New quilt pattern plus tutorial: How to Piece Tiny Pieces!

Here is my latest quilt pattern for all those airplane enthusiasts! 

It's called Touch and Go.

 (see how the planes are flying in 2 circles...practicing their touch and goes?)  :)

 

I'm adding that wind blown look..

Today is blogging and binding day...

There are a couple tiny pieces in the propeller area and i thought it would be helpful to share this tutorial.

See that finished 1/2" corner triangle?  Ugh...who wants to deal with that?!

To make piecing tiny pieces easier...i size up! 

In the photo below, the completed unit measures 1" x 2" with 3/4" corner triangle squares. 
To make it easier, I cut the black rectangle 1-1/2" x 2-1/4" and the corner triangle squares are cut at 1".  That may still sound small...but there's a big manageable difference!

Next i draw a line a 1/4" in from the short end of the rectangle.

I finger press each 1" square to create a stitching line to follow.

I place my first 'corner triangle square' on the drawn line and one edge of the rectangle.

**Important!
Before sewing you can also place a tiny dot of SeamAlign behind the 1" square to keep the fabric square in place.  I don't find it necessary for my 1" square, but it definitely helps and i Love this new product!  A tiny dot plus a little heat from your iron, and the square will stay in place while you sew corner to corner!  It's also great for holding seams in place so intersections will match up perfectly! Once sewn, you hardly know SeamAlign was there!  
Where can you find this product? Visit Momma Made It Quilt Shop

See my Instagram post on SeamAlign @laughyourselfintostitches

Now I sew my corner triangle square.  I continue to sew right off the edge beyond the drawn line.

I press the first corner triangle over and sew my second one in place.  If the corner triangles look a bit kattywampus after sewing, don't worry...time to trim!

I started with a 1-1/2" x 2-1/4" rectangle and it needs to be trimmed to 1" x 2".  

Cut #1 
Trim 1/4" off one side, placing a line from my ruler directly down the middle where my corner tri's meet.  This ensures i do not trim too much off one side or the other.  The edge of my ruler is placed at 1-1/4" on my unit, allowing me to trim 1/4" off the exposed side.  

Cut #2

Flip the unit around and repeat 

Cut #3
Line the end of the rectangle at 2" mark on the ruler and trim.  I double check to make sure i have 1/4" left for a seam!  Don't want to blunt my propeller blades!

So really, piecing tiny pieces is not that hard and trimming it down is great for precision and accuracy!  :)

Here's a different colorway for Touch and Go...
This quilt will also be included in the pattern.  It is just a bit smaller and the border will be tiny bit different. 

This version is called....Amelia

awwww, so cute!

The pattern will be out soon...i need to finalize the instructions and have my test pilot take it for a spin!  :)

Hope you learned something!
Learn, Share, Quilt!
~karen