Hidden Stars Sew Along Weeks 1&2!!

by poweredbyquilting · January 8, 2019

It's finally time to start the Hidden Stars Sew Along!! I'm so excited that you've decided to sew along with me! For these first 2 weeks, the goal is to choose your fabric and cut! You can pick the quilt size you want to make, the larger the size the more you'll need to sew during the sew along to keep up.

Here's what you'll need for Week 1&2 if you haven't gotten your supplies yet:

Hidden Stars Pattern! (Purchase a PDF in my shop)
Enough Fabric for your desired size
Painter's Tape
A Sharpie
Rotary Cutter
Rulers for cutting the fabric
Stripology Ruler (optional)

For the sew along, I will be showing the quilt in Prettiful Posies by Designs by Sarah J. You can purchase your own fat eighth bundle from Serendipity Woods here if you would like your quilt to look like mine.

If you are using a collection of fabric or scraps, I recommend laying out your fabrics in the order you would want them to be on the quilt because there are 2 different types of blocks, Group A and Group B. The blocks are inverted color-wise from each other, so it's important to know layout prior to cutting your fabric. I have shown the fabrics in their groups for Prettiful Posies below.

I do not pre-wash or starch, but if you do here are some tips for fabric preparation:

Make sure that you pre-wash and iron your fabric prior to cutting.
If you starch your fabrics (or use Best Press), spray and let dry before ironing. THEN cut the fabric to the desired size. If you cut your squares prior to starching, your fabric squares will end up too small.

Cutting tips:

I stack at most 6 fabrics for cutting. Any more layers, the fabric corners tend to skew.
- If you are uncomfortable cutting so many layers, cut less. Accuracy is better than speed!
Do not sort your fabric by print after you cut, keep the fabric in the stacks that you cut.
Measure twice, cut once. There are some odd measurements in this quilt.
Use the Stripology Ruler when applicable for the background fabric. If you haven't used this ruler before, you can cut so many squares or rectangles very quickly!
Cut all the blocks needed for the entire quilt.
- You may want to have a box to keep all your stacks of fabric until they are sewn.
Use the painter's tape to label the Group A and Group B fabrics and the background squares.
- The largest background square should be labeled "Center" and the medium background square should be labeled "Stars"
- Group A is Color Star
- Group B is White Star