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Sewing appliqué blocks together

by Sherry
(Edmond, OK)

I cut my appliqué background blocks on the straight of grain so two sides don’t stretch and two sides can stretch. When I sew them together should I place all the straight of grain (non-stretchy sides) in the same direction or alternate them?

It’s a Dresden plate so the design isn’t directional.

From the Editor: Hi Sherry.

I'm sorry for the late reply. Hubby had surgery and it's taken a bit for things to get back to semi-normal.

Anyway, I'm assuming that your background is cut into squares.

IF the finished quilt is to hang on a wall, I would have the lengthwise grain (the minimal stretch) running from top to bottom in my blocks. As a quilt hangs, it may want to stretch a bit from the weight, so I'd want to minimize that if I could.

If the finished quilt is to lay flat for display then I wouldn't make any special effort to watch which way each grain runs. The probability of stretching is minimal.

The final consideration is if there is a definition design in the background fabric that you want to keep flowing in all the same direction.

For some quilters, this is relevant.

For others—not so much.

It's a matter of personal taste. You will know if it's important to you.

I hope this has helped. Again, I apologize for the delay in responding.

I'd love to see a picture when you're finished!

Piecefully,

Julie Baird