Sparklers Quilt-Along: It’s Prep Week!
I am so excited to officially kick off our Sparklers Quilt-Along, I couldn’t wait till Monday to send out this email! So here it is 2 days early – and now you can get a jump-start on it, too!
Each week you’ll receive an email walking you through exactly what to focus on that week, along with short videos demonstrating different techniques along the way.
This week I’ve made a Welcome Video that covers what we’re doing this week, as well as a few important things you need to know before you start sewing!
One thing to keep in mind: This quilt along is meant to simply be a tool to help you sew alongside others and stay motivated. Our homework is based off of making a throw size, so if you’re making a Twin, Queen, or King and can’t quite keep up with the weekly pace — please don’t stress. The emails and videos will always be available to read and watch whenever it works for you. No pressure here! This quilt along is meant to feel relaxed and encouraging — and a chance to connect with other quilters!
Let’s get started: your Weekly Checklist
If you haven’t already, you can print off your Weekly Checklist by clicking the link above. Then go ahead and fill in the blanks for the size you’re making. Having those numbers written in makes everything feel much more manageable as we move forward.
It’s Prep Week!
This week we’re getting everything prepped to sew, and we will be focusing on four things:
- Cut our background fabric and borders
- Cut our 2.5″ strips in half (I recommend doing this in bulk)
- Sort our strips into sets of three
- Mark diagonal lines on our background squares
FIRST – Cut your background fabric and borders.
If you feel like you struggle when rotary cutting large pieces of fabric, here’s two short videos that you might find helpful.
Cutting 2.5″ strips
Cutting 5″ squares
SECOND – Cut your 2.5″ strips in half, along the fold.
I like to do this in bulk – lining a bunch of strips on my cutting mat, and then cutting them all in one slice.
THIRD – Sort your strips into sets of three.
If you’d like a little guidance on creating that “organized randomness” — especially if true random feels overwhelming or easy to overthink — I made a video showing exactly how I approach it.
One small design tip discovered from Kathryn Myrick’s photo on the Scrappy Swap Quilts facebook group: If you place your low volume (LV) in the center of your strip sets, it creates a subtle secondary pinwheel effect with tiny pinwheel “sparklers”.
(See Kathryn Myrick’s photo below — it’s beautiful!)
FOURTH – Mark a diagonal line on the back of all your background squares.
Mark from the tip of one corner down to the corner directly below it. I like to use a smaller ruler and a marking tool that glides easily. This helps it not pull on the top corner when you start. I use a regular old ballpoint pen, since the line you’re drawing is the one you’ll use to cut your HST’s apart, and won’t be in the visible part of your quilt.
My big tip for you this week: Test your ¼” seam
I know you’ll be chomping at the bit to start sewing next week, but BEFORE YOU DO… take 5 minutes to test your ¼” seam allowance! (Yes, I’m almost yelling because it’s THAT important!). Most often, when quilters struggle with seams not lining up or blocks not coming out to the right size, the culprit is either inaccurate cutting, or the ¼” seam allowance not being true. You might be surprised when you test your ¼” seam, to see the result.
Even being slightly off can cause your blocks to be too small or your seams not to line up later, and it will be frustrating to you. But doing this small step makes a big difference — your strips will line up beautifully, and your HSTs will come out the right size without any surprises later.
I recommend testing it TWO ways:
1 – Sew three small scrap pieces together and measure to check your seam allowance. (see video below)
2 – Then make one test HST:
– Sew together one strip set (3 strips).
– Press seams and check your finished size. How did you do? Is it 6.5″ wide? If yes – keep going…
– Cut into (3) 6.5″ squares.
– Sew (1) strip set square into a HST (following the pattern)
– Press and trim.
As you work this week, I’d love to see your fabric combinations come together. Share inside the Facebook group or tag me on Instagram. Seeing everyone’s creativity is truly the best part. If posting on Instagram, be sure to tag me and use the hashtags: #SparklersQuilt and #SparklersQAL so we can find you!
Take your time. Focus on the joy of creating. Don’t be afraid to learn something new or try a fabric combination you might not normally choose.
And if you have any questions at all, reach out. I genuinely love helping you grow more confident as a quilter!
Let’s get started!
Julia
PS – To reference the quilt along videos at any time, here’s a link to the Sparklers Playlist on Youtube. Then it’s easier to find them all in one place!
