Improv Curves!
Promise- not scary!
This idea was inspired by this video https://youtu.be/5Trgij2tync?si=2SxMDw54YPosrmbf
She gives good instructions too (and visual ones since it’s a video)- but she only uses 3 fabrics and 2 cuts and I would like 4 fabrics and 3 cuts. Also- she doesn’t have a "straight edge" side like I need- as explained in the sewing instructions below.
Please read all instructions first. It's not hard, but it's good to know what you are doing and understand the why before you start.
We will wind up with 4 pieces that I am considering 1 total square- but that’s a GRAND TOTAL of
3 cuts and 12 seams. And I expect it to be wonky as all get out- so no
pressure! I had never done this before either but I wanted to try something
new and gentle- non-patterned- mistake-friendly curves won.
Fabric Pull: we need 4 x 12” squares- 1 square
from each fabric:
With all fabric- while in general patterns are ok, please stay
away from actual images- no ducks or santas or whatever. Think mostly
blenders- so think abstract or at least really not-obvious.
1st fabric- Reads REALLY dark- like
black- dark grey is fine, patterns are fine try not to have much of any color
besides white, grey, & black (though a little sprinkle is fine- you can see I have some gold bits on one of mine)
2nd fabric- Reads close to white- can have a little bit of black and/or grey to break it up- patterns
are fine try not to have much of any color besides white, grey, & black (though
a little sprinkle is fine)
3rd fabric- Reads white & black, but
is in the middle of the above 2- patterns are fine try not to have much of any
color besides white, grey, & black (though a little sprinkle is fine)
(soo...1 dark, 1 light, 1 medium)
4th fabric- something that reads as a
solid color- doesn’t need to BE a solid color- just needs to read as one. Batiks
are fine. I like bright, bold colors- not neutrals. We are looking
for high contrast pop between this and the 3 other black/white/grey fabrics
Fabric Examples:
Cutting:
Stack all 4 of the 12” squares on top of each other, nice
and tidy & all lined up. Doesn’t matter what order as we are going to
rearrange all the stacks once cut anyway.
Figure out if you are more comfortable swinging your cutter
left to right or right to left- I did this by swinging my hand and cutter both
ways until I knew which felt better.
Take a deep breath- You will only be making 3 cuts, all starting
on the bottom edge and going either to the right side or to the left side-
whichever you thought was most comfortable.
It is SUPER important that the 4 layers of fabric stay lined
up together while you cut- the cuts need to match for sewing.
You want to keep the 3 cuts at least 1.5” in width for easier
sewing. Also- we want them to be different widths- not all close to the same
width (Which is what I did in the photo below because it was my first time- no
one will die if they are pretty close so don’t panic too much about that).
I would recommend that that the first cut and third cuts be at least 2" from the edge for easier sewing- but these look better if they aren't exactly the same spacing for all cuts- some fat, and some thin is awesome.
Now…CUT a rough arc. Not looking for perfection- just a
fairly round-ish arc.
(I didn’t take a photo of this stage before I did the next
thing- so this photo will serve for both steps)
OK breathe again.
Next step is basically the same as if you have ever done a
stack’n’whack- we need to switch fabrics around so that the 4 squares each have
1 of the 4 fabrics
With 3 cuts you will have 4 sections- starting on either the
small inside corner or the large outside edge- think of them as stacks A, B, C
and D.
Stack A take the top 1 piece off and move it to the bottom
Stack B take the top 2 pieces off and move them to the
bottom
Stack C take the top 3 pieces off and move them to the bottom
Stack D leave as is.
You will then have 4 stacks where each of the same layer is 4
different fabrics (see above photo). Perfect!
Pick either the side where cuts start/stop- I used the bottom- but if the side is more comfortable to sew from then that's fine. Just do it the same for all 4 blocks. We will start all sewing on along the same edge to keep that 1 edge as "straight" as possible. Look at my photos- you can see 1 edge is "straight" (I do not mean perfectly straight- just...in coparion to eht other sewn side) and the other is severely stair-stepped. The edge you chose is going to stay your “straight edge” This is the edge that you will start sewing on every time- so all edges of all pieces will line up along this edge- therefore keeping it “straight” (pretty close to straight, not perfect)
I did not pin anything, but I did use my ¼” measurements
like I usually do for a ¼” seam. It wasn’t perfect, and if your seams get a
little fatter than ¼” that’s ok, but you don’t want them to be thinner.
Grab the top fabric from Stack A and the top fabric from Stack
B. Line up the cut edges on your chosen “straight” side, right sides together,
and sew the curve.
Go slow, adjust fabric often.
The fabrics will NOT line up at final finishing edge/side- this is
fine. You will in the end wind up with a “stair-step” on that side. Totally
good.
(In the below image you can see I’ve chosen the bottom as my “straight”
which made the left edge a “stair step”)
Once those 2 are together, take the top fabric from Stack C, right sides together with the 2-pieces unit you already have, lined up along the “straight” edge. And repeat sewing this one on.
And finally take the top fabric from Stack D and do it
again.
TA-DAH! 1 block done!
Do that 3 more times with the remaining pieces. Fabrics should not duplicate within the same square.
Breathe again
Once all 4 blocks are together- press them
I pressed on the backside starting from the small cut corner
and moving outwards- I did GENTLY pull my block as I went to help eliminate puckering
and get those curved seams to lie flat.
Once pressed- ALL DONE!!!
Do not trim- just send them to me as is- stair steps and
all.
End results as I want you to send them to me (again you can see 1 "straight-ish" edge which is the side where I started all my sewing, and 1 "stair-step" edge which is the side I finished all my seams on). Also note how the different widths of cuts create more drama than similar widths. (I have rotated the blocks here so to see the "circle" easier, but if they were all lined up the same, the "straight" side would all be on the same side)
Yes- please send the pressed BUT UNTRIMMED blocks. I will figure out a size I like once I have them all and trim them to that size.
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