I love pattern weights, they have so many uses. They’re sold to hold pattern pieces in place when making clothing, but they come in handy for quilting as well.
Dritz Fabric Pattern Weights come in sets of four and can be purchased at many quilt shops, Joann’s and Amazon. I’m sure there are many other places to buy them as well. They come in purple, pink and green to add some color to your sewing room or to see them better in that large pile of fabric. I started with one package of four then added four more and eight seems just right.
So how do I use them in quilting you might ask? Here are some of the ways but I keep finding more.
I put the weights on my acrylic rulers or templates to help hold them in place as I position the rulers or templates on the fabric. The ruler and templates can be nudged into place and stay put. Four to six weights work great for this.
The weights also add enough extra weight to the ruler or template to help with cutting or squaring up. I may add as many as 8 weights depending upon the size of the template or ruler. The bigger the template the more weights. I place the weights on the ruler then position my hand over the top or around them, then cut. The ruler stays in place and doesn’t push away from the rotary cutter.
I also use the weights when cutting fabric, batting or fusible fleece. Say I want to cut a smaller piece from some yardage. The large amount of fabric likes to slip off the edge of the table making it difficult to cut. Place the weights on the larger piece of fabric and it will stay put while you cut the smaller piece of fabric.
When doing appliqué I draw the design on the paper side of the fusible web. I place a weight on the fusible web to hold it in place as I draw or trace the appliqué shape. After I cut, if I have a lot of small shapes, I stack them and add a weight so they stay put.
The weights help with the binding as well. Fold the binding in half wrong sides together, place it on the ironing board, place three or four weights along the binding to help hold the fold then iron, removing the weights as you go. Reposition the binding and weights and iron some more.
It's finally spring, but it's snowing here today. I thought a sunny block would help keep me in the springtime mood. While designing this block the sun design revealed itself first, but then when I put the block into the example quilt layout I notice there were also fun little butterflies. Perfect for spring!
Fabric A - Yellow
Fabric B - Dark Blue
Fabric C - Medium Blue
Fabric D - Light Blue
Cut 8 - 1 1/2" half square triangles from Fabric A - Go! Half Square 1" Finished Triangles (55320)
Cut 4 - 1 1/2" half square triangles from Fabric B - Go! Half Square 1" Finished Triangles (55320)
Cut 4 - 1 1/2" half square triangles from Fabric C - Go! Half Square 1" Finished Triangles (55320)
Cut 16 - 1 1/2" half square triangles from Fabric D - Go! Half Square 1" Finished Triangles (55320)
Cut 1 - 2 1/2" squares from Fabric A - GO! 2 1/2" Square Multiples (55059), GO! Value Die (55018), or use the GO! 2 1/2" Strip Cutter (55014 or 55017) to cut strips and then rotate 90° and sub cut into 2 1/2" squares.
Cut 16 - 1 1/2" squares from Fabric D - Cut 1 1/2" strips with GO! Strip Cutter-1 1/2" (55024 or 55075), then rotate 90° and sub cut into 1 1/2" squares
Puss in the Corner was published in the Kansas City Star in 1930. This block was also called Puss in Boots. The example quilt layout shows how the blocks interact with each other. There are so many geometric combinations within this quilt creating movement and interest. AccuQuilt GO! Dies and rotary cutting instructions are provided.
Fabric A - Light Blue
Fabric B - Dark Blue
Fabric C - Tan
Fabric D - Light Tan or Yellow
Fabric E - Gold
Fabric F - Green
Cut 4 Fabric A Squares - GO! Square 2 1/2" 55059 or Value Die 55018 or use 55014 or 55017 2 1/2" Strip Cutter, then rotate 90° and sub cut into 2 1/2" squares
Cut 4 Fabric B Squares - GO! Square 2 1/2" 55059 or Value Die 55018 or use 55014 or 55017 2 1/2" Strip Cutter, then rotate 90° and sub cut into 2 1/2" squares
Cut 4 Fabric C Squares - GO! Square 2 1/2" 55059 or Value Die 55018 or use 55014 or 55017 2 1/2" Strip Cutter, then rotate 90° and sub cut into 2 1/2" squares
Cut 8 Fabric D Squares - GO! Square 2 1/2" 55059 or Value Die 55018 or use 55014 or 55017 2 1/2" Strip Cutter, then rotate 90° and sub cut into 2 1/2" squares
Cut 8 Fabric D Triangles - Go! Half Square 2" Finished Triangles: Die 55063 or Value Die 55018
Cut 8 Fabric E Triangles - Go! Half Square 2" Finished Triangles: Die 55063 or Value Die 55018
Cut 16 Fabric F Triangles - Go! Half Square 2" Finished Triangles: Die 55063 or Value Die 55018
Hearts and flowers for Valentine's Day! I call this block design Playful Hearts. The example quilt shows the block in two different color options. The cuts listed below are for the dark heart on the light block shown here. Enjoy!
Fabric A - White
Fabric B - Red
Cut 18 - 1 1/2" squares from Fabric A - Cut 1 1/2" strips with GO! Strip Cutter-1 1/2" (55024 or 55075), then rotate 90° and sub cut into 1 1/2" squares
Cut 6 - 1 1/2" squares from Fabric B - Cut 1 1/2" strips with GO! Strip Cutter-1 1/2" (55024 or 55075), then rotate 90° and sub cut into 1 1/2" squares
Cut 12 - 1 1/2" half square triangles from Fabric A - GO! Half Square-1" Finished Triangle (55320)
Cut 12 - 1 1/2" half square triangles from Fabric B - GO! Half Square-1" Finished Triangle (55320)