You may have heard the term "stitch and flip", but not been REAAAALLLL sure what it meant. It is, well, pretty much like it sounds. You stitch - and then....wait for it....you flip the fabric.
You may have even done some stitch and flip sewing, and not even realized it. This easy method is used frequently to make snowball blocks and flying geese. The stitch and flip technique is used to apply the corner units to these blocks.
Let's look at how stitch and flip works with a flying geese block.
Stitch and Flip Flying Geese Step One
Step One: Gather your components. For a flying geese unit constructed the stitch and flip way, you will need one rectangle and two squares - oh, and a ruler, a marking tool, and a rotary cutter (duh!).
Stitch and Flip Flying Geese Step Two
Step Two: If you are working with directional fabric, you will want to test your marking and placement. As you can see in the picture above, I've oriented my directional fabric two different ways - lines going horizontal and lines going vertical. My fold/stitch lines are both going corner to corner.
Test the orientation by folding along the marked line, which will become your stitching line. Which way do you want your lines to run?
Note: One of the benefits of using stitch and flip to construct simple blocks is the fact that it allows you to control your directional fabric. Other methods, while quicker, do not allow for control of directional fabric. Just as with many other things in life, everything is a trade off - quicker piecing vs. loss of control on fabric placement. You decide!
Stitch and Flip Flying Geese Step Three
Step Three: Mark and stitch. For this stitch and flip block, we are making a flying geese block, so we need to mark ON THE WRONG SIDE of the square, from corner to corner. This will be our stitching line.
Note: I find it most accurate if I sew a thread or two to the OUTSIDE (toward the outside corner), rather than directly on the line. This allows for the slight thickness of the "fold" or flip.
What is that second line? Well, with the stitch and flip method for flying geese, you will end up with excess fabric that will be trimmed away. Unless my flying geese are super small, I like to draw a line 1/2" away from the original stitching line and sew a second line. When I do this, I'll end up with a "bonus" HST!
Stitch and Flip Flying Geese Step Four
Step Four: Trim. If you've sewn one line, you'll trim 1/4" away from that stitch line on the OUTSIDE edge of the square. If you've sewn two lines, you'll cut between the two lines, approximately 1/4" away from each. Press away from the center rectangle, or press your seam open.
Stitch and Flip Flying Geese Step Five
Step Five: Repeat Steps One through Four - on the other side!
Stitch and Flip Flying Geese Step Six
Step Six: Ta-da! You're done! And if you marked and sewed the second lines I talked about, you will also have two HST units, as shown above!
Note: Stitch and flip is not as accurate as some other methods and often your blocks will need a bit of trimming to make sure they are nice and straight and the perfect size.
By now you have a better understanding of the basics of stitch and flip - at least for traditional blocks such as the Flying Geese Block or the Snowball block.
But...stitch and flip can also be used as a type of improv or crazy patch piecing.
In Mary's Contrary Garden, a simple crazy patch style of stitch and flip is used to create the fun wonky blooms. With this improvisational style of piecing, no two blocks are exactly the same. That can be a good thing - if you like to have different blocks each time. Personally, I think it is fun and relaxing! I love seeing what blooms I get with each color and fabric combination.
Head over to Kate's blog to get some additional ideas on this fun technique.
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