In English Patchwork, the seams are sewn in a particular way, which can allow even a beginner to produce neat, accurate and well made pieces.
Starting to Sew a Seam
As mentioned in the other patchwork articles, we are making a patchwork rosette. You will see from the finished flower that there are six pieces of one colour for the outer row, surrounding a centre patch of another colour. Take the centre patch and one of the other six patches and place them right sides together, with the grain of the fabric matching. This can be ensured by double checking that the sides of the hexagons which have the ends from the basting protruding are in the same position.
Double check that right sides are together as it's all too easy to get it wrong, and insert the needle into the right hand corner of the seam that is to be sewn. It will go only through the fabric at the very edge, picking up a couple of threads or, at the most, a tiny fold. It will not go through the paper foundation.
Draw the needle and thread through this corner point until about 1/4 inch of thread is left, hold onto this end and make another stitch in the exact same position. This will lock the starting point.
How to Hide the Thread End
Grab the 1/4 inch length of thread that was not pulled through in the first thread, and position it so that it will be caught inside the seaming stitches. It will lie along the edges of the fabric seam to be sewn. Start taking tiny stitches, each one a few threads apart, covering the thread end. It will be completely hidden and will not come undone, allowing a smooth and neat finish to the patchwork.
How to Sew the Seam
Continue taking tiny, evenly spaced stitches. These should be around 10-15 stitches per inch, but practice may produce an even higher stitch count, as many as 20 stitches on fine fabrics. Sew right across the patchwork edge, into the next corner.
How to Lock the End Stitch
Take another double stitch in the corner at the end of the seam.
How to Finish the Thread at the End of the SeamWhen the seam has been finished, start working back towards the right hand corner of the patchwork edge, taking the same size tiny stitches as before. They will look like cross stitches. When five or six stitches have been taken, the thread end can be trimmed close to the fabric. There will not be any knots in the patchwork when it is finished.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
