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!

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. 

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.  

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.  

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!

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.

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:

• Want to receive tips, free downloads, sale announcements and other inspiration from me right in your inbox?  Subscribe to my newsletter here!

• My pattern shop can be found here.  Three new patterns will be hitting the shop soon!

• The full list of tutorials found on my blog is here - feel free to add any of them to your Pinterest boards for later!

• If you're looking for the Splendid Sampler II book you can find that here on Amazon.

You might also like:

**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.