slow down and load  fewer stitches on the needle at a time. I think that is why so many of us find Yin Yang addictive. 

Each of the four seams finishes quickly even though it seems slower compared to a straight seam. 

One more piece to add. I “circle the intersection” when I start the last seam to get a nice, tight intersection.

(BTW, Jane Austen’s Writing Table Quilts includes a DVD lesson about hand piecing, and it’s on sale for only $14.95).

TIP  Whether I am sewing by hand or by machine, I like to wear a tiny pincushion on one finger so I have a place to park the pin (needle), if I need to.

BY MACHINE – FREE PDF

I pin the whole curve before I start sewing a curve by machine (very different from hand piecing). Pin so you will see the clips as you are sewing, and let the top fabric curl up, as described in the free PDF about sewing curves under the Machine Piecing tab on the Inklingo web site. 

The PDF is four pages and includes illustrations. The examples are Alabama Beauty (a variation of Orange Peel, above) and Double Wedding Ring, but the method is the same.

Yin Yang (or Ying Yang) is an impressive block, especially because it is so difficult to sew without Inklingo’s stitching lines and matching marks printed on the fabric.

There are instructions for pressing Yin Yang in the shape collection.

You really need to try this block, don’t you think?

Don’t forget to do Tilde’s 15 Minute Challenge this weekend! If you complete the challenge and leave a comment here or on the Inklingo Sampler blog by Monday 30 May, you will be in the draw for one of two $25 Gift Certificates.

I hope this sets you up for a relaxing weekend of stitching and that you share photos of your Yin Yang blocks with the Inklingo Yahoo group too.

Enjoy the curves!

Linda & Monkey

New to Inklingo? Order and download free shapes and start sewing in the next few minutes. Quick Start (Always FREE.) There are triangles, diamonds, and squares  in the free collection—great for dozens of different blocks.

No wonder! Isn’t it a great block? And it’s easier with Inklingo than with any other method.

It was irresistible to me. The Rainbow Flower Shape Collection is ready now.

The curves are graceful and the design is unusual and impressive. You don’t have to tell anyone how easy it is with Inklingo, but we hope you will.

Rainbow Flower is an old design. It was published by Laura Wheeler in the Illinois State Register in August, 1933. It is 420-12 in Jinny Beyer’s Quilter’s Album of Patchwork Patterns.

Print, cut, and sew! Three shapes. No templates, no measuring. Cut with a rotary cutter or scissors!

It is a joy to sew the curves with the stitching lines and matching marks printed on the fabric.

I would love to make a scrappy Rainbow Flower quilt, and fussy cut at least some of the shapes. (I make a window template to see how I should position the freezer paper.)

The variations are endless, so I hope quilt designers will be inspired to create new patterns for these olde shapes.

There are worksheets in the shape collection to get you started.

In the middle of a Canadian winter, I can sew Rainbow Flowers and think about rainbows over Niagara Falls. Whether you sew by hand or by machine, I think you will love these shapes too.

Are you stronger than I am? I hope you can’t resist it either, and make an absolutely fabulous quilt with these shapes. Enjoy!

Linda & Monkey

New to Inklingo? Order and download free shapes and start sewing in the next few minutes. Quick Start  (Always FREE.) There are triangles, diamonds, and squares  in the free collection—great for dozens of different blocks.

The new Inklingo Clamshell Edges shape collection announced yesterday has inspired Cathi in Toronto! She has already started a new quilt, and she is calling it Clams on the Half Shell. You can see her first block on the QuiltObsession blog, front and back, so you can see how beautifully it presses. (Be sure to click on her photos to see a larger view.)

The shapes were requested by Inklingoists who needed the partial Clamshells to finish the edges of their quilts, but the possibilities are endless, using these simple components with half Clamshells.

Here are just a few examples of the ways you can use these building blocks.

Whirlybird

What is happening to my eyes?

Square blocks made up of 4 half Clamshells create the optical illusion.

Who said it had to be symmetrical?

Double take!

Making a point with curves!

These designs are the result of a quick stroll along the shore. There is an ocean of variations floating around in my head! How about you? 

Monkey’s Thought for the Day  With the whole Clamshells, every edge is curved. With half Clamshells, the longest edge is straight and easy by machine, but the effect is curvaceous.

Don’t forget to check out Cathi’s blog. We can hardly wait to see what you do with these shapes!

Linda & Monkey

PS  Have you used the Search feature yet? You can find anything you want in the All About Inklingo archives. That’s straight. (Clamshells are curvy.)

Some of the Clamshell Club quilters are using English Paper Piecing, some are using appliqué, but some are using Inklingo to print the shapes on fabric with an ordinary Inkjet printer. Inklingoists cut on the lines with a rotary cutter or scissors and hand piece with a running stitch, or machine piece.

Cathi posted about her progress today. She has started TWO Clamshell quilts, one in each Inklingo size.

It doesn’t sound like much, but there is a big difference between 3.0 inch Clamshells and 3.5 inch Clamshells!

Inklingo is the fastest, easiest, most precise way to prepare Clamshell shapes.

  (Click for a larger view)

Print several Clamshells at a time. . ..

  (Click for a larger view)

 . . or print one at a time, for a charm quilt.

You can even fussy cut with Inklingo.  (Previous blog entry:  Go to Search at the top of this page to gather all of the messages about “clamshell” or “fussy cut” on one page.”  Handy, eh?)

The Clamshell shape collections include tips for stitching curves by hand or by machine. Click on the page for a larger view, which you can print.

If you haven’t tried Inklingo yet, you can print your first shapes in the next few minutes with the free Inklingo Shape Collection. It includes diamonds, triangles, and squares for LeMoyne Star, flying geese, Sawtooth Squares, Hourglass Squares, etc. The Quick Start Guide is a good place to start.

MONKEY REMINDS YOU! The introductory price on the 3.5 inch Clamshells ends at midnight on July 1.  ($12 instead of $15)

We’ll be back next month with more Clamshell news. (Maybe partial Clamshell shapes and Clamshell sashing?) In the meantime, I hope you are as happy as clams at high tide!

Linda & Monkey

PS Looking for something else? Why not use the Search feature or the Index at the top of this page.

Two great books!

Thanks to Kaffe Fassett’s Museum Quilts (2005) and the wonderful new book from the V&A, two very dear Inklingo friends recently requested Clamshells. Luckily, I had done quite a bit of work on a Clamshell shape collection more than a year ago, so I was able to make it happen.

Inklingo is ideal for preparing Clamshell shapes.

No templates. No measuring.

With the cutting lines, stitching lines, crosshairs, and matching marks printed on the fabric with Inklingo, you can prepare the shapes more quickly and easily than with any other method. Not only that, but you can cut with a 28 mm rotary cutter OR with scissors, and you can hand piece OR machine piece. Read all about it on Clamshell page!

We should have been working on video scripts when we were getting this ready. There is still time to let us know if there is anything special you would like to see demonstrated, okay?

Thank you for visiting!

Linda & Monkey

• If you already have the Double Wedding Ring Shape Collection,
    you only need the Pickle Dish Add-on 
    and the free Double Wedding Ring Design Book (or the update to it).

• If you just want to make a great Pickle Dish quilt,
    you only need the Pickle Dish 12 inch Shape Collection 
    and the free Double Wedding Ring Design Book (or the update to it).

You can have it all!

Order the Double Wedding Ring Shape Collection and the Pickle Dish Add-on at the same time (one order), and Monkey will deduct another $5 manually. You will have all of the arc and center variations and a very good deal.

At any price, it is fun to print DWR and Pickle Dish shapes on fabric with Inklingo. Get ready to sew without measuring or templates.

And DWR and Pickle curves are easy to cut with a rotary cutter too.

Download the Updates

The Double Wedding Ring Shape Collection and the Double Wedding Ring Design Book have been updated with more worksheets and information about Pickle Dish. If you already have them, you can download the new versions whenever you are ready. It is the usual procedure for downloading, but there is more info in the FAQ on the main web site (under Support).

Even if you aren’t ready for anything else, we think you will want the FREE Double Wedding Ring Design Book (download, 66 pages, $20 value), or the update, if you already have it. (You can download the update without re-ordering.)

It was an amazing May day here in Burlington, with periods of rain and sun. We hope you had a perfect day for stitching and the Kentucky Derby. 

Enjoy!

Linda & Monkey