Perennial Quilt Sew Along Weeks 2 & 3: Cut, Sew, Trim

In Weeks 2 and 3 of the Perennial quilt sew along we cut, sew and trim our triangle blocks. I have some fun new tips to share too! suzyquilts.com

Welcome to both Week 2 and 3 of the Perennial quilt sew along! If you’re just now joining in, read back to this introductory post to get a quick overview, then grab the Perennial quilt pattern and dive in. These next two weeks are going to be action-packed fun, and I’m here to hold your hand and help by throwing in a few tips and pointers.

In case you were wondering, why yes, there will still be a prize for both Week 2 AND Week 3, so keep posting those beautiful progress shots to Instagram using the #PerennialQuiltSA hashtag to enter. New winners will be chosen every Friday. For prize details scroll to the bottom of this post.

Perennial Sew Along Schedule

Weeks 2 & 3 Assignment: Cut Fabric, Sew, and Trim Triangles

You’re probably wondering, “Why are Weeks 2 and 3 combined?” Assigning only cutting to Week 2 felt like not enough while assigning sewing and trimming triangles to Week 3 felt like too much. The simple solution was to combine them so you can take two weeks to pace yourself through all three steps.

Pressing Triangle Tips

Follow the instructions on pages 2 and 3 of the pattern for step-by-step illustrations on cutting and then sewing your strips and small triangles together. In the pattern, you’re instructed to press your seams toward the darker fabric.

While this is advice that I usually follow, it was less bulk for me to press my second seam toward the lighter background fabric. When it comes to pressing seams, preference really should be your guide. You’re the boss of your seams. If you like pressing to the side, great! If you prefer pressing open, that is fine for this pattern too!

When it comes to flat seams, one popular method is to use a tailor’s clapper. Admittedly, I’ve never tried one! So I’m going to let you in on my favorite method for getting my seams super-duper flat: a wool pressing mat sandwich. Sound delicious? I start by pressing a seam on my wool pressing mat, then immediately cover the seam with another smaller pressing mat.

This keeps pressure on the seam, retains heat, and unlike a tailor’s clapper, you can add as many pieces as your top wool mat will cover, making this fast and great for bulk pressing!

Trimming Triangle Tips

When it comes to trimming your triangles, we showed you three different options in the Week 1 post: vinyl non-slip template sheets, a 60-degree ruler with pointed top, and a 60-degree ruler with flat top.

Trimming with a Vinyl Template

If using a vinyl non-slip template sheet, print page 15 of the pattern to use as a guide. Because the template is clear, it works better than the paper guide as you can see the triangle underneath so you know where to trim. I still use a ruler along the sides because the template is easily cut by the rotary cutter. 

Just to reiterate, in case you skimmed the above paragraph, I set a ruler on top of the clear vinyl template so the rotary cutter doesn't accidentally cut it.

Trimming with a 60-Degree Triangle Ruler (with pointy top)

If you are using a pointy top ruler, I prefer to set the ruler over the untrimmed triangle to get a feel for where the bottom of the trimmed triangle will be, using the 6 3/4" line as my guide.

Once the bottom is trimmed, line up the bottom with the 6 3/4" line and trim the sides.

Trimming with a 60-Degree Triangle Ruler (with flat top)

My flat top ruler is 6 1/2", so I can place the ruler over the untrimmed triangle and trim all three sides. If your flat top ruler is larger, like the example above, follow those instructions instead. At this stage in the process, you cut the same whether your triangle ruler is flat or pointy.

There is a slight difference in how you sew these triangles together, but we'll cover that in Week 4.

Week 2 Sponsor & Prize

The beautiful fabric shop Lamb and Loom is our Week 2 sponsor. If you aren't familiar with them, check them out and subscribe to their newsletter. They always have lots of great new fabric and sales. This week, you can win a beautiful Ruby Star Society ironing board cover to help up your pressing game, as well as a $30 gift certificate! 

Get 25% off longarm quilting on your Perennial quilt from now until August 1 at Trace Creek Quilting.

How to Win

  • Post progress pics to Instagram. For weeks 2 and 3, show us your quilt progress and use #PerennialQuiltSA in the caption.
  • Your Instagram profile must be public to participate.
  • Each photo you post counts as an entry. You can enter as many times as you want! Each week starts fresh, so be sure to post every week for more chances to win.
  • Your photo must be posted between Friday, May 20, and Friday, May 27. The winner will be picked randomly from all qualifying posts and announced at approximately 4:00 p.m. on the 27th. Good luck!

Week 3 Sponsor & Prize

This week, Suzy is giving away a FQ bundle from Art Gallery Fabrics! Actually, she has so much pretty fabric flooding her studio these days that she may just have to pick a couple of winners and give away two prizes!

How to Win

  • Post progress pics to Instagram. For weeks 2 and 3, show us your quilt progress and use #PerennialQuiltSA in the caption.
  • Your Instagram profile must be public to participate.
  • Each photo you post counts as an entry. You can enter as many times as you want! Each week starts fresh, so be sure to post every week for more chances to win.
  • Your photo must be posted between Friday, May 27, and Friday, June 3. The winner will be picked randomly from all qualifying posts and announced at approximately 4:00 p.m. on the 3rd. Good luck!
In Weeks 2 and 3 of the Perennial quilt sew along we cut, sew and trim our triangle blocks. I have some fun new tips to share too! suzyquilts.com

6 thoughts on “Perennial Quilt Sew Along Weeks 2 & 3: Cut, Sew, Trim

  1. Rosanne Levesque says:

    I started to cut and sew and I have questions. Where I post my questions? I posted one on the Facebook group but nobody seems to understand…

    • Laura Hopper says:

      Hi Rosanne! The best way to contact the Suzy Quilts team directly is at our email address, which is [email protected]. You can always find that email address on our Contact page at this link: https://suzyquilts.com/contact/

      If you have a specific question about making any pattern, it’s always helpful to include a picture with your email or Facebook post, as that helps us to see the issue you are asking about. It can be very hard to understand or help with quilting questions without a photo!

  2. Shelley says:

    I purchased Triangle jitters quilt pattern and have not been able to find download . I’ve checked spam/junk/trash emails . There is no record of it being sent to me . Purchased 5/4/22 . Second attempt to notify you

  3. mts says:

    Wow! This triangle cutting tutorial is definitely something to pore over this winter (at this writing it is November 1). I’ll take the time to get it right!

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