chain piecing squares

You asked for it. 

The two questions that I am asked most often have to do with chain piecing and matching points.  So here are a thousand pictures (along with a few words) on how I do it. 

1.  Choose some of your favorite fabrics and cut them into squares.  My squares are 5"x5".

2.  Randomly select two squares and sew them, right sides together, with a 1/4" seam allowance.  I use a 1/4" foot on my machine so that I can align the edge of the fabric with the edge of the foot.

3.  When you are done sewing the fabric continue to "sew" for about one inch - this forms a thread chain. 

 

4.  Do not cut the thread or break the chain.  Lift the presser foot and place another two squares, right sides together, and sew then together with a 1/4" seam allowance.

Repeat this until all your squares are in pairs.

Notice that I have sewn together 50 squares without getting up from my chair to press/iron.  Also, I have not cut any threads - this is really all one seam.  

And I love how they puddle on the floor.

5.  Cut the pieced squares apart by snipping the threads that connect them with scissors. 

6.  Open them up - you do not need to press at this point.  Now sew the pairs together into strips of 4 squares.

Lay the pieced squares, right sides together...

and sew with a 1/4" seam allowance - using your 1/4" sewing machine foot.

Once again do not cut the thread between squares.  Just "sew" an inch long chain after each seam, lift the presser foot, and insert the next squares.

Here they are in sets of four.

Here's a close-up of the "chain" of thread connecting the pieced square sets.

 

Cut these apart by snipping the threads with scissors. 

At this point you can chain piece these sets of squares together into sets of 8 and/or 16 or 32.

For this tutorial I will stop here and show you how I sew these rows of 4 together.

Once you get the rows as long as want, it will be time to press all the seams.

Before I press the seams I lay out all my rows and place them in the order I will be sewing them.

Then I press one row at a time, starting with the first row.

I press all the seams of the even numbered rows to one side (right or left - you choose) and all the odd numbered rows to the opposite side.  Now when I go to sew my rows together the intersections will butt up against each other, making it easy to match the points.  See below.

 

Here is how the joints butt up.  Use your fingers to butt the points/joints up.  At this point you can pin at each of these joints but I prefer to sew the rows together slowly and butt up each joint with my fingers as I come to it (I stop with needle in the down position and realign as needed).

You will soon see that if you sewed all the squares together with a 1/4 inch seam allowance and you got the first point/seam to match up then all the rest will follow suit - even if your row is 32 squares long!

Above are the first two rows, right sides together and first two joints butted up.

Note: Notice that the top edge of the rows may not line up exactly.  This is fine.  What is important is that the first Joint is butted up precisely - not the top edge of the row.

Sew the two rows together, right sides together, with a 1/4" seam allowance.

Continue to chain piece the rows together - two at a time.

Once you are done piecing all of the rows into sets of two, Press the long seam open with a hot iron. 

Do not iron back and forth - just press.

Now you are ready to sew the sets of two rows into sets of four rows.

Then sew the four row sets into eight row sets.  And 16 row sets until your quilt is the way you want it.

Sneak peak at my quilt here.  You can see several other quilts I made last year using the same method here, here and here - the only difference being that the squares were pieced into triangles first.  Please so not hesitate to ask any questions in the comments.

Hope this helps. But really if you make a quilt and your points do not match perfectly your kiddos will still love it just as much...

and they will still snuggle with it in their beds...

and they will drag it out onto the couch...

and they will still use it to build a fort...

and they will still spill chocolate milk all over it...

and they will still wrap it around their shoulders and run through the house pretending to have super powers...

and they will still love and appreciate it just as much as they would if every single point matched perfectly.

Have a wonderful weekend everybody. 

Comments

[lucy]

it looks quite a fast job as long as being organized is done ahead of time. Thank you for sharing.
x

[Stephanie]

What a great idea, I never thought to chain everything together to save time. Thanks for the tips!

[rene]

GREAT post!

[Jodi]

I am learning so much from you about quilting. And to think, I used to hop up to iron every two seconds. Somehow you make it all so simple. I hope you're compiling all these tips for a book someday. I'll buy it...Will you sign my copy? Thanks for sharing.

[MrPuffy]

Thank you for such a great tutorial! A quilt is definitely on my list of things I want to make and I'll come back and review this tutorial when I'm getting closer :)

Note to self: buy sewing machine!

[Glitzerkeks]

WOW! After reading this, I think I will try my first Quilt. Thanks so much. Great tutorial!

[Meg Evans]

Great tute--I like your system for ironing the odd and even rows in a certain direction. That will come in handy. I love, love, love those fabrics!

[Account Deleted]

so gorgeous. thank you for taking the time and making the effort to share this!

[mo]

I learned that technique about a year ago and think it is genius! Thanks for putting together the nice tutorial. I love what you say at the end about the quilts even if the corners don't match up. I totally agree!

[Lisa Q]

another great tutorial...i'll have to get some fresh new fabrics and give this a try...may be another quilt coming in 2010. i think i can feel something springy emerging! thanks girl! and I love your ending....you are so right, the kids don't care whether the points match up, the love seems to cover all that up!

[elizabeth ~ so wabi sabi]

this was just the encouragement I need to really get myself started on a quilt....a longtime dream project of mine.

thanks also for the scarf tutorial a while back . I apologize for not letting you know about posting the link...but I loved the project.

and also thank you for your kind words over on Heather's blog.

I'll be back;)
blessings~
elizabeth

[leslie]

you are so great to do this! thank you...
you really make me want to sew!!!

[beki]

I *love* to chain piece. Learning this technique opened up a whole new world to me :)

[darlene]

what a great tutorial! breaks it down really easily for someone to follow!

[kristyn]

another wonderful post! already printed it out as a guide for my Christmas quilt coming this year!! all thanks to you and the inspiration you bring in your corner of blogland. THANKS for all the time it took to put this together.

[Kelly]

Thank you for this detailed explanation. I'll be linking to this wonderful tutorial!

[Linda Jeter]

Wonderful tutorial,, Kudo's to you!!!

Pictures/visaul aid are great tools for us beginners/intermediate quilters.

Thanks again,
Linda J
VA

[Jacquie]

Thanks for your great tutorial!I have been looking for a simple and clear tute on chain piecing.
Thanks again.

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