When Soma of
Whims and Fancies announced that she was putting together a Halloween-themed blog hop and that she was looking for people to participate, I jumped at the opportunity to give myself a challenge. You see, I've never designed a pattern before OR been a participant spot in a blog hop. But it's alright... "Laissez le bon temps rouler!"
Great attitude right? You may not think so once you see my odd pattern, and lots of additional instructions in order to get the pattern to work. I will readily disclose that this pattern is quite fiddly. This is probably more of a "how-not-to" rather than "how-to". I'M SORRY! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED! I originally wanted to put together my pattern on the computer, but I had to end up resorting to good ol' paper and pencil.
So as I said, a lot of what I found out while testing the pattern isn't the most efficient or "right" way to get the end result. If you are a practiced paper-piecer, it is highly likely that you will know an easier/better way than presented in my instructions. PLEASE DO give me this feedback and I will gratefully amend my tutorial to include your knowledge. (and many thanks in advance for any advice that is given!)
Ready? We're going to make a wicked delicious block! I designed this block in four parts so that you have the freedom to switch them around for different looks. That and, I didn't have to do something wonky to fit a 10" block onto an 8.5x11 sheet of paper!
UPDATE: Thanks to the lovely Kristen, who really is an angel! She converted my hand-drawn blocks in Quilt Assistant for your ease. Here are the blocks for download:
Tootsie roll
Candy Corn
First three pieces and it already looks good! But...
In piecing the curve, I numbered it from left to right. After trying it, it seems like it may be a better idea to start with the center piece, than add the pieces in order from the center. Re-number accordingly if you agree.
Lollipop
I thought I could get away with making this one piece, but I was wrong. You will need to slice it on the diagonal line and piece it in two parts.
OK, deep breath. Please forgive me as things are about to get really wonky, and not in the pretty log cabin sort of way. There are three lines drawn in partway that, when you are about to sew on that line, you need to draw in an extension of the same line to the end of the pattern.
So you see line 8 below. In the pattern it only goes to where it intersects 6, but to get piece 8 to lay flat, extend that line and sew to the end. Maybe you can avoid this if you aren't piecing from left to right?
The highlighted lines are the three that you have to do the funky line draw for.
Now here's where adding your 1/4" seam allowance is important. If you cut out the pattern without the suspect light lines that I meant as seam allowances, you'll need to add it in here. Place the 1/4" line on your ruler even with the end of the paper, and cut it with an extra 1/4" past the paper.
Here's what the two pieces look like before joining. And this is also where you'll see it's important to make the square a wee bigger to square up later. Rather than sewing RST from point to point, you need to align the stick half with the candy half, and sew together based on that. I know, you see how I had to rip the seam and realign?
You'll probably have uneven points on both sides, which will be cut when squaring up the block. But, the lollipop is lined up, phew!
Tootsie Roll
This one is three parts, but no curves (yay!) This one you actually have the three pieces separated for you and labelled 1/1A/1B all professional like. But again, we're going to have to add in our seam allowances and also match up pieces from the center.
See? Match up the wrapper end to sit between the edge of the candy.
Once you match it up from the center, flip the corner piece immediately up and sew RST.
♬ Let me see your Tootsie Roll! ♬
Smarties
This ended up being my favorite one! Stitch and flip the 6 individual candy pieces as shown below. If you're using prints like I did, this is a nice way to make sure you have the part you want centered as the candy piece.
Before joining candy section to the ends, flip over the end pieces at the line and cut off 1/4" beyond the paper line.
Here's all three pieces before joining. It was only when I pieced together the fourth candy block that I learned the importance of allowing extra fabric to hang out over the pattern piece. (Remember? So that we make sure we have enough to square up the block to 5.5")
Here they are attached from the centers, just like the Tootsie roll!
All squared up and pretty.
Thank you for bearing with the fiddility (I know, it's not a word) of my pattern and directions!!! The first time is always the hardest right? I hope you enjoy making these wicked treats, and again if more seasoned folks know to do it easier, I'll be sure to update my instructions accordingly to make it less silly.
A big thank you to Soma for allowing me to be a part of this fun event among ladies who know what they're doing. :P I can't wait to see if anyone can manage to put this block together despite my effort to set you awry (kidding!); it'll tickle me pleased. Don't forget to check out the
Halloween Paper Pieced Blog Hop list on Soma's blog for a new pattern every day this month!
And finally, to thank you all for being so understanding with my rookie pattern, I'd like to do a giveaway! I'll do a random drawing for you to win a charm pack of Costume Clubhouse by Sheri Berry Designs for Riley Blake. All you need to do is leave a comment with a paper piecing tip or, if you're new to paper piecing, a question you might have about paper piecing. I'll announce a winner on Monday 10/15!
