Continuous Stitching
I started teaching “continuous stitching” 25 years ago and featured it in my first book—Quilted Diamonds, Austen-tatious Diamonds to Hand Piece, in 2002. The book has become a classic. (It is beautiful and you can still snag a copy!)
Continuous stitching is still a joy for me, even after all these years. If you are sewing Pieced Hexagons by hand with the new shape collection this summer, you need to know about this!
Continuous Stitching Pieced Hexagons
Pieced Hexagons are the most fun when you use continuous stitching in your portable summer sewing project.
“At the end of every seam, before you cut the thread, look to see if you can continue sewing just by turning a corner.”
That’s it. Simple, eh?
I add the triangles to the hexagon with the first thread, sewing continuously (red arrows). Then I add the 6 diamonds with another thread (or two).
Plan Your Continuous Stitching Route
If you enjoy puzzles, you can plan your route for as much continuous stitching as possible.
The first design in Quilted Diamonds 2 illustrates this perfectly. You can sew all of the seams continuously with one thread—one very long thread! (I’ve done it. Should you put it on your Bucket List?)
This diamond is called Miss Elizabeth’s Star, named after Jane Austen’s heroine in Pride & Prejudice.
My Quilted Diamonds books only teach hand piecing because the diamonds are small, but using freezer paper templates also works perfectly for machine piecing. (Why I don’t sell acrylic templates.)
Inset Seams are The Best!
Continuous stitching is a simple yet effective idea that enhances the pleasure of “slow sewing” and makes you appreciate inset seams.
In fact, when you are stitching continuously by hand, inset seams are a significant advantage. (Pre-Inklingo machine piecers often avoid insets.)
Chain piecing by hand?
Continuous stitching can also be called “chain piecing by hand.”
The new shape collection for Hexagons & More includes all the shapes you need to make over 100 Pieced Hexagon Designs. Tempting, eh?
Monkey says you might also like to get 300 Pieced Hexagons. Or, put it on your Bucket List.
Thank you for visiting today!
Continuous stitching makes piecing so much fun! Ever since I learned about it from doing Quilted Diamonds, I look for continuous stitching possibilities every time I begin to sew a new block. Continuous stitching, grading seams and your brilliant pressing method – all learned from you – really do make a huge impact on how much fun it is to sew and how well blocks turn out!!
Thank you, Cathi. I hope this is a happy summer for sewing for you!