Lilian Star Quilt Along: Week 4

Lilian Star Quilt Along: Week 4

It's week 4! 

This week we're continuing assembling of our blocks and connecting with others. So glad you're here with me and I'm loving all you're making!
Chain piecing time! Last week we talked about trimming up our HSTs so this week I'm going over just the basic stacking method for chain piecing blocks. Next week I have a tutorial for big batch chain piecing for those bigger quilts. 
Chain pieced quilt block

Here's the video tutorial showing this whole basic technique!

The way I chain piece blocks is to lay out a block on a table. You can use a cutting mat so lay the pieces on so it's more transportable, or you can hide it away to keep it safe from littles or furry "quality control" experts. ;) 
After I lay out the first block, I use it as a template for the other blocks (granted they're all the same). 

Laying out squares for a quilt block

Once I'm done laying out the blocks into a stack, I'll gather up the top layer of each column on the top block and move them to the sewing machine, remembering which little stack is which. 

Sewing machine and half-square triangles

Here we go! I take stacks from column one and two and sew the top squares together from each. I don't cut the threads after I'm done. I take the next squares from columns one and two stacks and sew those together as well. I continue through those two stacks until the bottom and then cut the threads.

Sewing machine and squares to sew together

Then, I bring over the stack from column 3 and continue sewing them to their corresponding squares I sewed on from column two. 

Chain piecing at sewing machine

You see a little closer how this is done. Continue with column four once you are done with column three. 

Chain piecing at sewing machine

Chain piecing is so addicting and I promise it will make piecing so much quicker! After you're done with chaining together the block, you can sew the rows together. As you sew the rows together, clip the little connecting threads between the rows that were created from chain piecing. 

So excited to see more of your pretty blocks this week!