For those of you who are participating in the Friends of Baltimore/Baltimore Squared BOM, you should have received your first block by now.  So, as promised, here is how I constructed the basket for Block 1.  In a couple of days, I will do another post to show you how I finished the block.

OK…here we go….First I started by taping the pattern together.  You can make a personal photocopy (for your use only) so that you have a master copy.  You never know, you want to make these blocks more than once.  Next, I traced the pattern onto the background with a clover Water Soluble Marker (the thick one).  Take note that I only trace the outlines of a design and I don’t trace the inside detail.  Once you place the first unit on the background, you will cover up the inside markings.  And you will say to yourself… “Well, I just wasted my time tracing things that didn’t need to be traced”.  Trust me.

So I was laying in bed the other night thinking about baskets.  Specifically, baskets that are made from strips of bias.  And the fact that they are usually appliqued right onto the background.  And I wondered…”Where are the stems?  If the basket shows the background, shouldn’t I see green stems from the flowers?”  So then I thought…”I wonder what it would look like if I  added a layer of light blue fabric to the background, and then applique the bias strips on top of that.  And then the stems would be “in” the basket”.  So that is what I did.  Which is why I did not trace the stems onto the background (just in case you were wondering haha!).

 

Maybe you have never made bias strips before.  You probably think it is really difficult.  Well, I am here to show you how easy it really is.  First, you lay your ruler on the edge of the fabric so that the 45 degree line is lined up with the edge of the fabric.  It should look like this.   Here is a post you can read about how I make my bias stems.

By the way, we are cutting our bias strips on a 45 degree angle.  Each one of those lines on your ruler represents a different angle, so make sure you are using the correct line.

When I cut my freezer paper template for the light blue piece that sits under the dark blue bias strips, I did not include any seam allowance along the sides, but I did include it on the top and bottom.

Next, I removed the freezer paper template and traced the stem lines from the paper pattern onto the light blue fabric.

Then I glued the light blue piece in place making sure the top and bottom were lined up properly.

Now I am ready to glue the strips in place.  You will notice that there is a bit of “over and under” going on with the stems so you’ll have to pay attention.  Clearly I wasn’t  paying attention, so I had to loosen the glue a little, but now it’s all good!!

Yes…..it’s all good!

Til next time….

Kerry