Holiday Party Quilt Sew Along Week 3: Make Template A Units

In Week 3 of the Holiday Party sew along we sew and trim the Template A units. Don't forget to watch the video tutorial too! suzyquilts.com #quilting #sew

Friends, it may feel like we just started this Holiday Party sew along, but we are already at the halfway point! Is it me or does this time of year feel like a timewarp to the holidays? One day it's August and then I blink and it's mid November.

If time insists on speeding up, let's make the most of it and jump right back into sewing! In Week 3 we make our Template A units. This is covered in the video tutorial in the Holiday Party PDF pattern, but I'll still go over tips and troubleshooting.

For a full rundown on what a sew along is and how it works, check out the Week 1 Holiday Party sew along post. In a nutshell, we are making this pattern together over a six week period of time and you can win prizes along the way by posting pics to IG using #HolidayPartyQuiltSA. How fun!

Holiday Party Sew Along Schedule

In Week 3 of the Holiday Party sew along we sew and trim the Template A units. Don't forget to watch the video tutorial too! suzyquilts.com #quilting #sew

Week 3 Assignment: Make Template A units

Alright folks, I'm going to be honest with you, sewing and trimming the Template A units is the trickiest part of the Holiday Party pattern. But you know I'm here for you every step of the way! And those steps include a video tutorial, lots of pretty pictures and tips. Hooray!

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Extra Supplies

There is one little ruler that will make your Template A unit trimming a lot easier and faster. It's this 3 1/2" x 6 1/2" ruler. You don't neeed it, but once you see how fast trimming is with it you'll be so glad it joined your ruler collection.

Tip #1: Start with 6" x 8" rectangles.

No matter how you slice these pieces up, I think it's easier to first sub-cut your strips into 6" x 8" rectangles. From there you can draw guide marks or use the template in the pattern.

In Week 3 of the Holiday Party sew along we sew and trim the Template A units. Don't forget to watch the video tutorial too! suzyquilts.com #quilting #sew

Tip #2: Watch the tutorial video! 😉

You don't even have to watch the whole thing, just the beginning! This video covers every single thing I'm covering here from cutting your templates to sewing and trimming. If you skip to the end I even give you another pressing demo.

Tip #3: Don't forget to mirror your Template A.

It's really easy to forget, so let this be your reminder.

In Week 3 of the Holiday Party sew along we sew and trim the Template A units. Don't forget to watch the video tutorial too! suzyquilts.com #quilting #sew
In Week 3 of the Holiday Party sew along we sew and trim the Template A units. Don't forget to watch the video tutorial too! suzyquilts.com #quilting #sew
In Week 3 of the Holiday Party sew along we sew and trim the Template A units. Don't forget to watch the video tutorial too! suzyquilts.com #quilting #sew

Tip #4: Don't forget the 1/4" overhang.

It's such a cute little overhang right there on the corner. 🙂

In Week 3 of the Holiday Party sew along we sew and trim the Template A units. Don't forget to watch the video tutorial too! suzyquilts.com #quilting #sew

Tip #5: Chain piece! Always chain piece.

I like to take all of my Template A pieces and the background strips over to my sewing machine and chain piece the heck out of them. I chain piece 'em so hard they don't even know they've been chained until I'm pressing them open.

Oh, and feel free to throw a pin in these if you feel like the bias edge is getting stretched.

In Week 3 of the Holiday Party sew along we sew and trim the Template A units. Don't forget to watch the video tutorial too! suzyquilts.com #quilting #sew
In Week 3 of the Holiday Party sew along we sew and trim the Template A units. Don't forget to watch the video tutorial too! suzyquilts.com #quilting #sew
In Week 3 of the Holiday Party sew along we sew and trim the Template A units. Don't forget to watch the video tutorial too! suzyquilts.com #quilting #sew

Tip #6: Stay consistent with your pressing (and use a tailor's clapper).

Throughout this process I am pressing my seams away from the background fabric and toward the prints. Since my background fabric is kinda dark I could have pressed towards the background fabric, but I got into the habit of doing it this way so that's what I ended up doing.

If you prefer to press your seams open, that is completely fine. If you watch the tutorial video above you will see there are some places in the blocks where you can nest seams if you have been consistently pressing them towards the same fabric (the background fabric in my case).

In Week 3 of the Holiday Party sew along we sew and trim the Template A units. Don't forget to watch the video tutorial too! suzyquilts.com #quilting #sew
In Week 3 of the Holiday Party sew along we sew and trim the Template A units. Don't forget to watch the video tutorial too! suzyquilts.com #quilting #sew

Tip #7: Don't forget the 1/4" overhang...again.

The 1/4" overhang switched sides, but is still there just hangin' out.

In Week 3 of the Holiday Party sew along we sew and trim the Template A units. Don't forget to watch the video tutorial too! suzyquilts.com #quilting #sew

Tip #8: Continue to keep your Color 1 and Color 2 pairs together.

Pretty much every week until this quilt top is finished I'll tell you to keep your Color 1 and 2 pairs together so you stay organized. The reason I'm repeating it over and over again is because if you are like me and think, "I'm in a big hurry and I'll totally remember what goes where."

Ummm...you won't. Keep your tidy little piles together!

In Week 3 of the Holiday Party sew along we sew and trim the Template A units. Don't forget to watch the video tutorial too! suzyquilts.com #quilting #sew

Troubleshooting Tip!

Oh hello cutting mistake. I see you're showing up again this week. If you skip to Tip #9 there is a photo showing how much excess you get to trim from these Template A Units. It's about 1/2" which is great news if you flubbed some of the cutting and came out a little bit short.

Just line up your pieces as well as you can and sew like nothing is wrong. Chances are the trimming will fix any cutting mistakes from Week 1.

In Week 3 of the Holiday Party sew along we sew and trim the Template A units. Don't forget to watch the video tutorial too! suzyquilts.com #quilting #sew

Tip #9: Make sure your ruler is set up correctly.

Double check pages 7 and 8 of the pattern and rewatch the tutorial video. The first time I made this quilt I set up my ruler with the guide marks at 3 1/2" instead of 3 1/4" and all of my units came out off. Don't do that!!

Obviously if you're using the 3 1/2" x 6 1/2" ruler you don't need to mark anything with tape, but if you don't have that ruler, you can use most any ruler you have as long as you take the time to set it up with guide marks.

In Week 3 of the Holiday Party sew along we sew and trim the Template A units. Don't forget to watch the video tutorial too! suzyquilts.com #quilting #sew
In Week 3 of the Holiday Party sew along we sew and trim the Template A units. Don't forget to watch the video tutorial too! suzyquilts.com #quilting #sew

Week 3 Sponsor & Prize

Do you remember that beautiful red Holiday Party quilt? Which, now that I remember there are a few kits still available. Anyway, our Week 3 sponsor quilted that quilt! Lisa, of Lavender Fields Co. is one of my go-to longarm quilters because I know she will always do a first-rate job and do it with a quick turnaround.

Holiday Party is a fat quarter friendly Christmas quilt pattern that includes a video tutorial and lots of different sizes and color variations! suzyquilts.com #christmasquilt #quiltpattern

Lisa is giving away FREE longarm quilting for one throw Holiday Party quilt plus 20% off for any other Holiday Party quilts made during the sew along. So don't forget to mention this 20% off discount if you send your finished Holiday Party quilt top to her!

How to Win

  • Post a pic to Instagram. The photo prompt for Instagram this week is to post a picture of your sew along progress. Use #HolidayPartyQuiltSA in the caption.
  • You must have a public Instagram profile to participate. 
  • Each photo posted is an entry and you can enter as many times as you want in a single week. Once the week is over, those posts do not count in the next week's giveaway. Every week we start fresh.
  • Your photo must be posted between Tuesday, October 26 and Tuesday, November 2. The winner will be picked randomly from all qualifying posts and announced at approximately 4:00 p.m. Central on that day. Good luck!

2 thoughts on “Holiday Party Quilt Sew Along Week 3: Make Template A Units

  1. Laura says:

    Is the 20% off longarm quilting just for additional quilts the week 3 winner makes? Or is that for anyone who makes a holiday party quilt?

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