"lock seams" day & night

[stitcherkjb]

I am doing my first quilt.. on page 53 step 3 it says to "lock seams" which ones? I reversed stitched over the strips when I cut the left and right triangles. How important is this step? I just stitched 15 sets of left and right triangles without locking any stitches.

thanks. kate

[auntjana]

It is not the stitches that are locking but the the way that the seams are pressed - if you followed the directions in the book - you will be fine -

Locking seams just means that the seams are pressed opposite of each other so the they nestle right up close to make a perfect intersection. It is important for this quilt to lock those seams together so that you can swirl the centers so that the middle of the block - where they all come together will lay nice and flat.

I have made this quilt and followed El's directions and they are great. I even made it again - at the Teacher Training class at Quilt in a Day in February.

If you have problems with the swirl technique - it is wonderful - go to the Media theatre on the home page here and there is a tutorial on the Day Night Quilt. It will help you see what she is talking about.

Hope that this helps
Jana

[stitcherkjb]

Thank you SO VERY MUCH! Your message is very clear. I have been locking the seams right along. It just was a term I had not come across before.
I will have to look at the video another time. I have phone line connection and videos take Forever.

Kate