Dazzle Burst - Clue 6, The Final Reveal Video

Here is the video for this clue! Check out my post for the write up and photos.

Thank you for joining in on my mystery project! I'd love to hear your comments or see links to your post about what you made or share your pics on my Facebook page.

'Til next time!

Dazzle Burst - Clue 6, The Final Reveal

This is the clue we've been working towards. I made a video post for this clue so check it out if you want a visual!

It's the reveal! Aren't you excited? I am!

But first things first. There's a few steps to do before the top is together.

Last week, we made a pile if these blocks. Do you know the name of this block? 

It's called Fox and Geese! And we have 42 of them ready for quilt-top action. 

Take two of them and set them up like this. Take the right block and set it on the left one, right sides together of course!

Line up the seams in the center of all the edges. You can pop a pin at those points if you want help holding them in place. 

We will sew that center seam. Starting at the dark blue triangles...

...down the side to the light blue squares. While I sewed this seam, I would stop and made sure the two yellow points were lined up to each other as I approached them, adjusting them if they were not matched up. 

Sew all the pairs of the blocks together until you have 21 sets that look like this. 

That center seam will be bulky where the triangles meet. Press it open to minimize the lumps. 

This is where the magic starts happening! Take two sets and set them up like this! Can you see the burst effect?

Now place the sets right sides together and start at the dark blue triangles...

...and sew down to the other dark blue triangles. Just as before, stop and line up the places where points and seams need to meet. There are 5 to line up this time!

Open it up and look at the beautiful light colored star dazzle bursting inside the dark colored star!

Just like before, press the center seam open. I know it's fiddely to do but it'll be worth it later!

Now keep making these big blocks until you have nine and there will be three of the original pairs left. Sew them together in a row as a final row. 

When you're done, you'll have a top that looks like this-

See how the stars interlock with each other? It's dazzling! 

You can choose to add borders or not. It's up to you. Without borders, your quilt will measure out at 48" X 56", which is a great size for a sofa throw or a crib. Add a 2" and a 5" border around the entire top and you'll have a quilt big enough for a twin sized bed! Or keep making more burst blocks and adding them to the side and top until it's as big as you want it to be! 

This is totally customizable to your liking, just do the math and divide your totals by 16, which is the size of the completed burst block. So if you want your top to be 80" X 88" for a full sized bed, you need 5 burst blocks across (80 divided by 16) and 5 long plus a row of half of the burst block (88 divided by 16) and you're there! We made 9 burst blocks and a row with 1/2 blocks. For a full sized bed, you need 25 burst blocks and a row with 1/2 blocks. So you would need to triple the fabric requirements for that size. 

I hope you enjoyed this mystery project! Please leave a comment and share what you've made. You can leave a link to your blog or photo site or upload one to Pamelyn's Postings, my Facebook page! Thank you for participating and see you next time!

Dazzle Burst - Clue 5

This week is similar to last week's clue. You're practiced up taking squares and sewing them in a specific way. Let's do that some more!

Take all the squares we have done to now. Grab one of each and line them up this way -

Sew the center seams. You will have 84 blocks when they are all matched and sewn up. 

Now take two blocks and set them up like this -

Notice how all the yellow triangles are pointing in the same direction. That's important so make sure the look like that before you sew them!

Sew the seam across the middle. You will end up with 42 blocks that look like this -

That's all we will do this week. It will give a chance for some catch up sewing. I know I need it!

Leave a comment and let me know how you're doing. Be encouraged; we're almost done! Have a tremendous weekend!

Dazzle Burst - Clue 4 Video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xvokXa7rt4M

Dazzle Burst - Clue 4

Guess what? We don't have to do any cutting this week! We're taking what we have and working with that!

But first, let's review.

In the Introduction, we discussed colors and shades that would work for our Mystery project.

In Clue 1, we made 168 2-1/2" squares with our medium shade of the cool color.

In Clue 2, we made 84 4-1/2" half-square triangles with our dark shades of both warm and cool colors.

In Clue 3, we made 168 2-1/2" half-square triangles in the medium shades of both the warm and cool colors.

That is where we left off last. How are you doing with the clues? Are you keeping up? Good! Let's move onto Clue 4!

This week, we are going to only work with the 2-1/2" pieces. Take all of the squares and half-square triangles and get them set up like this. Put the right square on top of the left half-square triangle (right sides together) for sewing along the right edge of the stacked pieces.

Sew up the pairs; you can chain piece them until they are all done. When you open them, they will look like this.

Press the seams towards the darker color. In my case, it is towards the blue square.

Now take all of your sets and match them up like this. We will be sewing that center seam closed.

I put the upper set on top of the lower set. The top edge is the one that will need to be sewn.

You want to make sure the center seams are matched up so the center points come out next to each other when they get sewn. When you put the seams next to each other, you can feel them butt up against each other. If you fold the top set back, you will be able to tell if they are lined up or not. These look perfect! You can pop a pin at that seam if you want.

When I take my sets to the machine, I will sew them all the same way - from this yellow point...

...all the way down to the bottom of the blue square.

Here is what the blocks will look like when they are sewn. Pretty! Almost like a butterfly!

When they are pressed, the best way to stop the bulk in the center is to "spin" the seams around so it looks like this.

I noticed that my edges were a little wavy so I trimmed the excess off. These blocks are going to finish at 4-1/2" square so I lined up the center vertical seam on the 2-1/4" line on my ruler for each side that was trimmed.

There it is! All done! Keep sewing these until all of your 2-1/2" pieces are all gone!

You should have 84 of these blocks when you are done!

If you want a visual of this process, I made a video for this clue. You can find it in the Mystery Projects tab on the top of this page!

I hope that you are inspired enough to keep going with the mystery! Please give me your comments below, links to your blog, or pictures on my Facebook page, Pamelyn's Postings, anytime! The mystery will be available for a long time so start it up anytime you want!

Dazzle Burst - Clue 3

Here we are with the next piece of the mystery puzzle! How are you doing? Are you keeping up? If you are, that's great! If not, just keep plugging along at your own pace; the clues will be here for you! Everyone can pat themselves on the back for their progress so far, and grab your tools for this clue!

Today, you need to use the lighter shades of the cold and warm color. 

Here's mine-

But what are we making? 

Remember in a Clue 1 where we cut 168 2-1/2" squares and in Clue 2 we got real good at making half-square triangles? This clue is combing both these steps! We're going to make 168 2-1/2" half-square triangles! 

Start by cutting 2-1/2" strips if you're using the EZ Angle tool. 

Place right sides together and cut the long edge. 

Flip it around and cut the other side. Keep flipping and cutting until you have 168 sets. 

Stitch up the long edge. You can chain piece all of them at once. See the "bonus post" I put up for more input on that. 

Press the block open so the seams are under the darker color. In mine, it was towards the blue. 

When you have 168 2-1/2" half-square triangle blocks and can call this clue done! 

Mine needs a little trimming. Only 167 to go!

If you are not using the EZ Angle tool (check out Clue 2 for the visuals)

1) cut your strips 2-7/8" and cut again so you have 2-7/8" squares.

2) draw your line down the center from point to point. 

3) draw sew lines 1/4" around the center line.

4) sew on the sew lines. 

5) cut the line inbetween the sewn lines. 

6) press the seams towards the darker color

7) make 168!

Have fun making these blocks! Share your progress by leaving a comment here or on my Facebook page. 

Dazzle Burst Bonus - Chain Sewing and Pressing

As we start making our half-square triangles, I thought it might be helpful to show how I stitch and press these blocks. 

When you are making seam after seam, you can chain stitch them to save thread and time. Sew one set of half-square triangles, then right after they are done, place the next set in front of the needle and sew it. 

You can do this over and over, as long as you want to sew. The sewn sets will make a pile behind your machine. 

To press these blocks, the first thing to do is iron the stitches before you open the block up. This is called "setting the stitch". 

We want to press towards the dark fabric. Place the dark triangles on top. You can clip the thread inbetween the sets now or after they're pressed open.

Fold the dark fabric open so you can get the iron between the colors and gently press from the light fabric towards the dark fabric. 

There's our half-square triangle!

And here's the back showing the seams laying towards the dark fabric. 

That's what to do and how all of your 84 blocks should look!  

You can find the clues for the Dazzle a Burst Mystery under the Mystery Projects tab at the top of this page. Try it!

Dazzle Burst - Clue 2

We're on our way! Let's get into clue 2...........

In Clue 1, we went over how to take our fabric and make strips out of it. We'll do that again but this time we won't be cutting squares. We're cutting triangles! We're going to make 84 half-square triangle blocks with the dark colors. Get out your two dark colors, your cutting mat, your rotary cutter, your cutting guide (EZ Angle or straight edge), and your sewing machine!

Let's just start out to say that there are many ways to get to our final block. I can think of 5 ways to make half-square triangle blocks, and I'm sure there are even more ways to make them than that. I will offer two ways of making them in this clue. You can choose which way you want to make them, how I do them or however you like doing them. We want to get the end result of 84 4-1/2" half-square triangle blocks!

This method will show you how to use the EZ Angle cutting guide. Don't have one? Get it! It's a great tool! Can't get one? I offer the instructions with a straight edge cutting guide as well. Just go down to that section and follow those instructions. Ready? Here we go!

I cut my strips at 4-1/2", from both the warm and cold dark colors. I figured out that I needed six strips cut from edge to edge in order to have enough to make the blocks. 

Line up the strips with right sides together and set them on the cutting mat. Put the EZ Angle cutting guide so the darkened tip is lined up on one edge and the 4-1/2" line is lined up on the opposite edge.

Make the cut on the hypotenuse side of the triangle! (remember thinking you would never need to remember stuff like that in geometry class? me too!)

You will flip the EZ Angle around so the 4-1/2" line is on the opposite edge. The hypotenuse is lined up along that cut edge and you will make the next cut along the leg side of the guide. Now your strip is squared off again. Keep swapping the guide and cutting triangles until you run out of fabric!

My strips produced 16 sets. In order to get 84, I need just over 5 strip sets.

Cutting the colors right sides together makes a perfectly matched pair after they are cut. Joy!

Place the hypotenuse side under the needle and stitch the 1/4" seam along the entire edge. Be careful to not tug on it or it will stretch. Chain sew triangle set after triangle set until they are all sewn together.

Take those blocks and press them towards the dark color or press the seams open. When you are done, you will have a block that looks like this. 

It's 4-1/2" square and will finish in the quilt at 4".

Have I convinced you to get the EZ Angle cutting guide? No?
Well then, here's how to make the half-square triangles without the EZ Angle cutting guide. 

Cut your warm and cold dark fabrics into 4-7/8" strips.

Now do a second cut at the same size so you have a 4-7/8" square.

Turn the square so it is in a diamond layout and place a straight edge down the center. 

Draw a line from point to point. I used a pen so you could see the line well but I usually use a fabric pencil. These lines will be on the underside of the block so choose the marking tool you like most!

You will need to sew 1/4" seams on each side of that line. If you want to draw those lines in too, feel free! It will take the guess work out of where to sew. The Fons & Porter 1/4" Seam Marker tool makes this step a pleasure. Set the guide down and draw the lines on either side of the tool. That's it!

Get the square under the needle and sew along both sides of the center line. When you get to one end of the line, lift the foot and needle, gently pull the fabric away from the foot a little, turn it around so you can sew down the second side. This technique will make two half-square triangle blocks.

After the squares are all sewn, you cut the two blocks apart on that first line you drew, point to point down the center of the square.

Press the seams to the dark fabric or open and admire your beautiful handiwork!

So there you are! Clue 2 is out there! Need more of a visual? Check out my Clue 2 video!

I hope you are enjoying the process. Next week we will be doing stuff with the lighter colors so get this one done! Til next time, create away!