On Point: Turning a Corner with Your Quilts

We've talked some about bias cuts and how they respond to piecing and ironing. This is the fun designer part about bias.

Let's start with a simple square quilt block. 

We're all familiar with sewing those blocks into a grid. It makes a nice repeat but it doesn't have a lot of design action. Sometime's you'd really like to feel like a design is moving.

So, turn it on point. Turn in 45 degrees ( like a right triangle) and watch it change. Are you more excited now?

Not only that but we can turn our grid into a square on point and add triangle pieces to fill in the corners.

Now imagine what happens if you went modern with that. An odd grid gives it even more personality and energy
None of this is hard. It's a matter of looking at things from different angles. Try taking your favorite quilt blocks, putting them on point and see how they change.
Things to remember:
Once you put something on point, somewhere you'll have to use a triangle shape to square it in. That triangle shape does have one side that is bias. And it will stretch.
But you already know what to do with that.

• Pin, pin, pin.
• Use a walking foot.
• Don't stretch the edges as you sew.
• Pick your iron up and then set it down. Don't push the fabric by ironing flat.