Winterberries part 3 ( February 2021)

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Hello Winterberries fans!

Today I am back with part 3 of our sewalong. I hope you have all had a chance to sew your Churn Dash blocks together? If not, no worries. Just go to Winterberries part 2 and there you will find all the instructions and measurements for those!

This time we will be making the appliqued blocks. There are only 4 of them so they really shouldn't take too much time.

I chose to do my applique with fusible web, so if you choose to do yours using needle turn applique please make sure to add the appropriate seam allowances around your pieces!

Our blocks are going to look like this: 

It is completely up to you if you want to keep the colors in your appliques all the same or change them up. I was going to use all the same greens in all my blocks but , using scraps, I ran out of one green and so had to use a variety of colors.

For these blocks you will need:

• 4 squares of light background fabric cut  9.5" square ( you might find it easier to cut your squares slightly larger to allow for "shrinkage" if you are choosing needle turn applique)
• scraps of greens and blues ( or whatever other color you choose)
• fusible web
• sewing machine thread that matches your chosen appliqué fabrics.

To begin with you will print out the applique pattern pieces, which you can find here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1vA2YwDlnoaV0FzeenhDr8EGLvEYrZeAcsVghiw57gwM/edit?usp=sharing

 Cut the placement circle out. You can choose to use it as is, or make a cardboard template, or even use freezer paper to make it "stick" temporarily to your blocks. ( If this sounds confusing, you will see what I mean in a minute).

Trace the leaf ( 8 times) and berry shapes ( 4 times) onto the fusible web. Apply to your chosen fabric following the manufacturer's instructions and cut out.

 Rather than tracing and cutting individual stems, it is much easier to fuse a rectangle of fusible web to your fabric and then cut the stems with a rotary cutter! 

For each block you are going to need 4 stems, cut at 1/4 by 2.5" , plus 8 leaves, and 4 berries.

Now for the slightly tricky part...

You are going to fold your background fabric as shown in the photos below. These fold lines will give you a perfect guide to where to place your shapes!

Start with your background 9.5" square.

Fold up towards top.

Unfold and fold towards side.

Now you should have 2 fold lines, like this:

Next, you are going to fold your square on the diagonal, in 2 directions, like this:

And voila, your guide lines are ready!

Now please, please, PLEASE remember to place your applique on point! 

Take you placement circle and place it right in the center of your fold lines. Your 4 stems will butt right up to this circle, like this:

( If you choose to do your placement circle out of freezer paper, you can iron it down, use it, and then peel and reuse it on your next block). Fuse your stems down and then move onto the berries and leaves.

My berries are almost 2 inches from the corner of the block to the top of the berry...

And here is a closeup of my leaves...

Do you see how they almost touch that center fold line? You can of course choose to place yours where you like!

And there you have one finished block. Now 3 more to make....

Remember you need to make 4 blocks all together. And then you will need to fasten your shapes down, either by machine or hand. I would recommend using a blanket stitch or zig zag stitch, in colors that match your fabrics. Doing this will serve 2 purposes: Your shapes won't let loose when you wash your quilt AND you will give definition to your appliques. If you find that your fabric wants to pucker as you stitch around your shapes, you can choose to back it with some stabilizer that you can cut away afterwards.

Alright, that is all for this week's instructions! I have to get busy stitching my appliques and then I will share all the rest of the information about the setting squares next time.

Please make sure to ask if anything is not clear! And most importantly, have fun!

Until next time~happy creating!

Monique