Dublin Fancy Quilt Along: Week 3

Week 3 of our quilt along starts today! For this week, we’re going to make another 5 chain blocks. Those are the nine patch blocks with pinwheels in the foreground. If you haven’t got your pattern yet, you can order it here. You can view the quilt along schedule here. If you’re joining us late, you can still sign up as long as the quilt along is still going.

A New tip for 4 at time Half Square Triangles!

We’ll be doing the same thing we did last week, so there isn’t much new. BUT, I do have a new tip for you for the 4 at a time Half Square Triangles! You can check out my previous post on making 4 at time Half Square Triangles HERE, but I have a little to add to that today. I was making some half square triangles for my April Ninja Star block yesterday. This is part of my Ninja Star Sampler Block of the Month. I got the random idea to try something a little different, and it worked! So, I decided to share with you here because you’ll get to make a lot of 4 at a time Half Square Triangles while you make this quilt.

While I was making my half square triangles for the April Ninja Star block, it occurred to me that some of the issues some people have with 4 at a time half square triangles may come from your blocks not staying neatly stacked while you sew the 1/4″ seam around all 4 sides of the stack. If you’re a little lost, go back and check my post on 4 at a time half square triangles. I go over some of the problems people have with them and take you through making them step by step. You can check that post out HERE.

So, if not having your two squares staying neatly stacked is an issue, how do you keep that from happening? It’s so simple, I’m surprised it never occurred to me before. Just glue them together. If you read many of my posts or follow me on instagram, you’ll see that I use glue sticks A LOT! You’ll put a little glue on the right sides of one of your squares before you stack them. You don’t have to cover every inch of the square. I have the glue on the lighter fabric in the picture so that you can see it better. Then, you’ll stack them right sides together, sew your 1/4″ seam around all four sides, and make your 4 at a time half square triangles as you normally would. This will keep those two squares neatly stacked for you while you sew the seam and eliminate any wonkiness that might happen from them not staying stacked neatly.

You’ll want to use washable school glue so that it’ll wash right out when you wash your finished quilt. I like the disappearing purple glue because I can see where I’ve already applied. It also dries clear so that you can tell if you’ve waited too long and need to reapply.

A few anticipated problems, and did they bother me?

Right away, I thought of some things some people might not like about this idea. First of all, if you don’t like an idea you are more than welcome to not try it and just do things however you want to. Not every method is for everyone, not every idea is for everyone. Different methods for different people.

The fact that you’re gluing your pieces together is something that some quilters may shy away from, especially since you’ll be applying the glue to the right sides of your fabric. I’ve found that stick glue holds well enough for all the quiltey things I’ve used it for so far, but it also allows the fabrics to be peeled apart pretty easily if you need them to. I probably wouldn’t use this method on fabrics with a high pile or a lot of fuzz like minky or flannel because it may be damaged by gluing the fabric together and peeling it back apart.

Another thing to think about is that when you open those triangle up and press them, the glue could get on your iron. To combat this, I decided to press the triangles before I open them up. This sounds counter productive to heat set that glue before I peel the triangles apart, but it worked well for me. I was still able to peel the fabrics apart without causing any damage, and it dried the glue so that very little (if any) glue got on my iron.
***Tip for cleaning your iron – Rub an acetaminophen tablet onto a heated iron to clean it. I use one of the white tablets instead of the red and blue one because I worry the dye might get on my iron. I like to use tweezers to hold the tablet so that I don’t risk touching the hot iron.

The glue might get your fabrics dirty. Having glue on the right sides of your fabrics may show once you’ve pressed it, but it should wash right out if you use washable school glue. I’ve been using this for various quiltey things for about 4 years now, and I haven’t had any issues with this. If you’re plan to sell this quilt and send it off to your client without washing it first, this is probably not a good technique for you.

Did it work?

I do feel like this was helpful. The fabrics didn’t bunch up near the intersection of the seam lines, and it did help keep the seams of the half square triangle nice and straight. Another benefit I noticed is that it did have a little bit of a stabilizing effect on the bias edges. Disclosure: Bias edges DO NOT bother me, and they never have, but if they bother you this might help.

When I noticed the stabilizing effect, I decided to try this glueing technique with the hour glass units that were in the April Ninja Star block. It helped for this too! I posted my technique for making hour glasses a while ago on instagram. This got more views than any other reel I’ve made and lots of positive comments. BUT, there were a few people who commented that they didn’t like that there were bias edges. If you like the ease and quickness of this method but fear the bias edges, it may be worth trying to apply glue before you stack the squares for your hour glasses.

Re-Cap

Here are the links to some helpful videos and posts:

Trimming half square triangles
Keeping your pinwheel points
Spinning your seams
Chain Piecing
Pressing options

Get your own custom label for your Dublin Fancy Quilt. I sent a graphic that I drew with the pattern to the fabulous Melanie from Southern Charm Quilts/Meander and Make and she used it to design a label for this quilt. You can get one with your name on it HERE. (That was an affiliate link. If you click and buy, I earn a commission. This doesn’t affect the price you pay). Use the code SNUGGLEBUGSTITCHING at check out for 10% off. Choose the Dublin Fancy option. There are a few others listed. I’ll be showing you those soon!

Each Week on the Blog

I’ll link to all of the other weeks near the end of each post. I will add each post here as I have them. You can also find this on the Quilt Alongs Page.

Week 1 – Gather Fabrics and Cut Chain Block Pieces
Week 2 – Make 5 Chain Blocks
Week 3 – You are currently at the Week 3 Post
Week 4 – Make 5 Chain Blocks
Week 5 – Make Strip Units; Make 7 Cube Blocks
Week 6 – Make 8 Cube Blocks
Week 7 – Assemble Quilt Tops

Prize for this Week

Our prize for this week is going to be a free PDF pattern. You can choose any of my patterns accept for this one.

To be eligible for prizes:

– You must be following me @snugglebugstitching on Instagram and post progress pictures for the week on Instagram by Tuesday at 5:00 PM Central Time. You must tag me @snugglebugstitching in your posts and use the #dublinfancyqal and #dublinfancyquilt. Please remember to post your progress pictures! I love seeing what you’re making!

-I will announce the winner on Instagram and tag the lucky quilt alonger so that they know they’ve won. The winner will have one week to contact me to claim the prize. Any unclaimed prizes will be forfeited.