Connect The Dots!

Connect The Dots!
8-pointed star

Here are some suggestions presented in "Pandora's Box" for marking the sewing line on patches for piecing :

1. Place your template on the fabric patch. Mark dots at intersecting seam lines with a very sharp colored pencil. Frequently used colors are grey on light colored fabrics, white on dark, red on cool colors and green or blue on warm colors. (For information on making templates and locating the holes for marking dots see the "Tips Archive".)
2. Align your ruler with the dots and draw the sewing line leaving about 1/4" around the dot. In other words, don't draw through the dots. You need to be able to see them to get the matching points. I only find it necessary to mark a sewing line on the patch facing you as you sew. In traditional hand piecing methods sewing lines were drawn on all patches. This can be time consuming and is not as useful or accurate as using the "dot-to-dot" method. We used a variety of marking tools in the class to draw the sewing line. Chalk wheel markers are very fast and leave a thin line which rubs off easily. Chalk pencils work well and have a little less drag on the fabric than a mechanical type pencil. Also, Prisma colored pencils with soft lead worked well on most fabrics. This sewing line is marked on the wrong side of the fabric so removal is not much of a concern. However, on light fabrics I would suggest using a marker that you know will wash out.
3. Place patches together for sewing. Pin them directly through the match point (dot) on both ends of the sewing line. Precision in this method comes from matching and sewing from dot-to-dot. You don't have to be as accurate in cutting the patches as for machine piecing because you're not using the seam allowance as a guideline. (Quoted from a class participant : "It's those darn dots that make all the difference !".) Don't lose track of them.
4. Remember to begin and end with a backstitch. Also, backstitch every 2" to keep the bias edges from stretching.
5. Finally, after ending with the backstitch and knot, make a new knot in the thread BEFORE cutting it from the patch. This saves time, your loose thread will always be knotted and it will help you keep track of which end of the thread should be knotted. Sew in the direction that the thread comes off the spool. The end cut from the spool is the end you knot. Fibers lay smoother in this direction and thread won't tangle as much as sewing it from the opposite direction.

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