Thursday, February 27, 2014

A Repeat Alphabet Lesson...

I put away the last Alphabet Tilted Star block in frustration - the letter block felt squished to me, my seams weren't lining up.  Everything just seemed off, so I set it aside.  But the wheels haven't stopped turning.


I think that my biggest concern is the size and spacing of the alphabet letter blocks in the First Alphabet Lesson panel.  I've got some serious fringe on the top line, the text and most of the capital letters are 1/8" or less away from the dashed line, so there's not a millimeter to spare here for decent seams.  I hate to be sewing over that text - it's what makes the blocks so sweet!  But if I skimp on the seam allowance, all I can imagine happening is tons of work on a quilt - especially a baby or child's quilt - and in the first wash, seams will be popping all over the place.

Walking through the living room the next day, I spied my Circle Peeps quilt and suddenly everything clicked.  Why not use the same double-hitter technique of Wonder Under and a tight zigzag stitch to applique the letter blocks to a plain white square?


So here we go again - and this time I kept the template at its original 100% size...


Love it.  Seams are matched perfectly, squared totally without trimming and no text or letters in the block are cut off!


I know the raw edge applique makes it look a little less polished to some, but I think its a great way to keep the cute text of the alphabet blocks without compromising the block's integrity in the long run.


What do you all think?  Agree or politely disagree?

Linking up:

Paper Piecing Party

12 comments:

  1. This is awesome, Steph! Great thinking, I like how you made the alphabet block an applique. I know sometime the people who make the panel don't leave enough seam allowance or they are wonky out of the bolt.

    Love this totally!

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  2. I think it's lovely! I like the way you've done it and the only other way would be to buy 2 of the panels and use alternate blocks, but that would be very wasteful

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  3. I like the idea and it looks great, but it would drive me crazy that the alphabet blocks are a different shade of white than the background. Or maybe it's not so different in person, just in the photos? I'm glad you got your points back though!!

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  4. Looks great! Definitely not as scrunched as the first go-around.

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  5. What a fabulous idea!!! This is beautiful... can't wait to see it all together:-)

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  6. Im loving it, and the stars are awesome, great way to use scraps as well :) That a tick for agree :)

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  7. Hi Stephanie....I am Genie and am working on a tilted star right now. I think your idea of mating appliqué was brilliant. There was no way you were going to be able to keep all of those letters without cutting into them a bit. That would have been so upsetting. I love the way it is coming along and cannot wait to see the end product. It is going to be precious. Nice colors...bright and cheery. Happy Quilting. genie

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  8. I personally love raw edge appliqué ... Terrific idea!!

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  9. Great stars - love how they fill the block up!

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  10. Love it! I think that looks great with the applique - clever way to add a little more space and let the text block shine! Beautiful stars.

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  11. Looks great! I love the stars too! Is this your own pattern? Can't wait to see it done.

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