Partial seams are one of the easiest ways to get visual bang for your buck without a whole lot of fuss. It’s that one extra step that makes the seams look “woven” because it isn’t immediately obvious where the piecing stops and starts.
I will show you how to use partial seams to make these three blocks, as well as a couple of quilts that use this style of block to get this effect.
Block 1 has a 2.5” square in the middle, then four 4.5” x 2.5” strips that border it. The top strip gets sewn to the middle square, but only about two-thirds of the way across. I usually stop this seam just under an inch from the end of the middle square. Press the partial seam out (finger pressing will work just fine for this little seam).
Now working counter-clockwise, add the next strip and sew it all the way on from one end to the next. Press out. Continue adding strips and pressing out each seam.
Peel back the partially sewn top piece and add the last strip. Now, fold down the partially sewn piece and finish the seam. Press out and you’re done!
Here is a super cute quilt made entirely out of blocks like this!
Now for the wreathed hexagon block. This is a 4.5” hexagon wreathed by 4.5” trapezoids that are cut from 2.5” wide strips.
Take the top piece and just as before, sew it to the top of the block about two-thirds of the way across. I think it’s easier to finish the seam when it has been pieced more than halfway in the beginning. You don’t need to leave much undone to get that last piece on.
Continue adding pieces counter-clockwise and pressing the seams out until you get to the final piece.
Fold the top piece back down and finish the seam.
I used this block to make the hot air balloons in my Hexie Hot Air Balloons quilt.
This triangle block appears in my Entangled Sky pattern :) I used a 2.5” triangle for the center and then wreathed it with 6.5” trapezoids that were cut from 2.5” strips.
I sewed the first little bit of the left piece on just between my fingers. Then, I pressed that seam out and added the next piece, sewing this one all the way across.
Peel the partial seam back, and add the last piece before sewing the rest of the partial seam.
There you go! A little extra step that makes for a fun and visually interesting block :)
I hope you found some inspiration here!
Happy Sunday Everyone,
Krista
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