Sweet Tweet Sew Along Part 2

When tracing the pieces for applique there is no need to reverse any of the pieces as  mentioned with this pattern, as the outcome will be the same either way.

When tracing your wings and flower stems, extend the end that is placed under another piece 1/8 inch.

         *Tip* I trace and layer 2 of each piece when working with light colored fabric that the background may show through on (such as the body or the wings).Simply remove the paper backing from the focus fabric (the one that will be on top) leave the paper back on the backing piece and fuse the wrong side of the top piece to the right side of the backing fabric. If your edges do not match up perfectly simply give it a trim.

Now that we have all our pieces fused to the WRONG side of fabric and cut out, lets build some birds!

We are going to construct our birds in one piece and then move them as one piece to our block. I like to use my small iron for this process to insure correct placement of my pieces. Your pieces should be numbered and that is the order in which they will be laid out and the order in which you will applique them.
Let’s start with our applique pressing mat, and all the pieces of 1 bird, with the exception of the feet and wire, we not adding them yet.

Remove the paper backing from your pieces and layout your bird, tuck the wings under the body 1/8 of inch, do the same with stem tucking it under the flower. Once you are happy with the layout touch your iron with just enough pressure to make each piece adhere to the others, we are not pressing the whole piece, I just use the tip of my iron. See photo below.
(Insert photo 2&3)

Once your bird is together you are going let it cool for 10 minutes before lifting from the mat, so that the fusible stays attached to the back of your fabric. Once it has cooled slowly lift it off the mat and it is ready to be fused to your block.

Refer to pg. 42 step 4. on instructions for placement of your birds and fuse into place. Now you are ready to applique (stitch), working from the bottom to top pieces, the same order you fused them.

I used a blanket stitch 2.5 – 2.5 which worked very well. Your quilt, your way, you can use a satin stitch, straight, zig-zag choice is yours. I used a variety of coloured thread (rayon) again the choice is yours, cotton, poly, all one neutral colour or not. Have fun with it, this is my favorite part.

Don’t forget your stabilizer on the back when appliqueing.

Onto step 5.
I found an error on this step in the measurement of the gray wire, it reads 40 ½ inches which is incorrect. You are going to make your piece ¼ inch by 33 ½ inches, I made mine a tad longer and trimmed it up when it was in place.
You can follow the bias tape instructions as she did. When placing the wire, place 2 ¼ inches from the bottom.

*Tip*I did not use bias tape but instead used a raw edge ¼ inch wide strip of fabric with fusible webbing on the back.To do this easily I cut a piece of gray fabric and fusible webbing both 3 inches wide by 33 ½ inches and fused the webbing to the back of the strip of fabric. Once fused I cut my five ¼ inch wire pieces, one for each row. I made it an ½ inch wider to allow for ease of cutting into ¼ inch wires. Again, these are just suggestions. Your quilt your way. Once your wire is attached and appliqued you can now add the feet and applique.

Follow step 6 to finish the top.

Adding the Borders

Follow the instructions given, before cutting your first boarders to size, measure your sides and cut accordingly, once attached measure again for the top and bottom. Her measurement for this is incorrect.

*Tip* When adding the first boarders, I had the boarder on the bottom and quilt top on top, right sides together, this allowed me to see my points and avoid cutting them off.

Step 2 & 3 are correct and worked out perfectly for measurement. Do not forget to pin your boarders to get a nice even fit.

All done ready to quilt, thank you for joining me and do not forget to share your pictures, I would love to see everyone’s creations!