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Monday, November 13, 2017

The Charming 4-Patch - On Overdrive!

The Charming 4-Patch - Fast, Fun, and Fabulous tutorial and it's companion Youtube video are rocking the quilting world - ready to take it to the next level to make multiple 4-patches?


4.5 inch 4-patch units from charm squares


I promised this is for the over-achievers out there - those that really want to go full throttle with this technique - but anyone can do this!


Sew charms together


Just as in the Charming 4-patch tutorial, sew those charms into a strip. Sew as many into a strip as you're comfortable with, but sew an even number of charms. Another hint to make this all happen!

For my demo, I'm working with 8 charms,


charms sewn into a tube

and cutting 2.5" from the left.


start cutting from the left




Cut units for step 1


With a longer strip, the top layer is folded back out of the way, so that cutting can continue on the bottom layer. 


moving top layer aside to cut bottom layer

The 2.5" piece just cut is folded over and ready for the next cut.


cutting units from sewn charms

Continue folding and cutting on that layer until all pieces are cut. Here there are 8 units from all that step 1 cutting.


units cut from sewing charm squares



Sewing for step 2

Once again, these units are turned and sewn together to make a tube.


sewing cut units from step 1 into a tube



And the cutting begins 2.5" from the left

cutting 4-patch units

As before, fold the top layer out of the way, and work on the bottom layer, folding and cutting. 


What not to do

Now, in the above picture, it looks tempting to just measure over 4.5" to make the next cut. But don't do this, because if the seam is a bit fat, the error is going to carry through to the end of the strip. And that means the units will end up different sizes, and their center seam will be off.

Just treat the folding and cutting as part of the process. Better to measure 2.5" off of the folded over seam, eliminating cutting errors to the other units.


Charming 4-Patch - On Overdrive Video

This tutorial wouldn't be complete without a Youtube video, Charming 4-patch on overdrive, showing the process step-by-step.





Final Charming 4-patches

And here they are, all 8 4.5" 4-patch blocks, ready to go!

4.5 inch 4-patch blocks from 8 charm squares

Make a checkerboard or make them scrappy - go wild!

scrappy four patch quilt blocks for Scrap Happy pattern

Most of all, have fun!




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6 comments:

  1. Replies
    1. Isn't it though? It so beats sewing 2.5 inch squares!

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  2. Hi Susan,
    This is so cool, and yup - I'm an overachiever. Thanks for sharing this with us! ~smile~ Roseanne

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You're very welcome Roseanne! Needed it's own post as I'm sure inquiring minds wanted to know!

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  3. As I said before, love fast, fun and scrappy. This technique is going to be used in a leader/ender double Irish chain as soon as the current leader/ender is ready for webbing.

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  4. I'm always on the lookout for a 'cheater' method. I think this is very good. As always, your work is appreciated. Thank you!

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Thank you so much for commenting...you just made my day!