Hello! As promised here are our handy tips for blocks 9-11 for those of you participating in our Moda Building Blocks BOM.
Firstly, as always, once I have cut the required fabrics as per each block pattern I lay out the block.
Block 9 layout
For some bizarre reason I really struggled with how I was going to sew the corners on this block! In my mind and please don’t ask me why, I only had one white triangle per corner not two, it wasn’t until I laid the block out and saw that there were two white triangles per corner did the penny drop!
Once you have sewn each of the four corners it is time to sew your rows together. As you would with any quilt block piece left to right making sure all your seams and points match up where necessary.
Once all three rows in the block are pieced and pressed well you can go ahead and sew the rows together to complete your block!
Once I had gotten over the ridiculous non-existent hurdle with the corners of this block I found it came together easily!
Now we’ll look at Block 10 which I’ve got to admit is my favourite of this months blocks! Again once all the required pieces have been cut, and please don’t forget to use a spray starch like Best Press or Flatter to help your fabrics maintain their shape and be crease free, layout the block.
Even though the layout here is not neat I can still see all the different elements that make up the block which in turn makes it easier to sew in a practical order.
The top row is made up of three elements that were simple enough to sew, the corners are very similar to block 9. The flying geese section in the middle is easy but I do have a couple of tips to help you on your way!
Instead of pinning all the bias cut triangles in these blocks I’ve been using a dab of my Sewline Glue Pen to secure them together. I worry that the use of pins will distort and stretch the fabric (because they are cut on the bias) and this will throw the block size out.
Here you can see how I have lined the triangles up to sew them. The overlap of fabric between the two triangles needs to be at the centre point of the peach fabric, this ensures that when you have sewn the other triangle on at the opposite side the point is sharp in the middle. I used a dab of glue to hold the triangles in place along the edge I would be sewing.
Once I had pieced the top and bottom rows which are the same, I tackled the centre section of the block.
In order to line the triangles up correctly on each side of the square I found the centre point of the side of the square and of the triangle and made a crease on each which I then lined up. Again I secured the two pieces with a dab of glue from my Sewline pen.
I repeated this process until all four white triangles had been attached to the four sides of the square. I used the same method of finding and aligning the centres when I sewed on the outer triangles too.
I love the colours in this block, they really pop!
Next up is Block 11 which is easily pieced compared to blocks 9 and 10! You’re simply sewing the strips of fabric together as the pattern indicates. Sew the 3 longer strips together of the centre section first and then sew the shorter strips into pairs, making sure the two shades of yellow are in the correct order as per the pattern!
The only tip I have for this part is to save you some maths!! The shorter strips need to be sewn 4″ in from the edge at the top and bottom to give the block as above. This is now ready for you to cut.
**** final part of instructions will be added as soon as I have got the photos edited!***