HAND OR MACHINE?
I included detailed instructions for machine piecing in the Golden Wedding Ring Design Book (free for a limited time), .
However, GWR is fabulous for hand piecers, too—especially because there are so many opportunities for continuous stitching.
CONTINUOUS STITCHING BY HAND
As usual, when you hand piece, you can sew the seams in any order. It is not like machine piecing which often has one preferred sequence.
In the image above, each star half is sewn with one thread because I sewed toward the center of the star.
Continuous stitching is optional but it has a wonderful benefit for hand piecers because if you “plan your route,” you can often sew several seams before you need to break the thread and start again.
Continuous stitching allows you to stay in the zone, loading one stitch after another.
It speeds things up and it is relaxing, all at the same time.
When I join the two halves together, I “circle the intersection” to get perfect points.
I have been teaching “Continuous Stitching” and “Circling the Intersection” for a long time. They are two of the wonderful hand piecing techniques in my Quilted Diamonds books (2002, 2004).
Golden Wedding Ring is a good way to demonstrate this technique, so let’s go.
When I add the green shapes around the center star (above), I can start anywhere. At the end of each seam, just turn a corner and keep on going. If your thread is long enough, you can sew 12 little seams before you stop to break the thread.
You can consider continuous stitching the same way you think of chain piecing when you machine piece. It is an efficient way to get a lot accomplished in a short time. It can also get you in a very relaxed mood.
Continuous stitching works perfectly for adding the next 6 shapes to complete the center.
Next, this empty ring is quick to sew (6 sets of 2 seams) and . . .
. . . then add that ring to the center with 6 gently curving seams. Perfection.
This is just one way to get a finished GWR “block.” As always with hand piecing, you can sew the pieces together in any order you like. You don’t have to follow this example.
Join the “blocks” together with more continuous stitching around the melon shapes.
This sophisticated, elegant design used to be for the most elite, expert quilters but . . .
. . . when you print the shapes on fabric, you might be surprised by how simple and straightforward the preparation and sewing become.
Cut on a line. Sew along a line.
HAND OR MACHINE?
Cathi hand pieces everything and you can see her first GWR rings on Quilt Obsession too.
I must admit that I sewed most of my GWR samples by machine because it is so fast and easy that way. I included detailed instructions for machine piecing in the Golden Wedding Ring Design Book.
BOTH!
For most quilters, I think a combination of hand and machine piecing is the best of both worlds. Hand piece for portability and machine piece for speed.
AND . . . whether you sew by hand or by machine, it presses perfectly, so every ring looks fabulous from the front. There is more detail about that in the design book too.
It is easy to imagine that printing on fabric is more complicated than it is, so I ask everyone to start with the free shape collection!Main Beginner’s Page.
Main Golden Wedding Ring Page The Design Book is FREE for a limited time.
Other GWR pages you might like:
- Design Ideas
- Yardage for Golden Wedding Ring
- How I designed GWR shapes
- Double Wedding Ring or Golden Wedding Ring?
I hope you love sewing this design as much as I do. I would love to see your rings. Thank you for visiting.
Linda & Monkey in Canada
Hello Linda,
This is so much fun to make. I use both, hand and machine. Mostly hand stitching, but sometimes machine helps.
So tank you for these little lessons, they are so useful.
I think you enjoy circling the intersection as much as I do, Cathi. It’s amazing how that little move becomes second nature, isn’t it?
Continuous sewing and circling intersections are both lessons I learned from you in person and through your Quilted Diamonds II book and am SO grateful that I did! Those two lessons alone make sewing any block fun and bound to turn out perfectly!! I’ve become so accustomed to circling intersections that I do it even for 3-fabric intersections