Sewing Long Strips - Strip Piecing
When sewing fabric strips together, the strips will tend to arc slightly. The reason this happens and the degree in which it happens is due to 3 things:
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The direction the strips are cut (lengthwise vs. crosswise).
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The pressor foot used.
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The alignment of the 2 fabrics, i.e. pinning.
To achieve good results with strips piecing, do the following:
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Always cut the strips lengthwise (parallel to the salvage). This is the less stretchy direction. This is the opposite of how jelly rolls and honeybuns are cut.
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Use a walking foot. This will help the strips stay even. A regular foot only has the feed dogs to help move the fabrics along and will naturally move the bottom strip further along. If you don't have a walking foot, pin in a few places and correct as you go.
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Cut the strips the same length and pin.
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Sew subsequent strips in the opposite direction to help counter the arc and alternate direction with each strip.
The log cabin block is extremely difficult to accurately sew by a simple piecing method because the seams are going concentrically around the center. The outside edge becomes more and more wavy as the block gets bigger. I have tested this with accurate laser cut strips and every block, no matter the size, will not lie flat. The best result, in my opinion, is achieved by using a paper foundation method. The foundation gives the fabric stability and corrects the expanded outer edge as you sew around the block. I use a front-sided foundation paper piecing method to sew log cabin. Directions for this is available with the free log cabin patterns under FREE DOWNLOADS.