hand piecing a curved seam

[Pam D.]

I would like to do some hand piecing and the pattern I would like to do it he drunkards path. My question is this, how do you mark and accurately sew a 1/4 in seam on the concave and convex pieces? Any ideas or thoughts on this?

[Pam D.]

I think it's a good question. I will join you in watching the answers coming up.

[Kathryn S.]

Well, I haven't done much hand piecing, so take my answer with a grain of salt

I *think* that when hand piecing, your template is the size of the finished piece. you mark around the edges with a pencil and then cut out the piece, adding the seam allowance by eye. You would mark the center point of each curve. Wouldn't you match the marked seam lines and pin the pieces together, like you would a sleeve in a garment? Then sew along the marked line on whichever side you want to be toward you.

I know that Jinny Beyer has a book on hand piecing, she does not mark her seamlines- however, she has vast experience at this and probably could cut a 1/4 inch seam allowance with her eyes closed!

Are there hand piecing tutorials out there on You Tube?

Kathy

[E.M. T.]

Jinny Beyer has great instructions on hand piecing on her web site. As for curved piecing I don't think there is much difference.
You can mark a 1/4 seam allowance one side..concave for me ...pin at the far end and in the middle and proceed holding as
you sew. Kathy was on the money, I think. In some ways its easier than by machine.

[Norma H.]

It is easier to get a flat seam, when you use a narrower seam allowance. Mark matching points. If it is a tight curve you'll need a lot, if it's a smooth curve you'll only need a few.
Good luck

[Norma H.]

If you go here http://inklingo.com/shop/drunkards-path-templates/28 you can buy patterns for printing the pieces onto the back of your fabric. There are also a free Leymoyne star pattern, which I have used and the system works really great - I am working up to getting the clamshell pattern myself sometime.

[Margo C.]

Check out how Ricky uses "tick" marks on curves to get pieces lined up on show 803. He pieces by machine, but the "tick" marks are used to line up pieces when doing it by hand also. http://watch/watch-shows/video/show-...y-quilt-part-1

[Teri L.]

Jinny Beyer's Perfect Piecer is just the thing for this. Her video and photos are the best for hand piecing technique. Watching the video a couple of times made the difference for me when learning how to hand piece.

Teri
http://www.jinnybeyer.com/ax_commerc...E52821CFC85A42
http://www.jinnybeyer.com/ax_commerc...C5841390C7C222

[Teri L.]

Here is a tutorial on how to machine piece curves. If you follow her instructions I think you can do it by hand also. The only step you'll have to add is marking a 1/4 seam on the back side of what she calls the "outside" piece. Once you have it all pinned, you can just hand stitch instead of running it through the sewing machine.

Piece those curves link http://tallgrassprairiestudio.blogsp...ly-groovy.html

Let us know which method was more "user friendly" or worked best for you, please.

[Teri L.]

When I mark a 1/4" on a curve I line the 1/4" mark with the edge of the fabric--put a small dot with what ever I am using to mark; move over a little and mark another do; keep doing this until you get to the end. Then, I go back and connect the dots. Hope this helps.

[Carmen S.]

Ricky's method of using tic marks works well for me as well. The concave and convex curves will match only at the exact seam line, not at the cutting lines. The tics will give you the perfect match points.

[Carmen S.]

As Rosemary said, if you go to Linda Franz's Inklingo site, you will be able to find all sorts of patterns that you print directly onto fabric. (http://inklingo.com/shop/drunkards-path-templates/28) This works wonders for hand piecing (or machine piecing) curves or any shapes as the "tick" marks or "registration" marks are also printed directed on the fabric. This makes it especially easy to piece curves. But take a look for yourself and see that if you like your fabric to be marked, this is a great product. (http://inklingo.com/section/inklingo/62)

Nancy