Anyways, I really didn't like the quilt and the direction it was headed - or perhaps I should say, lack of direction in which it was headed. I honestly didn't like it and didn't really know what to do with it so I put the partially pieced quilt along with all of the bits into a bag, tied it up firmly and put it away for a later date.
The clock winds forward 6 years (and probably two house moves later) and I rediscovered the bag in a scrap tub. With a new-found enthusiasm, I set about unpicking all of the pieces - though still clueless as to what I was going to do with them.
Inspiration hit - why not fold them and sew them like I would a dresden block? And what do you know - it worked!
Six of these 60 degree triangles, folded, sewn, pressed, sewn into pairs and then finally into the round of six, yields a quite lovely flower.
I shared on Instagram (as is my way) and had a few messages and questions as to how I did it.
Here's the pictorial guide on how I made my "60 Degree Flowers".
1. Begin by using a 60 degree ruler to cut out some triangles. You will need 6 triangles to make one flower.
(these are my recycled triangles)
2. Align and fold in half (with right sides facing) and sew a 1/4" seam across the top. In this picture, it's the seam on the right (going up and down).
3. Just like a regular Dresden block, turn out the fabric and centre the seam so that it's aligned with the bottom point. I use a crochet hook to do this, but I'm sure there are proper 'turning tools' out there in sewing stores.
4. Snip approximately 1/2" from the bottom point of each "petal". This will make it easier when constructing the final flower.
4. Place 2 petals together, with right sides facing. Sew them together (like the picture below).
Create 3 pairs of petals.
Finally, sew the pairs together to form a flower. It's now ready to applique on to your next quilty project.
NB: As everyone's centre circle will be different, look in your home for a circle that is large enough to use as a template, to cover the middle hole.
Here's the 'ugly' quilt before I decided to pull it all apart. I'm very glad that I did get out my seam ripper.
the flowers are really cute. These would look great two stitched together and hanging on a tape across a baby's room (yeah, I am a new gramma {2 already another on the way]) The quilt before looked nice, I agree, the grey was a thing for a while..... I still have about 2 yards of grey Kona in my kona box, which usually holds a lot of white kona haha
ReplyDeleteHave a fun Monday Anorina
Thank you so much Rosemary. Yes I agree that they'd make some lovely bunting for a baby's room. Congratulations on your new grandbabies. You have excuses to make lots and lots of baby quilts :)
DeleteI am loving grey right now, for some reason. Yet, I can respect your decision to make something different. Your new tutorial is fabulous and most likely completely all your own. I look forward to seeing your flowers on a project. Thank you for sharing, teaching and inspiring all in one great post!
ReplyDeleteHi Brenda, thank you for your lovely comment. It's nice to hear back that you liked my picture-tutorial. I've made another dozen (or so) of these flowers so they should eventually make up a good size quilt. I'll be sure to share another picture when it's finished. I may have accidentally started a whole new block!
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ReplyDeletethis has inspired me to get out some "leftover" fabric and see if I can do this. Thank you. I always look forward to your posts.
Oooh great to read. Hoping you had a go at these little flowers :)
DeleteThanks for the inspiration, I will combine these with my hexagon flowers for a more interesting baby quilt.
ReplyDeleteLovely! One thing that would make these flowers go together easily would be to sew 3 petals per half instead of three pairs. Straight line piecing! This works with triangle stack-n-whack kaleidoscope tops. Instead of all that y-seam piecing you design with paired halves. Easy-Peasy!
ReplyDeleteGreat idea for reusing 60° triangle pieces!! Thanks!!
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