It really IS all about size…Spray sizing that is.
Magic Sizing is one of the products I can’t quilt without. I spray size EVERYTHING. Every piece of fabric that walks through my door, including charm squares. Sizing has made all the difference in the accuracy of my piecing. I used to find that when piecing my blocks, they were always a bit smaller than they should have been, even though I checked my 1/4″ before I started. Very frustrating. A few years ago I was fortunate to take a class with Lisa Bongean of Primitive Gatherings and she preached the wonders of Magic Sizing. She said it would without a doubt improve your piecing. And she told us where to buy it and how incredibly cheap it was.
Sure enough, $ 0.97 cents!!! Wow. Now like Lisa, I nearly buy it by the case. I always have at least 6 cans of it on hand!!
Before I start any project, I do a little prep work with Magic Sizing. Every Le Petite project uses at least 2 charm squares. It may sound like a lot of unnecessary, tedious work, but it’s worth it because my piecing is always spot on! AND trust me, I don’t have any spare time, so if I do it, it must be worth it.
Now that I have an ironing station, I usually set myself up with a movie or show playing on my iPad and sit on my saddle stool and size all my charms up. I always play a movie or show I’ve seen a million times because mostly I’m listening to it. Time just flies and before I know it I’ve sized 2 packages of charm squares. I will warn you that your charm squares will shrink up a bit. Usually at least an 1/8″. Most patterns allow for this, I believe, but if you need the full 5″ then you don’t want to size your fabric.
The Le Petite project for this month is “Endless Summer” by Heartspun Quilts. I was pleasantly surprised to read in the general directions she recommended sizing the fabric before cutting to improve accuracy. That was an awesome tip to include. I know Carrie Nelson also preps her fabric including charm squares as well. Carrie posted about it here. She uses a different product that I have not yet tried, but plan to soon.
I plan on making my Le Petite project tonight. Yes, tonight.
