Week 3 - Letter A. Cutting Fabric Pieces. Template Piecing

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1 Week - Letter A. Position templates on right side of fabric pieces leaving ⅜" seam allowance on all straight edges. If you are using freezer paper templates you will need to iron them in place with a hot, dry iron. Template Piecing. Cut excess fabric on angled edges leaving a ⅜" seam allowance. Cutting Fabric Pieces. Refer to the Cutting List on Page to cut the fabric pieces. Print page on adhesive label sheet or trace onto freezer paper to make templates. I used Full Sheet Labels with Removable Adhesive. Cut out templates. I like to pull the adhesive paper away from the backing before cutting and then place the cut templates back onto the backing for storage. The templates can be used for multiple blocks. If you are making more than block, stack several fabric layers for cutting. Tip: You don t have to precut the fabric rectangles. Simply place the templates directly onto the yardage leaving enough space for seam allowances. When you have long sharp points, leave more than ⅜" at the tip. I usually leave ½" to ¾". Depending on how the piece is sewn, the extra length is needed so the seam won t be short. If you accidentally cut ¼" seams on some pieces they will still work as long as they are not on the outside edge. You will just have to be more careful with placement. Week - Letter A Page 0 AMC DESIGNS

2 Piecing the Block The following is a tip I learned from Cynthia England s patterns. She is also the reason I use adhesive labels instead of freezer paper, because I couldn t get the freezer paper to stick to the tiny fabric pieces. I learn a lot from other quilters that I can use with my preferred piecing methods.. Pieces cut, stacked and ready to sew with Location # in position.. Fold back seam allowance on fabric # and pull edge away from template. Line up the edge of templates # and # along seamline. Pin seam.. Pin the fabric piece for Location # to the paper, away from the seam that will be sewn, lining the template (not the fabric) up with the red dashed lines. Place the fabric piece for Location # in the finished position, then flip over to the sewing position.. Week - Letter A Page 0 AMC DESIGNS

3 . Referring to page 8 of Week, General Instructions, fold back on seam line to check placement. Remove adhesive templates. (If you forget to remove the templates before sewing you might accidentally sew on them which will make them harder to remove.) Sew seam, trim, and press. Note: This block is easy enough that you could remove all of the adhesive templates before starting to sew and just line up the pieces with the guidelines. Tip: When checking placement, if the fabric does not cover the area sufficiently, reposition as needed. Pulling the fabric slightly away from the guidelines will give you a smaller seam allowance.. You will notice on fabric #, the solid red line and the gray guidelines intersect at the beginning and end of the seamline. Your fabric pieces should cover the space from the beginning to ending intersections.. Fold back seam allowance on fabric for Location # and pull edge away from template. Line up the edge of the template with the red sewing line. You won t be able to see this line so just line it up with the red # solid lines extending from the edge of fabric #, keeping it within the finished area of the location you are sewing. Pin seam, fold back on seam line to check placement, and remove adhesive template. Sew seam, trim, and press. Repeat this method for all locations. Week - Letter A Page 0 AMC DESIGNS

4 . Clip away excess fabric that covers solid red lines past the gray guidelines. You will note there are no intersecting seams on this block. But the longest seam is ½" and the paper stabilizes the block so the line sews straight. I seldom have the seam vary over or thread widths from the lines and most often they are right on the lines. If you notice that the seam isn t sewing exactly on the line, make sure you are aiming for the correct red ending line and the seam guide hasn t shifted on your sewing machine. If you have trouble with longer seams, you can always flip the block over and sew directly on the line. The templates are reusable. If you don t plan on making a second block, share them with a friend. Note: The edge of the fabric you are sewing should always line up with the gray guidelines, not necessarily the fabric piece it is being sewn to as the seams on these may not be accurate. Week - Letter A 8. Finished block with seam allowance. I left the paper on Location # so I could label it when making a sampler quilt. Page 0 AMC DESIGNS

5 Letter A " Test Square Set Page Scaling = None. Background Grid Measures ¼". Letter A ½" Finished CUTTING LIST Location Size to Cut ¼" x ¼" ¾" x ⅝" ⅜" x ¾", ⅝" x ", ¾" x ¼" Print diagram on page on full sheet label or freezer paper to make templates. Cut apart on the solid lines. Place on right side of fabric leaving a ⅜" seam allowance on all sides and trim excess fabric over ⅜". Tip: Locations # and are mirror images. Place fabrics wrong sides together for cutting and use either template. After cutting, position remaining template on fabric piece. Week - Letter A Page 0 AMC DESIGNS

6 Letter A ½" Finished " Test Square Set Page Scaling = None. Background Grid Measures ¼". Week - Letter A Page 0 AMC DESIGNS

7 Letter A ½" Finished Mirrored " Test Square Set Page Scaling = None. Background Grid Measures ¼". Use these mirrored templates for other paper piecing methods. Week - Letter A Page 0 AMC DESIGNS