How do you sew 45 degree diamonds together so they lay flat?

[Rita1]

I have tried several times to sew these 45 degree diamond shaped fabric pieces together, and each time they turn out all puckery and will not lay flat at all. What am I doing wrong? Or is there a trick to accomplish this? For I'm getting pretty frustrated. Thank you for any ideas or suggestions you can give me.

[gardenquilter]

do you already have all the diamonds cut out - and what are you making - I ask because it may make a difference in the instruction you receive

[Cathy32078]

Maybe the stitches are too tight? I've made 2 Lemoyne Star quilts and I really had to be careful about the stitching not being too tight or my diamonds puckered.

[quilterbee]

McCall's Quilting had a pattern,"Diamond in the Rough" using 60 degree diamonds. I got those cut, but there were no instructions on 30 degree diamonds, so the quilt hasn't been pieced. I even emailed the editor, but she couldn't help me either. Good luck on yours, there's more info on 45 degree than 60 degree. Amie )

[BarbieJean]

Welcome to the forum Rita1. I am from Omro also.

[Rita1]

Yes I do have all the diamonds cut out for this project. I'm trying to make these place mats that resemble like poinsettia. They also have triangle and square pieces that go in between the out side points when the diamonds are all sewn together to more or less create like a 12" quilt square block would be. For one block it consists of 8 diamond shapes, 4 triangles, and 4 squares. I so far have made 8 of these and not a one so far has turned out where as it will lay flat without puckering. My fabric I'm using for this is all cotton. Unless I cut them out of the fabric wrong. But would it really matter grains whys cause there 45 degree angles. I would tend to think that should not matter cause there all on angles right? For I have my heart set on making these for my daughter that loves poinsettias for Christmas. Thank you for any info you may have that may help my situation.

[Evie]

Have you thought about redesigning it using half square triangles?

If you use fabric that does not have a direction print on it, some patterns can be changed. Look at this carpenter wheel from quilters cache. They've redesigned it using half square triangles instead of diamonds.

http://www.quilterscache.com/C/Carpente ... Block.html

Maybe putting the design on graph paper. Is there a picture of this pattern that we can look at?

[gardenquilter]

I asked if you already had them cut out because when I do diamonds if i can I will sew strips together and then cut on 45 angle giving me a head start - also sometimes instead of sewing my rows across i sew on the diagonal it makes things like this fit together a little easier - I hope that makes sense

i read an article in the past week about thread and it recommend using a thinner 2 ply thread for piecing and a little longer stitch to reduce bulk in a project like this

something else to consider when putting them together sew them together so that you have two groups of 4 or half the star then sew the halves together it is easier if you can go through the middle than having to deal with all the little indepedant seams

hopes this helps

not sure if my instruction is clear

[Oasis]

I was going to do a seminole border, had my strips all sewn and instead of cutting them straight up and down, I mistakenly cut them at an angle like gardenquilter said and was surprised at how nice the diamond shapes turned out. Then did like she said, sew together by twos then half to half. Sometimes mistakes can give good results.

Evie. . .I try to look at all difficult looking patterns as half sq. triangles to see if it can be done. However, now I don't have to figure out the carpenters wheel. Thanks for the tip about the website! I really like the "Borders" section.

Rita. . .sorry I really don't know how to help you other then try it like quiltcreator said. Welcome to the forum, I have learned so much from these wonderful quilters and have seen some really beautiful quilting.

[Quiltcreator]

Rita: Have you tried hand piecing them? Pressing the seams open?