Assembling A Crazy Quilt Piece

I didn't get very far on the 2nd Blackwork Cellphone Pouch so I'll have an update on that for you tomorrow.

Since I don't have much in the way of stitching to share today, I thought I would talk a little about machine assembling.

If you're like me and have a tendency (or rather a bad habit) of putting beads and buttons too close to your seam line, you might want to give the Zipper Foot for your sewing machine a try:



This is quite a handy-dandy little item! I actually use this foot more than my all-purpose foot. And I've never done a zipper!

I use this foot not only when sewing CQ blocks up, but also for adding piping and twisted cording to my doorknockers. It attaches to the machine like this:



Be sure to move your needle over to the left:



My needle is right up against a large bead. The All-Purpose foot will not allow sewing on the seam line due to those beads because it won't go over them but the Zipper foot will run right up against them.

I hope you find my suggestion helpful!

You may notice that my seam is 1/2 inch rather than 1/4 inch. I do this because of the piecing with various fabrics and because some fabrics like Brocade tend to shred on the edges. It allows a little extra room in case there's any shifting or shredding while sewing. Once the sewing is complete, I trim the seam down to 1/4 of an inch. I only do this with Crazy Quilts pieces. For all other sewing, I only allow for 1/4 inch seams.

I'm off to piece some blocks and then I'll be stitching!