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Thursday, March 7, 2019

Making A Stitch Catalog + My Sewing Circle Block

Hello to any new friends visiting this week from the Splendid Sampler sew along!  

It was an honor to design a block for the Splendid Sampler II book, and today I get to share my block along with some details about something I call my stitch catalog.  More about that in a minute!

Splendid Sampler block by Andy of A Bright Corner

My name is Andy Knowlton and I'm a pattern designer and quilter who loves color, sewing with scraps, trying new techniques and sharing them with you.  I blog here at A Bright Corner and you can also find me on Instagram (@abrightcorner),  Facebook and Pinterest.

The block I designed for the Splendid Sampler is called Sewing Circle and can be found on page 86 of the Splendid Sampler book. 

Splendid Sampler block by Andy of A Bright Corner

I often like to mix traditional piecing techniques with some shortcut techniques - like machine applique - and this block is a great example of that!  No curved piecing here thank you very much.  

In the block above I used a narrow zigzag stitch for the machine applique, and in the block below I used a blanket stitch. This pretty pastel block is the one I'll be adding to my own sampler quilt.  

Splendid Sampler block by Andy of A Bright Corner

Now if you're like me, you might not use what I call "fancy stitches" often enough to remember what settings you prefer.  Years ago I created a little stitch catalog of my favorite stitches.  I keep my stitch catalog under my presser foot so I always know where to find it.  

Make a stitch catalog to remember the settings for your favorite stitches!  From Andy of A Bright Corner

In this little catalog I have examples of my most-used stitches along with the stitch number, the stitch width and the stitch length.  When I'm needing to do a bit of machine applique, I can refer to this to decide which one I'd like to use.  It's super handy!

Make a stitch catalog to remember the settings for your favorite stitches!  From Andy of A Bright Corner

Want to make one?  Here's how! Cut 5 or 6 fabric rectangles that are 4" x 5".  Stack them together and secure them like a book by stitching down the left side with a straight stitch.  

Time to add your favorite stitches.  I used a black Aurifil thread that would contrast with the white fabric.  Stitch one line, then use an ultra fine point sharpie or fabric marker to write the stitch number and settings.  I write the stitch width / stitch length underneath the row, and the stitch number at the end of each row.

Make a stitch catalog to remember the settings for your favorite stitches!  From Andy of A Bright Corner

It's okay if you don't completely fill your catalog right now - leave some space or even add a blank page or two at the back for adding in other stitches later.  

And there you go - your own stitch catalog to refer to!  

Thanks for stopping by!  Be sure to add your blocks to the Splendid Sampler website so you'll be entered to win this week's giveaway.  And I love seeing everyone's blocks in the Facebook Group so check in there this week too! 



A few more things:



You might also like:

Playground quilt tutorial from Andy of A Bright Corner

Framed Squares free quilt pattern from Andy of A Bright Corner


Tips for piecing small quilt blocks from Andy of A Bright Corner

Sewing Room Cutting Table IKEA hack from Andy of A Bright Corner




**This post may contain affiliate links, which means I may receive a small commission (at no additional cost to you) when purchases are made through links found in this post.





3 comments:

  1. Thank you for such a gorgeous block Andy!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thank you for submitting such a wonderful block for us to stitch this week. Also thank you for "tip" for using a stitch catalog.
    I'm looking forward to beginning a new block.

    ReplyDelete