Fractured Tutorial
Making the 60° diamonds:
The next parts are what some makers find a little intimidating. Don't be scared, it’s exactly what you have already done!
- Piece your strip sets as written in the pattern. You'll end up with a rectangle. Marking the key points and drawing the diamond before cutting is the best way to make the shape correctly. (After all, measure twice, cut once, amiright?)
- Starting at Step 2 in the pattern: Mark your reference point where fabric pieces B1 and A2 meet, 1" from the edge of the unit.
- Make a second mark 10" to the right and 3 ½" down and draw a line between these points. The line should measure 10 ½" long.
- From the line you just drew, measure 9" perpendicular by placing the 9” ruler marking from your ruler on top of the previously drawn line, and draw a parallel line. Here I have the 9" line on the ruler over top of the line I drew previously and drew along the top edge of the ruler.
- Starting at the first corner point on the far left side, draw a 10 ½" line so it terminates on the line drawn in step 3, in the top right quadrant. I've lined up the 10 1/2" mark with the start point, and the corner of the ruler on the line, then drew along the side to make this line.
This next bit is somewhat tricky but critical to make your diamond.
- From the line drawn you just drew in the top left quadrant, measure 9" perpendicular by placing the 9” marking line from your ruler on top of the previously drawn line, and draw a parallel line as shown below. The lines should intersect at the bottom point drawn in step 2. I've again used the 9" line on my ruler to line up this mark and drew along the opposite edge in the bottom right quadrant.
- Draw a 10 ½" line from the bottom point, along the line you just drew in the bottom right, to where it meets the line drawn in step 3 (the line in the top right quadrant)
Ready to cut? NOT YET!!!
Check your angles
- Using the 60° mark on your ruler, double check that both wide angles are 120° and the skinny angles are 60°. I've placed one leg from the wide angle on the long edge of the ruler, and the other leg of the angle is under the black 60° line marked on my ruler. For the narrow angles, I line up on leg with the short edge of my ruler, and the other leg on the 60° line.
- Also measure each side to make sure they are 10 1/2" long.
Ok, NOW you can cut out your diamonds.
Time for your Y-seam:
The Y-seam, aka Nested seam, may "seam" scary (see what I did there?) but they really aren't too bad. The trick is marking your 1/4" start point and being careful to start exactly on that point.
- Make a mark exactly 1/4" from the inside edge for the start of your seam. I prefer a water soluble marking pen for this because you want the mark to be easily made, clearly visible, and stay for the duration it takes to assemble the three diamonds. Do this on all three diamonds.
- Take two of your diamonds, put them right side together matching the 1/4" points. THIS IS YOUR SEAM START POINT.
- Head to your machine, and use the hand wheel to get your needle right in that start point, NOT the edge of the fabric. Sew your seam from the dot all the way to the end. Easy enough.
- It will look something like this. Press your seam to one side.
The next parts are what some makers find a little intimidating. Don't be scared, it’s exactly what you have already done!
- Take your third diamond, with RST, line up the dot with the dots on the two you've already sewn together. Again, use your hand wheel to get your needle right on the point and sew to the end. Use a stiletto or pin to keep the ear of the previous seam out of the way if needed. Press to the side in the same direction your previous seam was pressed.
Now it looks like this, one more to go!
- Fold your piece rights sides together and align those final two edges. Again, use that hand wheel to get your needle right in the right spot and use a stiletto or pin to keep the ear of the previous seams out of the way if needed. Sew to the end.
Ta-Dah!
You've done it!
Here's what the front and the back look like after pressing. That nice little swirl is so satisfying.
