YAY for day 1 of the #LandofMagicQuilt sew-a-long. The Land of Magic Quilt was designed using
Sarah Jane Studios newest MAGIC fabric line with
Michael Miller Fabrics. We are starting with the Crown today as that is the simplest block in
the whole quilt. The crown is perfect for some cute fussy cutting, and is the only block that is one complete section.
When Sarah and I began discussing a collaboration, we talked about mermaids and dragons and all things mythical/magical. The Crown was the first block I designed in EQ7 and was instantly smitten. Because of it's size, the crown will print on two pieces of paper. All of the PDF patterns have been formatted for 8.5" x 11" printing to make it easier to print at home. If you are just joining the
Land of Magic Quilt sew-a-long, you can find all the details in this
previous post. You can purchase the
Sarah Jane Studios Magic Fabric Kit from the Fat Quarter Shop, as well as the
backing set. All of the patterns can be purchased in my
Kid Giddy Etsy Shop and also on
Fat Quarter Shop as well.
You'll need some tools for paper piecing and some to make things easier. When paper piecing, I prefer to have my cutting area right next to my sewing machine to prevent having to get up after every stitch. If possible have a small ironing station near by as well. You'll need the following (not all items are shown), your paper pattern pieces, paper scissors, fabric scissors, acrylic ruler, rotary cutter, self healing mat, tape for the crown block, stiletto with presser, an iron, and ironing mat.
To begin - Cut out your two crown pieces. I always leave extra paper along my edges giving me extra seam allowance. I'd rather have extra fabric along the edges than not enough.
Line up the edges, and tape the right side of the block to the left to make it whole. Any time you are paper piecing, only place the tape along the parts of the edge where you won't be stitching. This will make it easier to tear apart the paper from the fabric later.
Using a light box, your sewing machine light or a bright window source, place your fabric piece in the center of A1. With the paper on top, the fabric would be facing outward underneath. You don't have to use A1 for a specific (fussy cut) design, but if you do want to, this is a great place to add a little image from the fabric.
Place the fabric piece for A2 right side together with the piece from A1. You'll see in the photo below the darker edge in A2 which becomes the seam allowance once sewn. Be sure there is at least 1/4" seam allowance, if not a little more.
If the paper was removed, this is what the fabric underneath would look like. Both fabrics are right sides together, you are just sewing on top of paper.
With your fabric placed underneath the paper, sew the line between A1 and A2. Use a smaller stitch length on your machine to make it easier to tear off the paper pieces without ripping the stitch.
Fold the paper over and the correct fabric pieces over to expose the seam allowance. Line up the ruler with the 1/4" line on the stitch and trim off the excess seam allowance.
After trimming the seam allowance open up the fabric for A2 and press. Now pieces A1 and A2 are sewn in place. (In the image below you can see the seam allowance. If you forget to
trim off the seam allowance at any given time, you can go back and trim
off some of the fabric but not all of it. It's best to trim after each
stitch). Place the next piece right side facing under A2 and be sure you see a shadow on A3 for the seam allowance. Then sew along the line between A2 and A3, trim the seam allowance, press and continue with A4.
When all of the crown tips are sewn, sew the strip along the top edge, and then sew the base of the crown. The base is also a great opportunity to place a specific image from the fabric. To do this with a larger piece of fabric, you can place the fabric right side down and fold the fabric along the line to be sewn. Make sure all of the edges of the entire piece are beyond all seam allowance lines.
Place the fabric underneath the paper and line up the fold to the edge just as you did on top of the paper. You can see in the image below how that would look.
After stitching this piece in place, trim off the seam allowance. Press the crown base piece and all of the other pieces before sewing the skinny base, and the last two edge pieces. When working with larger fabric pieces, pin or lightly glue baste to prevent it from shifting and buckling.
When the entire block is sewn and pressed, carefully trim the seam allowance from all four sides. (Whatever you do - do not cut off your seam allowance at 2:30 in the morning like I did on a mini quilt one time, because you can't put it back on). Do not remove the paper until the whole quilt top is sewn together. Leaving the paper on will make it so much easier to add the sashing and borders without distorting the pieces that are sewn on the bias.
Now that you've sewn one full block, check out the Star block and learn how to sew four sections together in sequential order to make the second block.
Today's block blogger is
Rhea from Alewives Fabric. I love to drive up the coast of Maine and visit her in her beautiful red barn quilt shop. She decided to make her Crown block into a little Tooth Fairy Pillow with a pocket on the back and wicked cute fussy cutting. You can read more about her pillow by clicking her name above. Thanks so much Rhea!
This sew-a-long is generously being sponsored by some awesome peeps and companies.
The first prize is a $25 gift certificate from the Fat Quarter Shop. For your chance to win the prize from our first block sponsor, be sure
to follow me
@kidgiddy and @fatquartershop on Instagram and share your crown and star blocks when finished on IG, tagging them with
#landofmagicquilt as well. As each block is released - there will be a block
sponsor announced and a prize from said sponsor. When the next block is
released the winner from the previous block will be announced. The Crown
and Star blocks are being released together (although in two posts) so
there is one prize and one winner. When all is said and done, if you finish your Land of Magic quilt and post a pic on IG - your name will be in the running for the Grand Prize as a thank you for participating.
Thank you so much for joining in on the Magic. I can't wait to see all of your pics! If you have any questions - please let me know.
Disclaimer: I received fabric from Michael Miller Fabrics back in April to design this quilt for Sarah Jane Studios Quilt market booth. Opinions are my own, and there are no affiliate links. Thank you.
