Ticker Tape Quilt Along Week 2 – Sewing the Blocks

Are you having fun quilting along? Even if you don’t make the Ticker Tape quilt, you can still follow along virtually. And the best part is, you can apply many of the tips and tricks I share to any quilt you plan to make!

Once your pieces are cut (click here for last week’s blog post), it’s time to sew them together into blocks. Be sure to follow the Ticker Tape quilt pattern instructions carefully for proper layout of the blocks. You can actually arrange the colors a few different ways. In the navy version, I used 2 of the same fabrics in each row of the block.

However, in the Turquoise version, I decided to change things up and make it super scrappy with a different fabric in each area of the block. Remember – there’s no right or wrong way to arrange the colors in the blocks – that’s completely up to you!

Here’s another tip: when sewing the block units together, if you sew with the background fabric on top each time, that will switch sewing directions each time you piece the units together. This helps prevent warping of the blocks, so it’s a good habit to get into. Check out my short video demo by clicking the image below:

I prefer pressing all of my seams open because that ensures that the blocks will lie super flat which makes it much easier to machine quilt. My tips are to use pins when joining seams and sew with a shorter stitch length, for example 2.0 instead of 2.5.

Contrary to popular belief, you *can* stitch in the ditch with seams pressed open, and in my experience it does *not* weaken the seams. But remember, these are techniques that work for me – you are welcome to use any processes that work for you.

So your “homework” for this week is to sew all of your blocks! The pattern includes instructions in several sizes, so make the number of blocks according to the size you have chosen. Set aside the leftover squares for borders which you can finish up next week.

Click the video below to see my pretty stack!!

Grab the Pattern, Fabric, or Optional Kits

Be sure to grab the Ticker Tape quilt pattern to follow along if you haven’t done so already. It’s available in both print and PDF.

And while supplies last, I’m offering Ticker Tape quilt kits made from my Dazzle Dots fabric. Aren’t they fun??

Click here to view all available quilt kits.

Next week, we will join all the blocks together to make the top, and sew the pieced borders. Stay tuned!! If you’d like to share your progress or get extra help, be sure to post pics in. my Christa Quilts group on Facebook.