Hey Fans! How are you holding up in your bubble of social isolation? I hope you're keeping busy; idle hands and all that. While I've been working hard on my new Tips & Tricks from the Tucker Team series, our Certified Instructor in residence, Sarah Furrer, has been on quite the mini kick lately!
If you follow my Facebook page, I'm sure you've seen some of the adorable miniaturized versions of our patterns that she's put together around Quilt Market time to showcase our new releases. And every single time we showcase these mini versions, we get so many requests for more miniature patterns to be added to our pattern lineup. Well, with all the extra time she has in her sewing room, she's decided to share her mini making prowess.
Starting today, and continuing every couple of weeks, Sarah will be sharing the instructions she's written to miniaturize one of our existing patterns. Are you ready to fall down the rabbit hole with her? I know many of you are, you’ve told us so, And we’re hoping we’ll convince some other fans to give minis a try too. They’re so cute! And fun! And they don’t take up much room 😅
This week, Sarah is happy to bring you a mini version of my Galaxy pattern, made with 1” finished units. The Cutting Chart for this project can be found here. You will need to use the Cutting Chart along with your Galaxy pattern to complete the project. The chart is in the same format and uses the same references as the pattern so that you won’t get confused as you follow the pattern for piecing. You will also need the V Block®, Tucker Trimmer I®, and the Four Patch Square Up® tools to make this project.
You'd never know how tiny this quilt was if it wasn't for that penny!
Sarah used the Four Patch Square Up® in making the 1” units so that they would be perfect. The Galaxy pattern was originally published before the Four Patch Square Up was on the market, so when making the four patches following the instructions in the Galaxy pattern, they're made using precision piecing. But now you have another option!
Because minis work better when all the pieces match, the use of the Four Patch Square Up® tool makes it easy to put the blocks together. We did revise the cutting chart for the mini project with oversized strips for your four patches so that you can square them up when you are done piecing them.
Not having to precision piece these little units is a game changer!
Now, two important points to remember as you go forward. First, you will want to press all your seams open. It will really make the mini Galaxy easy to put together as there will be significantly less bulk in the intersections.
Look at all those seams, so neat and tidy!
Secondly, you don’t always have to go with your first fabric choice. Sarah had one fabric picked for her chains and in the end she needed to change it so that she was able to get a stronger curved illusion in her project. See, even the professionals don't always get it right the first time!
Option A, B, and C; It only took three tries to get it right
If you need any other tips on making miniature quilts, check out our Minis with Studio 180 Design post for some additional tips and tricks for making successful minis.
We hope that you enjoy making a mini Galaxy quilt and that this helps to keep you inspired. Be safe, be well, be creative, and have fun! Post a photo of your quilt on Facebook or Instagram with the hashtag: #MiniGalaxyPattern180
