Hey quilter bees! We're back for week two of the Thin Air Quilt Along, and this week we're moving from cutting to sewing. If you're just joining us, no worries; you can go back to last week's video for the cutting steps. You'll just need the Thin Air pattern from Jittery Wings to follow along.
This week we're sewing our A2 pieces all the way through to our D2 pieces, so let's break down how that works.
Start by sorting your colors
Before sewing, sort your fabrics into four value groups: darkest, dark-medium, light-medium, and lightest. They don't need to be split into a perfect quarter each, just close enough that you get a good sense of where your darks, mediums, and lightest fabrics fall. This grouping is what makes the pairing process work.
Pairing your pieces
Following the pattern, you'll pair pieces mostly within their own value group: ones with ones, twos with twos, threes with threes, and fours with fours. But every so often, mix it up with a 1 to a 2, a 2 to a 3, a 3 to a 4, or even a 2 to a 4, a 1 to a 3, or a 1 to a 4. Just don't overdo the mixed pairs. Sticking mostly to like groups is what keeps the value contrast working in the finished quilt. If it helps to have a number mix up the pattern on every 5th match.
This part isn't a science; it's an art. Work randomly through your stack rather than overthinking each pairing, and avoid repeating the same color combinations. If you cut your fat quarters in stacked order, they'll naturally want to pair the same way each time, so spread them out and mix things up intentionally if you need
Sewing the seams
Each piece has a three-inch side that is the side you avoid sewing regardless of whether or not you are matching A to A, B to B, C to C, or D to D.
You can chain piece these to save time; just keep feeding pairs through your machine one after another without cutting the thread between them.
Pressing your seams
Once your A2 sets are sewn, it's time to press. The pattern allows you to press either open or to the side, your choice.
A quick pro tip before pressing either way: set your stitches first by running a dry iron over the seam as sewn. This helps the stitches sink into the fabric for a cleaner press.
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Pressing to the side: after setting the stitches, finger press the seam to one side so it lies flat and straight, then press with the iron.
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Pressing open: after setting the stitches, flip the piece over, split the seam open with your fingers, finger press it flat, then run the iron through it.
Pressing to the side gives you more nesting when you join blocks later, while pressing open is more about matching seams directly. Either works for this pattern.
Keep it organized
As you finish each set, keep them sorted into piles by A, B, C, and D. Finish all of your A pieces first, then repeat the exact same process for B, then C, then D.
That's it for week two! Next week we'll start sewing our blocks together, so join us then for that video. If you still need the Thin Air pattern, you can find it at jitterywingsquiltco.com, along with links to great fabric bundles to start the pattern from scratch.
Next week:
sewing our blocks together!
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