Quilting Class Take 1

To further my understanding of all things sewing I've signed up for a quilting class at Sew Unique in Raleigh, NC.  Its a 3 week class, 2 hours a week.  The first week we focused on cutting strips of fabric and sewing them into blocks.  I've been sewing for awhile now so this came pretty easy but the tips our instructor provides are worth the class tuition in itself!

Tip #1 - When prewashing fabric cut the corners of the selvage off in a triangle.  This prevents the fabric from raveling.  Not sure why it works but it does!

Tip #2 - Glue small pieces of sandpaper to the back of your clear ruler prior to rotary cutting.  This will help hold the ruler in place on your fabric allowing a cleaner, straighter cut.

Tip #3 - Only backstitch when you absolutely have to.  Backstitching can cause unnecessary bulk in your project.  If you have to stop and then start again, come in at an angle from the edge and back to the stitch line, only stitching over 2-3 stitches.  This will allow the seam to lay much flatter than 3 stitch rows on top of one another.

This is the piece prior to cutting our squares.  

My first quilting squares!

I'll be posting more as we progress.  Stay tuned!

- Christina