Pieced Pin Cushion
When my grandmother passed away I saw for the first time a ‘wedding ring’ quilt that she had made years earlier. Each ring held memories of years gone by from my mother and her three sisters. You see that quilt was made from old school dresses long out grown from when they were young. I revealed in watching those memories spring to life as the sisters reminised and recalled each piece of fabric with such pride and happiness. It is times like these that make me appreciate the lessons taught to me by my foremothers which instilled my love for the domestic arts.
Piecing bits of fabric together is a great way to use up those scrap fabric pieces to create something unique and wonderful for your own heirloom collection. No longer limited to quilting projects, hand piecing is an easy way to transform those scraps into larger pieces of fabric that can then be cut into any pattern piece of your choosing. Also known as patchwork most piecing is done by machine, but hand sewn projects seem to exude a heart felt feeling you just can get from machine sewn projects. Don’t ask me why it just does. My guess would be because of the time and detail it takes and that translates into a lot of love and patience. But don’t let that stop you from giving this a try. Like knitting and other needlework projects, hand piecing is portable, takes up very little space and is a relaxing way to spend your evenings.
Here: A simple tutorial on how to hand piece fabric scraps but remember, you are not limited to symmetrical pieces. Any shape and/or size can be pieced together.
Hand Piecing Basics
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When hand-piecing, it is easier to begin with templates which do not include the 1/4″ seam allowance. Place the template on the wrong side of the fabric, lining up the marked grain line with lengthwise or crosswise fabric grain. If the piece does not have to be reversed, place with labeled side up. Trace around shape; move, leaving 1/2″ between the shapes, and mark again.
When you have marked the appropriate number of pieces, cut out pieces, leaving 1/4″ beyond marked line all around each piece.
To piece, refer to assembly drawings to piece units and blocks, if provided. To join two units, place the patches with right sides together.
Stick a pin in at the beginning of the seam through both fabric patches, matching the beginning points (Figure 5);
Stick a pin in at the beginning of the seam through both fabric patches, matching the beginning points (Figure 5);
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Figure 5
Stick a pin through fabrics to match the beginning of the seam. |
for hand-piecing, the seam begins on the traced line, not at the edge of the fabric (see Figure 6).
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Figure 6
Begin hand-piecing at seam, not at the edge of the fabric. Continue stitching along seam line. |
Thread a sharp needle; knot one strand of the thread at the end. Remove the pin and insert the needle in the hole; make a short stitch and then a backstitch right over the first stitch.
Continue making short stitches with several stitches on the needle at one time. As you stitch, check the back piece often to assure accurate stitching on the seam line. Take a stitch at the end of the seam; backstitch and knot at the same time as shown in Figure 7.
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Figure 7
Make a loop in a backstitch to make a knot. |
Seams on hand-pieced fabric patches may be fingerpressed toward the darker fabric.
To sew units together, pin fabric patches together, matching seams. Sew as above except where seams meet; at these intersections, backstitch, go through seam to next piece and backstitch again to secure seam joint.
Not all pieced blocks can be stitched with straight seams or in rows. Some patterns require set-in pieces. To begin a set-in seam on a star pattern, pin one side of the square to the proper side of the star point with right sides together, matching corners. Start stitching at the seam line on the outside point; stitch on the marked seam line to the end of the seam line at the center referring to Figure 8.
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Figure 8
To set a square into a diamond point, match seams and stitch from outside edge to center. |
Bring around the adjacent side and pin to the next star point, matching seams. Continue the stitching line from the adjacent seam through corners and to the outside edge of the square as shown in Figure 9.
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Figure 9
Continue stitching the adjacent side of the square to the next diamond shape in one seam from center to outside as shown. |
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