Congratulations! You have made it all the way to the final construction of the Harmony block! It has been so fun to sew along one unit at a time with you!
I think that you are going to be pleasantly surprised how easily this large block comes together. I find that hand piecing is often more accurate than machine piecing. And that really pays off when you put together a large block.
I have a confession: Even though I have stitched up many of these Harmony blocks, it seems that I never photographed this step! Crazy omission on my part! So, I’m going to give you a few tips and then send you over to Patty’s blog. She’s got the final construction of this block covered!
A Few Last Tips
Pressing each of the units (Corner Units and Rectangle Units) before stitching together the whole block is very helpful. It’s awkward to press all those seams in the center of the block under the best of circumstances–but even harder if they have not been pressed previously.
A few of you have asked for guidance on pressing this block. Honestly, the beauty of hand piecing is that you can press it whichever way works for you. I hesitate to show you the back of my block–because the pressing is not perfect! I start to spin the seams in one section, only to undo the spun seam that I had already pressed! So be flexible and just remember that it doesn’t have to be perfect!
Pin, pin, pin any tricky intersection, and take a moment to peek at it, right before you stitch through an intersection. Pieces tend to shift as we handle them, so just make sure that that point is still where you want it before you send the needle through the seam intersection
Be kind to yourself! You are the only person that is ever going to be this up close and personal with these blocks! You’ve done something that very few people these days have ever done! You have hand pieced a quilt–that’s amazing and never forget it. So, pour yourself a cup of tea (or wine), sit back, and enjoy the last few seams of your quilt top.
Patty has put together some great tips, especially on dealing with some of those trickier seam intersections. Make sure that you pop on over there before you tackle the construction of your block.
Meet me back here next week when we will open up the Grand Prize Link Up! There are so many amazing prizes from our wonderful sponsors. So get stitching and don’t forget to share your blocks over on the Facebook group!
Looking for the Harmony pattern?
HAND PIECING RESOURCES
- Check out the whole Hand Piecing Basics video playlist on YouTube.
- Patty has many written tutorials from the original Hand Pieced QAL.
STAY IN TOUCH
- Join our Hand Pieced Quilt Along Facebook Group
- Subscribe to our newsletter
- Follow Simply Everyday Handmade and Elm Street Quilts on Instagram
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!