Whirl & Twirl Sew-Along: Sewing Prep

This week, we will be sewing our blocks. Yay!!! But before we start with actual sewing, I thought I'd share some sewing prep information. To help organize the sewing process, I used a chart to identify the placement of the background, blade & large pinwheel fabrics to insure that:

1. Each group of four blocks had a single block using each of the four background fabrics.

2. Each group of four blades that meet to create a small pinwheel used the same fabrics for the blades.

3. Each group of large pinwheels used the same fabric for the pinwheels.

I labeled the placement of each fabric on the chart as follows:

1. Background: A, B, C, D

2. Blades: B1 - B12

3. Pinwheels: P1 - P12

Here is the link for the guide: Whirl & Twirl Fabric Placement Guide.

I lay each group of fabrics out on foam core design boards & then stick a pin through a paper label & fabric to hold it all in place. Of course, for a totally scrappy look, you can just randomly pull fabrics & not worry about following a placement guide.

I sew in groups of four blocks - Block 1 & 2 in the first row & Block 1 & 2 in the second row make a group (the large pinwheel will become the center of the group). Note: I make the blocks in sets of four but do not sew the four blocks together.

There is only one block to make in this quilt. The blocks are rotated to create the design.

I'll share the sewing directions in the next post, so stay tuned!

Happy Quilting!

~Sharla