Shine On Sampler-Month 5

For this post, I thought it would be nice to take you through the process of using Accuquilt to make your blocks.  While this process doesn’t work for every block, I find that many of the block units and lots of entire blocks can be cut this way which does much to increase both your accuracy and efficiency.  Anytime you see a half square triangle, if it works with one of your dies, I encourage you to cut it with Accuquilt.  If you don’t yet have an Accuquilt system, what are you waiting for???

We are going to work with the Eight Pointed Star Block from this month’s blocks.  When you first start converting patterns to be cut with Accuquilt, it might be helpful to draw out your block on graph paper.  Because the pattern that we are using is copyrighted, I will share the process without sharing the actual size of the blocks and units.  This photo shows the block and I have also calculated how many of each unit will be needed.

While it’s pretty easy to figure out which dies to use for the squares, the triangles get a little more complicated.  In the next photo, notice that the sections highlighted show two flying geese blocks.

If we stack those two units together, they are the same size as the number one block.  Using the chart in the Accuquilt catalog, you can find the number 1 die in the correct finished size.  Then all that you need to do is use the number 4 and 5 dies from the same Qube.

When using your AccuQuilt dies, you will notice that the cutting blade is not squared up with the die.  This is so that the cutting will happen at an angle making it more accurate.  In order to help line fabric up on the die, I used a permanent marker to draw lines around the edges on all of my dies.

Then it was a matter of running 4 dies through my cutter and I had everything I needed to make one of the blocks!

AccuQuilt gives you perfectly cut pieces that makes sewing fast and accurate.  My Bernina 590 has dual feed which also helps with accuracy by helping to feed the top layer through the machine, preventing stretching on those bias edged triangles.

Other tips to help with accuracy, I love my wool pressing mat and my LauraStar Lift.  They help as I press my seams open, eliminating the big bumps you get when you press to one side.  I hope that these tips will help you to become a more accurate sewist with fantastic results!

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