Sinuous Curves and the Last Sneak Peek

This is the last sneak peek of my nursery rhyme challenge quilt. The background is made from sky fabrics with stars and clouds using pieced curves to simulate the ocean.

I cut lengths of fabric at two to four inches wide.

Then I laid them on my cutting mat with right sides facing up and overlapping about an inch. I used a small rotary cutter because I feel like I have a little more control with it. I cut gentle curves, careful to stay within the overlap of the fabric. I removed the scraps and lined up the strips.

Then I flipped the end piece over and lined it up so that there were hills and valleys and I put in a pin where ever the fabrics crossed.

I took it to the machine and used tweezers to gently pull out the "bellies" so they matched up when I sewed them. This is one case where bias is your friend. I gently stretched the fabric so that the edges matched when I sewed them.

It's good to use a poker to help guide the fabric. If you aren't lucky enough to have a friend bring you a porcupine quill from South Africa, you can buy a bag of bar-be-que skewers from the grocery and you'll have a lifetime supply.

After it's all sewn, you iron it gently along the new seam, then flip it over and iron on the right side and...

VOILA! Perfectly flat curved seams!

I know I changed fabrics in these pictures -- I took lots of pictures because there are always a bunch of blurry ones. I posted the best ones to show each step and I apologize in advance if the different fabrics cause any confusion.