18.7 SQ Episode 030 – Angles in Quilting: Part C Polygons
August 21, 2011We’re back with more angles in quilting, and we’re tackling the 5, 6, & 8 sided figures – pentagons, hexagons, & octagons respectively.
What more can be said about these blocks?
IN GENERAL:
- These blocks provide lots of challenges to piecing. These shapes are not typically pieced the same way as triangles and quadrilaterals.
- Account for a much smaller share of the quilting pie than triangles and quadrilaterals.
- Think of the general ‘shape’ of the block overall due to coloring or outlining stars of specific points
Techniques used for these block colors other than piecing.
- applique onto the background
- set in seams (yuk say most of you)
- english paper piecing
- adding two blocks of smaller # of sides together to create these shapes
- subtracting part of a square or rectangle to create these shapes
- (foundation) paper piecing and cutting back a specific angles
Star blocks
5 sided star has 10 sides, 6 sided star has 12 sides, and you guessed it, 8 pointed block has 16 sides!
How to avoid set in seams
Adding two blocks together or subtracting from the corners of a block.
Pentagons
- house block (square + rectangle)
- cut off the top two corners of a rectangular sashing block
- dresden plate w/ curved bottom side
Hexagons
- two trapezoids (half hexagon in quiltspeak) – likely isosceles
- 6 triangles (isosceles or equilateral)
- weather vane piece (squished pacman block) either pieced w/ square & 2 triangles OR two parallelograms butted next to each other
- irregular hexagon, one central triangle, and 3 triangles on the outside could be scalene, isosceles or other based on the shape
- piece of sashing with all 4 corners removed, with the corners on the thin side meeting at a single point
- album / autograph block – square with opposite corners removed.
Octagons
- 8 isosceles triangles together in the center (think spider web or kalidescope)
- remove all 4 corners from a square shape with the points on no sides matching
Some quilt blocks from EQ7
Pentagons & “pentagon influenced shapes”
Hexagons & hexagon influenced shapes.
Octagons & octagon shapes.
Other things of note:
And look at my Journey Steps on the floor. Doesn’t look big enough, does it?
Need to do more.
Also you need to go to SeamedUP and sign up to put in projects. And encourage me to do so too!
And friend me at SeamedUP, scientificquilter. 🙂
Additional Resources:
- Grid notebook mentioned (no it wasn’t sent to me, but the link was) by the field geologist, and another grid notebook
- The ecosystem grid notebook I own from the last episode
Pentagon 3D shapes
- pentagon (soccer ball) ball ornament from Lynn at Alamosa Quilter
- another pentagon ball
- pentagon bowl from Katie’s Quilting Corner
Pentagon flowers (not 3D), look like GMFG, but more complicated – very pretty!
Paperpieces.com where you find many different card stock weight precut polygons of all shapes.
Link to english paper piecing video (watched w/ the sound off -don’t ask why-, hope it’s helpful)
Don’t you wanna say this in text after this episode? Here’s hoping that I remember what this means later and that I didn’t inadvertently spell something that is commonly thought of as BAD. If so – sorry, blaming innocence here.
OMG GMFG! OFW WTG!
Send me 1 and a half inch light batik strips if you are looking to downsize your strips. (comment or scientificquilter@gmail.com)
To see the first 2 podcast show notes in this series, go to Part A: Triangles, and Part B: Quadrilaterals.
Additional Music:
Mevio’s Music Alley
- Maori King by Greg Johnson
Freesound.org
- By Robinhood76 chalk painting.wav
- By BristolStories u_chimes_short1.mp3
Speaking of hexagons, I JUST saw this after posting! Tons of hexagons!
Darla, I thought this episode was just fine without editing. Learned something. I thought pentagons had to have all the sides the same. Forgive me. I was an English major. Like the Journey Steps quilt. Thanks for the podcast!
Your hexies are looking wonderful Darla! I applaud your patience with this, as I know I do not have it and set-in seams drive me nuts.
Your Journey Steps quilt is beautiful! Definitely put that one on Seamed Up…I need to post more there too.
Darla, I think you do not need an editing at all. This was a great episode.
I am emailing privately about the 1.5 strips.
[…] I don’t know for sure what I’m doing with these, but an idea is here regardless. It’s a 10 sided figure it looks like. One of the ‘-agons’ […]
OMG, I’ve been searching every where for pentagons and how to get my head round sewing the seams for the star points and fabric in between, have you tried this at all? If so any pointers would be much appreciated:)