The first block in the quilt-a-long is the Dragonfly Block. Not gonna lie–this one has a lot of pieces! I waffled on the background fabric. I had originally planned on the light gray dots, but when I saw how many pieces the block had, I was afraid that the dots would look too disrupted. So I bought some white fabric from the Fat Quarter Shop. While I was waiting, Erin posted her block and all of a sudden, I knew it would be alright. Yay! (You can never have too much white fabric, right? So no problem on my FQS order. Psst–I also bought some Little Ruby).
I sewed this block carefully and did some ripping out when things didn’t match up as well as I wanted them to. Then the whole block came out 1/4″ too big! (Not a big deal, I can trim up the sashing around it.) But, I wanted to figure out why.
I purchased a new 1/4″ foot for my Babylock sewing machine at QuiltCon this year. I have been thinking that it was sewing TOO scant of a 1/4″, but my HST quilt was working out, so I dismissed the thought. But after playing around with it a bit, and running some tests–it’s quite a bit less than 1/4″. I’m going to take it and my machine back to the dealer and show them.
In the meantime, I looked up a few YouTube videos and went old school. I measured out a scant 1/4″ from my needle and built up a stack of painters tape to slide my fabric along. I ran a lot of tests–measuring the fabric, sewing a seam, pressing it open, and measuring it again, until I got it right. I think I might add a few more layers of tape to make it the stack a little taller.
Things seem to be more accurate now, and Block 2: Bows, is coming together easily.
Are you sewing along? How did your Dragonfly block come out?
Hop over and check out Wynn’s Bow Block today! I’ll post mine next week.
I’m Kristin, a passionate quilter, sometimes knitter, everyday cook, and cozy home creator. Simple Handmade Everyday is my place to share my love for living a creative, intentional life. Grab a cup of tea and have a look around!