ORB Round 4: Crazy 9-Patch Piecing

Piecing Crazy 9-patch Blocks
I am a big believer in not recreating something that already has a great tutorial available on the web. I also don't like to take credit for something that I had no hand in inventing. So to give credit where credit is due, go over to AllSorts (Jenny B) to learn how to piece the Crazy 9-patch together.

Please read the following before following Jenny B's instructions:
 **Note: We are going with 15" blocks because you will lose an inch off each side during the piecing process. Then we are going to square up the blocks for curved piecing. We will then lose another 1/2" of each side during the curved piecing process. The extra measurement at this step is so that we have enough room to square it up and it still be large enough to account for the loss of the 1/2" in the next step and still have 12 1/2" block when we are finished.

1. Instead of cutting your blocks into 12" x 12" squares, you should have:
• 12 stacked 15" X 15" blocks for the 6X7 versions of option 1, 3 & 4
• 9 stacked 15" X 15" blocks for the 5X6, 4X5 versions of option 1, 3 & 4
  
2. For those of you using 12 blocks:
   
• If you are using 12 different fabrics, go ahead and stack all of the blocks alternating the fabrics so that no two blocks of the same color or print are touching one another.
• If you have 9 different prints with 3 of those repeating once like I suggested:
• Take the 3 squares that are your repeats. They should be 3 different fabrics. Stack these one on top of another. Then follow my instructions below for piecing this stack together.
  
• Then take the other 9 squares and stack them so that you do not have two fabrics that are the same color or print next to one another.
3. For those of you using 9 blocks:
   
• Go ahead and stack all of the blocks alternating the fabrics so that no two blocks of the same color, or print are touching one another.

Additional Challenge
For those of you that want to be a little more adventurous, you can also make this block using curved piecing. Jenny B's instructions are for straight piecing. Follow the steps below to add a twist to this block.

Straight Piecing Crazy 9-Patch Example 




Curved Piecing Crazy 9-Patch Example





Yeah! Our first curved piecing. We are only going to do "slight" curves here. Bigger curves will come later I promise. Instead of cutting straight lines in the blocks like Allsorts suggest, make a slightly curved cut to the stack of blocks.

Before we get to actually cutting your fabric. Let me walk through piecing a gently curve.

1) Make your curve only slight. We don't want circles here. Only gentle swoops :)



2) Take your two pieces and find their centers. Fold them in half and finger press a line for the center.





3) Line up the two pieces, right sides facing one another by lining up the two center creases you just made.



4) Pin the centers together; making sure to keep the edges aligned. **Notice I am switching to my muslin example at this point. I did the same process with my final fabric as I did with the muslin. The final fabric will creep its way back into the pictures in a couple more steps. :)



5) Pin the outer edges of the pieces making sure that the seam edges are aligned just like you would for a straight seam.



6) Now pin out from them middle to the sides making sure that the 1/4" closes to the edge where the seam is going to be is flat. Keep negotiating the top pieces fabric until it all lays flat. The top piece will be rumpled. That is okay. Just as long as the area around where we are going to sew our seam is flat your piecing will lay flat during our ironing step later.





**NOTE: I will show you an alternate, and easier, way to "pin" the pieces together for sewing in a little bit. We just need to finish the pinning example first.

7) Sew your seam like you normally would by gently guiding the fabric through your machine keeping the edge aligned with the 1/4" seam mark on your machine (or the edge of your foot). Remove the pins before sewing over them. Keep the fabric as flat as you can while sewing.


8) Now we need to iron the seams flat on the back of the block. This is what your piece will look like before ironing it out. Don't worry. It will lay flat.



You need to press the seams out on the back. Otherwise there will be too much bulk later on when you are trying to cut your third and fourth cuts for the 9-patch block. If you need to make small snips along the fabric on the back to get it to lay flat do so. Just make sure you do not cut the seam.



9) This is what your finished curved seam should look similar too. All nice an ironed flat.



Alternative to Pinning

An alternative to pinning a curved piece, is to use... yeah, you guessed it glue! Specifically, Elmer's Washable Glue Stick. I learned this trick from another blogger, but I can't remember her name. She used it for gluing the binding down to the back of the quilt to make it easier to hand sew the binding with no pining involved.


The glue washed out fine on a quilt that I used it to glue the binding down. Though if you are worried about residue for a quilt intended to be an heirloom, you may want to stick with the pinning. I am okay with gluing. My quilts are going to be used and washed repeatably.

1) So instead of pinning your two pieces together at the center folds as stated above in step 4, add a little bit of glue along the edge of the bottom piece. Make sure you try to only put the glue on the 1/4" seam area. Otherwise you will have to tug a little on the block to get it to lay flat for ironing later. As you can see in my photo, I was not very careful ;)



2) Start in the middle and work your way out to the side. You should end up with the sides ending at the exact same point. Don't worry about the rest of the upper piece being all rumpled. Just as long as the area next to the edge is flat for your 1/4" seam you will be fine.



**Same point with my final fabric. See how it is a little wobbly too.


3) This is the piece with the glue in place. Next you are going to want to set it with your iron. Not to long; just enough to get it to set (dry) the glue.



4) You can see that setting the glue also makes the edges lay a little flatter too.


5) Once again, sew your seam like you normally would by gently guiding the fabric through your machine keeping the edge aligned with the 1/4" seam mark on your machine (or the edge of your foot).


6) Flatten your seams in the back and iron the right-side flat too. You may need to use a tool to get the fabric in the back apart to iron flat. I used a small flat head screwdriver. Just gently pry apart the fabric. The glue is not permanent, but it is very good at its job of keeping the fabric together :)

The following image matches the one above with my final fabrics after ironing my seams and front flat.


You will do these steps for each of the seams on your stacks of squares. Now to walk you though piecing your 3 Stack and 9 Stack of squares.

Piecing 3 Stack
**Only for those of you creating Option 1, 3 or 4 with a 6 block by 7 block top.



1) Take your stack of 3 squares and make sure they are all aligned in a stack.



2) Make a cut, straight or curved your choice, going from the bottom to the top of the stack. You will be going through all three squares in the stack. So go slowly. My example will be using curves. For straight ones, use your rotary cutter ruler to make sure the cut is straight.



3) Take the top piece in the stack of pieces you just cut off from the main square and place it at the bottom of the pile.



4) Follow the curved piecing instructions from above. You will need to follow the instructions for each of the 3 squares in the stack. Make sure while you are sewing your seams and gluing/pinning your pieces together to keep them in order.


This is what it should look like after finishing your ironing.


5) Now we will make our second cut. Stack the squares up again so they are all aligned. Cut slowly from the bottom to the top again going through all three squares. My example is using curves. For straight ones, use your rotary cutter ruler to make sure the cut is straight.


6) Now take the top two from the side stack and move them to the bottom.


7) Follow the curved piecing instructions from above again; keeping your squares in order while sewing and ironing them. Here is what the top square looks like after the second cut has been sewn and ironed.


8) Stack up your three squares again. Turn the stack 90 degrees clockwise. Then make your third cut; once again going from the bottom to top through all three squares. My example is using curves. For straight ones, use your rotary cutter ruler to make sure the cut is straight.



9) Move the top piece from the stack you just cut off of the main squares to the bottom of the pile.

10) Follow the curved piecing instructions again. Here is the top square after sewing and ironing.


11) Stack up your squares one last time. Placing the last set of seams you sewed on the right. Then make your fourth cut on the left side of the stack going from bottom to top. My example is using curves. For straight ones, use your rotary cutter ruler to make sure the cut is straight.



11) Move the top two pieces from the side stack to the bottom.


12) Follow the curved piecing instructions one last time. And iron your blocks flat.

13) Finally, square up your 3 finished blocks to 13" X 13". Here is what my three finished blocks look like.



Piecing 9 Stack

Follow JennyB's instructions for cutting up your stack of 9 blocks. If you want to do the curved piecing, just follow my curved piecing instructions above every time Jenny has cut the stack of squares and asks you to sew the pieces together.

Snowball Cutting & Sewing Instructions
I will be posting the snowball block instructions on Monday, November 16th. Until then, happy sewing!

Giveaway This Week
BTW! FlossieBlossoms will be giving away a sewing organizer this week. Make sure you keep your eyes peeled on the ORB Discussion Threads for her post.