I experimented with a couple of things making this block.
I read an article this week about the fact that starching actually shrinks fabric. I think especially if you don't pre-wash. Guilty!
It's probably common knowledge to most of you but somehow I never thought about this. I now realize that starching while making my blocks may be a leading reason I've been having trouble with my blocks sometimes being too small. There is also sometimes puckering when I starch. Maybe because different fabrics shrink at different rates.
Anyhow, this time I decided to starch the fabric before cutting. It really made a difference!
I think this may be the straightest, flattest block I've ever made, even though it doesn't look like it in the photo.
(And maybe I should stop using a white background in photos.)
Because I figured I had now "pre-shrunk" the fabric, I also felt comfortable spraying some more starch and pressing the seams open, which also helped it lay flat.
I had another epiphany this morning. To aid in stitching the sections together, I decided to mark the corners before removing the papers. It made lining them up a whole lot easier.
Wow! So much better! My work here is done!
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Just recently found your blog, so interesting. Need time to really look into all your posts, tips etc.
ReplyDeleteThe tip in this post is interesting, but how do you starch? What (method or product) do you use? Thank you in advance.