Perfect piecing for triangles
Piecing can be so much fun, but sometimes our blocks are short, no matter how carefully we sew. This can happen very easily when sewing triangles.
I recently discovered a trick that I want to share. I was sewing some blocks for our new book, Edge-to-Edge PRO. My machine was threaded with embroidery thread from a prior project, so I used it. I discovered that the triangles worked beautifully! I did not have to move my needle over to accommodate for the thickness of the thread. Let me show you an example.
In this block, I stitched a seam with 40 weight polyester embroidery thread on the right side (black), and 40 weight cotton thread on the left side (highlighted in red). Even though both threads are 40 weight, the cotton thread is actually thicker than the embroidery thread.
When I pressed the seams out, the right side (with the embroidery thread) gave me a perfect outer edge, because the embroidery thread was so fine. On the left side, I was short. This happens because the fabric is pressed over the thread, and the thread is too thick.
When you are doing a lot of piecing, if you’re a little short here, and a little short there, it can add up to a lot of space.
If you really want to use cotton thread, then, you would need to move the needle one notch in the direction that you will press the seam (see the red line in the picture). This will allow extra space for the fabric to go over the thread. Who knew thread could take up so much space!
I really like the embroidery thread trick, because I don’t have to move my needle, then remember to move the needle back after I’m done with the triangles. But, it’s up to you. I hope this tip is useful for you!