First of all, yay you! No matter where you are with the goals or your progress, you've made it to week 3, and I'm so grateful you're here!

 

The goal this week is to tackle sewing curves to complete your Ring Quarter Blocks. Note: These are not the completed Ring Blocks which are made up of four ring quarter blocks, that's next week!

 

To be eligible to win our Week 3 prizes (scroll all the way down👇🏻 to see these and our Week 2 winners!):

 

1. Post a photo of your Ring Quarter Blocks on Instagram by midnight October 19 (ET) with hashtag #FWSGSAL25, and 

 

2. Comment on the official week 3 post on @dsquilts feed (below). 

As my friend Amy of Sewtopia fame pointed out in our Zoom meetup last week, the curves in Free-Wheeling Single Girl are BIG, which makes it much easier to master the process than it would be with a fussy tiny block. And don't forget that the block templates/pattern pieces are designed with an extra ¼ inch on each side of a completed ring quarter block, so you've got some wiggle room. We've got you, even if this is your first time sewing curves!

Lay out your background pieces and trimmed ring quarter right sides up as shown in the photo above.  

 

TIP: Amy uses a very tight stitch length (1.75) when piecing her rings to keep the seams from opening when sewing them to the backgrounds. An alternative is to stay-stitch 1/8-inch along the both curved edges of the ring like I did, above.

 

Mark the center of each piece. You can use the dot on the acrylic templates if have them, or simply fold each piece in half, aligning the edges, and finger press a crease as shown below.

Place the ring on top of the inner background piece a shown below, right sides together. Match the center and ends, and pin. Make sure to align the ends of the ring with the straight sides of the inner background as indicated by the red circle below. Gently align the curved edges, using as many pins as you need.

Ease most of the fullness through the center where it's curviest (indicated in red below), less fullness heading into the straight-ish side (indicated in blue), and no ease on the very ends of the rings (indicated in black). The completed ring is a “squircle” with flatter sides, so most of the fullness needs to fall where the curve is sharpest!

Stitch slowly with a ¼ inch seam allowance, keeping the edges aligned. Press the seam allowance toward the background, or scroll down to read about other pressing options.

 

Repeat to add the outer background to the inner/ring unit as shown below, with right sides together, aligning the center and ends, keeping the straight sides aligned. Use as many pins as needed to keep the edges aligned, then stitch.

 

TIP: Always sew with the fuller piece on top. It's easier to manage this way and you can see if any little pleats start developing and ease them as you go.

* I (Denyse) typically press my ring seam allowances toward the background. With so many seams in the ring, it's easier letting those lay toward the background rather than wrangling them toward the ring. I never mind seeing a shadow of the seam allowance outside the ring, and it mostly disappears once quilted.

 

Some folks—including my sew along partners—prefer to stick to the general quilting wisdom of pressing toward the darker fabric, which in some cases might be the rings. Or maybe you are a “seams open” quilter! It's your call with your FWSG! 

 

If you're on the fence, it's helpful to understand how the pressing direction affects the look of the quilt top! If you press the ring allowances toward the ring, they will appear to “float” above the background. If you press toward the background, the rings appear inset. Either way is fine, just be consistent with each quarter block!

If things aren't going as smoothly as you'd like, try trouble shooting with this list.

 

• Sewing slowly goes a long way with curves, especially around the sharpest section of the curve. It makes it easier to maintain a consistent ¼ inch seam allowance, and make sure you aren't developing pleats instead of easing.

 

• Pleats happening? Use more pins (or glue baste, see below) to keep the fullness evenly distributed, and slow down your stitching so you can nab those before they happen. Check your pieces against the templates to make sure edges haven't stretched (see below). A tiny pleat here or there is NOT the end of the world, but you do want the process to feel smooth and rewarding, so figuring out where the issue lies can be empowering.

 

• If your pieces don't seem to be fitting together or there is way too much fullness to ease in, try checking your cut background and ring pieces against your templates before sewing your blocks together. Those big curves can easily stretch, and if you've had to move your cut pieces around (like, are you working on the dining room table?) they could have stretched out of shape a bit. Trim any that need it to prevent issues later that involve using your seam ripper.

 

• Try glue basting! Some people prefer this over fiddly pins. Wendy likes the Sewline glue pen, but any white glue–used sparingly—will work. Just use a thin smear along the curved edge of your inner background, then lightly press the edge of your ring onto the glue–first aligning the center and ends, easing most of the fullness at the center, etc as described above with pinning.

That's it for Week 3! Next week I have tips for sewing your ring quarter blocks together! We are really enjoying see your work! Have fun! 

Congrats to our week 2 winners! 

@strongstitches won a gorgeous, curated 25-piece fat quarter bundle of Andover Century Solids in “ocean”, donated by our friends at Fabric Spark!! Susan is making an all Anna Maria Parry print quilt, with rings cut from a single fabric. 👍🏻

 

Melissa @allgrownup_mh won a copy of the very delightful QuiltFolk Cats  (featuring foreword written by my own @georgeandeliot 😸, from our friends at QuiltFolk. Melissa is making an all-solids scrumptious FWSG.

 

@susanrikan, won a fat quarter bundle of Colorwash, donated by our friends at XLN Fabrics. Susan is making a pinkalicious scrapful delight!

 

Thanks to all of you for your posts and comments, and the wonderful work and stories you're sharing on Instagram. I can't begin to tell you how much it lifts my spirit! Lots of gratitude to our sponsors for providing our prizes!

We have very awesome prizes to provide a little extra incentive in meeting your goals this week! To be eligible to win, follow the prompts at the top of this email. 👆🏻 Here's what our generous sponsors have provided:

 

• A copy of Love You to Pieces, A Gift of Friendship, above, and below. My friend Amy Barickman's newest book is a must for any vintage textile-lover! A heartwarming and cheerful ode to friendship that features a charming cast of vintage fabric characters set amidst a backdrop of glorious handmade quilts. Adorable!

 

• From our good friends at Oliso, a fantastic bundle with an M3Pro Project iron, complete with a coordinating carry bag, and wool MultiMat! The project iron is the perfect size for detail work and pressing next to your sewing machine. Project irons have the power and performance of a full-size iron in a compact design that fits comfortably in the palm of your hand! This bundle is perfect for travel to retreats and classes, or working at home. Wowza!

 

• A copy of QuiltFolk's special QuiltFolk Cats, with a foreword penned (okay, dictated) by my own furry companions, George and Eliot. Like their quarterly magazine, QuiltFolk Cats is beautifully printed, and ad-free. This special edition is 124 pages of pure cattitude, featuring stories from quilters whose lives—and creative practices—are delightfully entangled with cats. You’ll meet artists inspired by their feline companions, quilters who love fostering kittens as much as they love sewing, and perhaps even a few internet-famous cats. It’s a celebration of quilts, creativity, and the irresistible cat charm woven into it all. Meow!