We’re happy to have the lovely Hadley here on the blog again, this time with a tutorial for this great # cushion!
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I am so pleased to be able to show you another little project courtesy of the
lovely Lisa and Justine.
I had a dream, well almost, about a 3D hashtag block, and no matter how I
thought it out, I couldn’t get needing Y seams out of my head to give it the look I
was after. So rather than giving you the low down on the cushion-making
part; you can make that by your preferred method, I am going to concentrate on
the main block.
You will need:
4 FQs, although you may need a little more for the background, if you are using a
quarter yard not meter.
1/4″ foot, and/or marking pen, Frixion or similar.
The finished block is 22″ square.
I used my Sizzix to cut my pieces, but you can rotary cut just as easily - use the
cutting guide below…
I find it easier to print out my plan and count up the pieces and mark off as I go,
that might just be me?
From the background fabric cut:
4 x 4.5″ squares
4 x 4.5″ x 2.5″ rectangles
8 x 2.5″ squares to make HSTs (or 8 die-cut HST triangles)
1 x 2.5″ square
From the main # fabric cut:
2 x 20.5″ x 4.5″ rectangles
6 x 4.5″ squares
From the top shadow fabric cut:
4 x 4.5″ x 2.5″ rectangles
2 x 6.5″ x 2.5″ rectangles
From the side shadow fabric cut:
4 x 4.5″ x 2.5″ rectangles
4 x 6.5″ x 2.5″ rectangles
NB. If using a directional fabric, take note of the rotation!
The easiest way is to lay out all your pieces, and to divide the block into rows.
I also worked from the bottom to top, mainly as the top row is the most
complicated.
Row 1 (bottom).
There are no Y seams, to break you in gently. Piece from left to right,
press all seams towards the dark side as much as you can, but don’t worry, this
isn’t rocket science!
For the HST corners, lay your background 2.5″ square on top of the rectangle,
right sides together aligning the edges. Mark and stitch across the
diagonal and trim to 1.4″ on the outside of your stitched line; take care to check
you are stitching the right diagonal.
It you want to emulate the Sizzix cut pieces, lay your ruler over the piece to be
cut, right side up is best to ensure you are going the right way; with the 1/4″ line
running along the diagonal stitch line, trim with the 1/4″ to the outside.
Row 2 & 4.
No explanation required!
Row 3 (middle).
There’s your first little Y seam in the centre…
On the wrong sides of the centre square, mark the 1/4″ point, (where the 1/4″
seams would meet) on one corner. Place right sides together, with the
first (grey) top edge. Use your 1/4″ foot, start at the marked point and
stitch to the side edge. Finger press the seam allowance away from the
centre block.
Repeat with the second piece, making sure that the first edge is tucked out of the
way.
Align the unstitched seam edges; starting from the centre point, again keeping
the centre square clear of the needle, and stitch to the edge.
Finger press, so that the centre square is opened flat on the reverse side, then
press with your iron.
For the right-hand block, repeat the Y-seam method; stitching the corner triangle
first.
Row 5 - top row!
There is nothing more complicated about this row, just make use of your 1/4″
foot and the in-front and behind needle markings and go slow!
Divide this row into 3 sections, the first, left-hand simple section then two more
thought-provoking ones!
Here are some progress snaps to show the piecing order in more detail…
To stitch the final background square, stitch from the inside corner outwards as
before, starting 1/4″ along the seam line, back stitching a little to secure, but not
going into the 1/4″allowance. To sew the final seam, flip and squeeze the
block to align the top edges and smooth flat the edges to be sewn, again making
sure not to catch any other fabric under your needle.
I hope this has helped to show how simple Y seams really can be, and reduce the
fear just a little. Of course you could always use more HSTs instead if you
want to get the overall # look without trying to be all fancy.
Thank you again Lisa and Justine for having me over to play with the pretties,
hope to see you all again soon.
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