Practice makes progress - Week 2 In Protest Sew Along Updates

Happy Tuesday everyone, and welcome to week two of the In Protest sew-along. This week, we are going to be continuing our work on the sign block and starting the hand.

Week One Check Ins:

You are all so creative and talented, and I've been loving all of your week one check-ins on Instagram.

As a reminder, please make sure to tag or mention me in your posts so that I can see and track them. You can mention me by typing @quiltbynight (make sure to include the @) in your caption or tag me by clicking 'tag people' and adding me.

If your account is set to private, I won't be able to see your tag/mention. You can either switch your account to public for the duration of the sew-along, or you can screenshot your posts and send them to me as a message.

Week Two Thoughts and Tips:

This week you will be working on your hand. This block has lots of small pieces, and I know that some of you are feeling a little intimidated. I believe in you, you can do this! Go slow and take it one piece at a time.

If you need a simpler block to practice on, my free heart or star patterns make great practice blocks. You can find them at https://www.quiltbynight.com/free-patterns.

Here are a couple of FPP tips that may help you out:

• When it comes time to join units together, give each unit a really good press and carefully trim along the dotted seam allowance lines. Making sure things are nice and flat and neat will help a lot with your alignment.

• Use the alignment markers on the template pieces to help you line up units. If you are nervous about alignment, you can sew a couple of stitches at your key alignment point(s) and check alignment before committing to the whole seam.

• What's a key alignment point? These are just points that would be extra noticeable if the alignment is off. A good example would be the spot where the hand meets the wrist (circled in red in the image below).

• Once you attach two units, remove the paper from the seam allowance before pressing your seams. This will help reduce bulk in the seams for your next attachment point and will make it easier to remove paper later.

• Folks often ask me which way they should press their seams. The truth is, I usually let the fabric tell me which way it wants to go. Generally, I press toward the side with fewer seams touching the edge. Occasionally, if a seam is being particularly stubborn, I will press the seam open. Do what works best for you!

  
  

Hand with example of key alignment points circled in red

For your check-in this week, feel free to post progress on your hand or more work on your sign block.

A Pattern Error (Oops!):

In the piecing instructions on page 12, I forgot to include K! Section 2 instructions should read:

F+ G = FG

H + ( I + J + K ) = HIJK​

( L + M ) + N = LMN

FG + ( HIJK + LMN ) = 2

Feeling Chatty:

I have tried to assign everyone who opted in to the Instagram chat to a group. If you opted in and are not yet assigned, send me a message on Instagram (@quiltbynight) so we can troubleshoot. These chat groups are a safe space to share ideas, ask questions, and make some new quilty friends.

​That's all for today! Thanks again for being here :)

Warmly,

Becky