How to Hand Piece Curves

Diamond from Quilted Diamonds 2 by Linda Franz

Georgiana’s delight!

Hand Piecing Curves

I love hand piecing curves but there is one important technique that makes the difference between delight and despair—

How to Hand Piece Curves

—Pin ONE match at a time!

This is important! You might be tempted to pin all of the matches before you start sewing, but it is a mistake! The extra pins get in your way, scratch your fingers and tangle your thread.

It is much better to move one pi along the seam from one match to the next.

Quilted Diamonds 2 DVD lesson

I demonstrate hand piecing curves in the two-hour lesson on the Quilted Diamonds 2 DVD.

We are visual learners, so seeing detailed close-up stitching is wonderful, but the main point is just pin one match at a time. That simple tip will take you a long way, even if you don’t have the QD2 DVD (yet).

(Bonus tip: This is the same pinning method we use when we hand piece straight seams too!)

Diamond from Quilted Diamonds by Linda Franz

What delight! What felicity! (Jane Austen, Pride & Prejudice, Ch 27)

There are also several diamonds with curves (and illustrated instructions) in Quilted Diamonds (the first book).

How to sew curves

With Quilted Diamonds, we use freezer paper templates and mark the seam lines and matching marks with a mechanical pencil.

Diamond from Quilted Diamonds 2 by Linda Franz

The object of her happiest thoughts. (Jane Austen, Pride & Prejudice, Ch 42)

There are several diamonds with curves in the second Quilted Diamonds book too.

Diamond from Quilted Diamonds 2 by Linda Franz

Which could hardly be seen without delight. (Jane Austen, Sense & Sensibility, Ch 10)

Diamond from Quilted Diamonds 2 by Linda Franz

Nothing could be more delightful. (Jane Austen, Pride & Prejudice, Ch 3)

Print Apple Core templates on fabric

Freezer paper makes wonderful templates—but it is much easier when we can print the cutting lines, stitching lines, and matching marks on the fabric with Inklingo!

Print Winding Ways templates on fabric

I prefer to print the shapes on fabric when I can, but when the shapes are not “inklingo-able” yet, freezer paper templates are the next best thing!

Quilted Diamonds 2 with DVD

Quilted Diamonds 2 is the book that inspired me to invent Inklingo!

The Main Shapes with Curves Page on the website describes many of the designs which can be printed with Inklingo, like Clamshells, Double Wedding Ring, Drunkard`s Path, Joseph`s Coat, Sunflower, Yin Yang, and many more.

Quilted Diamonds 2 with DVD was reprinted this year, so you can learn to pleasures of hand piecing whenever you are ready.

.Crimes of the Heart 1986

This is one of this week’s photos on Facebook. Did you miss the birthday celebration?

Thank you for visiting!

Linda & Monkey

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4 thoughts on “How to Hand Piece Curves”

  1. Can you buy just the DVD. As I am never going to find mine. Can find the book and cd but not DVD . I must have bought it years ago. Linda gerig

    Reply
  2. Linda, you are incredible! I received my copy of qd2 and sat down immediately to watch your DVD. not only was it very informative but also quite enjoyable. I have to say even after quilting and sewing for far too many years than I care to admit I have learned some new tricks from you.

    I am looking so forward to making a scrappy quilted diamonds quilt for myself. since I now have both of your books my question is is there a quilted diamonds number 3 in the works?

    Much love and quilty hugs,
    Lou

    Reply
  3. Great tip! Thanks for the refresher!

    Another tip I’ve picked up from watching you sew over the years is that you don’t use pins, but needles to pin match marks instead. I started doing this years ago after watching your DVD and now it feels like pins are too fat and not very precise in comparison.

    The Quilted Diamonds books are the best ones out there for hand piecing techniques. Most quilting ‘books’ today are so thin and flimsy. Your books are beautiful, high quality, thorough and easy to understand. Plus, the DVD bonus in QD2 is groundbreaking! I think you were the first one to put a DVD with a quilting book! 🙂

    Thanks for all you do!

    Reply

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