Are you a fan of the Studio 180 tools? We (a group of Certified Studio 180 instructors, otherwise known as "CIs") are going to explore the world of Studio 180 tools with you this week and talk about "Tuckerizing" your quilting projects!
Each day, a few different designers and instructors are going to load you down with tips, tricks and useful information about the various Studio 180 tools currently available.
My tool of topic? The Tucker Trimmer. Now I get it is an unassuming looking little tool (ok, let's just be honest, many are going to call it a ruler - and that's ok. But you're going to see why it is much more than just a ruler to cut squares!). But I'm going to share with you why I think it is hands down the BEST (yes, I went there!) to trim up HSTs (half square triangles) and EXCELS at trimming QSTs (quarter square triangles). Doubtful? No worries - let's look at it!
Like many squares on the market, it is - well - square. And it has a 45 degree diagonal line running from corner to corner. And yes, you'll use that line for squaring up and trimming HSTs and QSTs. But...do you see that full circle in the top right corner? And that half circle at the bottom left corner? Uh huh - well, those tell you, at a glance, which corner to use for trimming units to a full inch size or to a half inch size. Which keeps the lines to a minimum, which means they are easy to ready. Awesome.
Let's look at this from a fabric perspective - directional fabric. Do you shy away from directional fabric because you end up with blocks that have the fabric going in the wrong direction? Hey - happens to all of us! Since we are looking at the Tucker Trimmer together, let's look at how we can control the direction of fabric in our HSTs.
When working with directional fabrics, BEFORE you sew, do the "pin test". I've marked the lovely wave fabric, using my handy dandy Magic Wand, in preparation for sewing my HSTs. But as a check, I folded back along that marked line and pinned. Now I can see how my directional fabric will look in the HST before I sew it. You can fold and pin before marking as well. But I wanted you to see the orientation of the marked line (and therefore the sewing line) to the direction of the fabric.
Notice how rotating the same fabric 45 degrees changes the orientation of the directional fabric. Now my directional fabric is oriented top to bottom on my HST, rather than left to right.
What about scale of print? Have you ever rushed headlong into a project, cutting and sewing, but when you step back and look at your blocks, you discover that the print was too big (or too small) for the block you were piecing? Again - the pin test comes to the rescue. Fold and pin in an approximate size to your finished block to see if the scale of the print will work.
For this fun little sea print, it will be about 50/50. Some of the blocks will work - like this, with the octopus peaking over the seam. But because the scatter print is fairly large in comparison to the size of the block (2" finished), I'm going to have some HSTs that have octopus tentacles and fish fins, but no full animal. If I'm ok with that, I go ahead. If I'm not, I assign this fabric to another area of the project where larger pieces will be used, and choose a smaller scale print.
Great. You've got it. But hey - I mentioned QSTs. What makes the Tucker Trimmer so awesome for those? Glad you asked.
Let's look at my example. I make two dark orange/light orange HSTs. I want to make a QST from these two units. Conventional wisdom has you match the two units, dark orange to light orange, light orange to dark orange, with the center seam aligned. Argh....most struggle to get that 45 degree seam perfectly aligned, and if you DON'T - well, your block is doomed. Sorry - but true.
Instead, I cut my units in half, using the seam line as a reference point and aligning it with a line on my ruler. Yikes, you're thinking! Exposed bias edges. Yes, that's true.
It looks like this - two exposed bias edges (and full disclosure - you need TWO HSTs to make this happen). Those TWO HST units will then make TWO QST units. Now, I prefer this method because I can clearly see where my seams will meet, and when I trim (above) I am trimming based on the seam, so I am keeping everything straight. Just DON'T pull on the block as you are sewing and you are golden.
Press that seam open - yes it can be a pain, but you'll have a lovely, flat block that will be a breeze to trim and to quilt.
Now the magic happens. And I swear I hear angels singing EVERY time I do this! Really! So I'm trimming my QST units down to 2 1/2". I use the side with the half circle (for half sizes, 1/2" sizes, get it?!). I align the 45 degree line along my seam line. Ok - no big deal. All square rulers work this way. Uh huh. But look.....there is a SECOND line - a 2 1/2" line - running along the OTHER seam line. And the two lines meet in the middle. No need to figure the math to determine the center. No need to double check to make sure the ruler is centered on the block to maintain symmetry. Nope. It's all done for you! Trim, rotate, trim again! See - angels singing!
Let's make a project. You'll need;
(2) 3" orange squares
(2) 3" striped squares
Magic Wand
Tucker Trimmer
6 1/2" square batting
6 1/2" square backing
(1) 2 1/4" x 40" contrast fabric (binding)
Contrasting thread (I like Aurifil 28 wt)
Using your Magic Wand, draw (2) lines on the wrong side of the striped squares, following my examples from the beginning of the post above. Why yes, I DO want you to mark them in two different directions. I have fun little project for the these blocks!
Sew on the drawn lines, and cut the units apart. Press to the orange side of the units. Trim each to 2 1/2" square.
Because we made HSTs with our directional fabric going in TWO different directions, we can lay out our blocks as shown above and STILL have our stripes all going the same direction. Nice!
Sew the HSTs into two rows of two units each. Press to the orange fabrics.
Create a mini quilt sandwich by layering the backing square, wrong side up, with the batting square. Pin the two HST rows together, RST (right sides together) ON TOP OF THE BATTING. This is a quilt as you go step! Pin. Yes, really. Do it. Pin matching the center seams AND matching the diagonal seams of the HSTs at the end. You are sewing through four layers, and things tend to shift, so you'll be glad you pinned.
Sew all the way across. Press. And now you have a little mini quilt, ready to practice some fun quilting on!
Have fun with this. If you have been wanting to try a new quilting thread - or try a new quilting motif - here is a great little practice project. I used a 28wt Aurifil thread in the top, with slightly looser tension. I used a matching 50wt thread in my bobbin. The easy straight line quilting was fun and easy to do!
After quilting the entire little project, I pressed it, trimmed it square, and machine stitched my binding on. Now I have a fun little mini quilt - or an awesome mug rug. And I got to practice my HSTs, trimming and quilting!
Check out the other CI blog posts this week! I'm sure they will have great tips, suggestions and perhaps some projects for you as well.
Here's the schedule: