A Kittens Tale: Block 3

Hi Ladies, so this block was a bit tricky, I really love how it turns out so don’t bee too afraid just forge ahead 🙂

~trace out your applique of the dog first~

Determine which method you want to use, I’m choosing “raw edge” for the applique because I like the slightly frayed edge for the appliques. If you are going with needle turn, in the pattern Lynette says to add seam allowance (1/2″) if you add seam allowance your center will become larger, which is okay with the raw edge but if you choose to do needle turn here don’t increase the size of you seam allowance as it will become to big and you won’t be able to needle turn your edges, I would recommend cutting it to exact size of the arch, this way you will have extra fabric to snip and press back for needle turn.

~cut out your arch shape (with paper scissors) note which side should be on the fold~

~check your directions please to ensure you have the proper arch as well it talks about seam allowance, center it along this side and pin in place~

~after you’ve cut out your fabric, I placed mine over the background piece to make sure it looks good~

~cut out the rest of your pieces including your applique~ One note, when sewing your pinwheels together be conscious of which ones will be touching as I have 2 browns touching and I would have preferred them to be more random~

~chain piece your rail fence and your strippy block section together~

~pin in place making sure it’s center top and bottom and side to side, you want enough fabric where the arch and background overlap to stitch through to make it secure, take your time, and line it up properly or it will look “off”~

~for raw edge, set your stitch length from 2.5 standard to 2 as when top stitching into silk you want a tighter stitch length, sew along approx 1/8″ in from the edge, go slowly, you may even want to release some of the tension off of your foot so the fabric moves lighter~

~same thing with the dog and the rest of the appliques~

~as usual I’m almost done the stitiching just the row of X’s across the bottom to do, as you can see my dog is backwards but hey I like him this way :)~

TIPS: when using the silk floss you will notice that you cannot split the threads apart so you will just use it as it is. Also, for those of you who are using the “stem” stitch for your embroidery areas the silk floss works better in a certain direction, I just discovered this and I’m so much happier with my stitches I’ll take some close up pics for you to see.

For those of you enjoying this block of the month as well as those of you who are doing both, we are having a Poll on our site for the 2010-11 years boms, please stop by and help us pick which one(s) we are going to do 🙂

 Good luck, please write your comments here, AND those of you who need floss please don’t be shy and let me know – thanks so much!!

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My finished block – adorable hey?