Spinning the Seam Allowances on 4-patch Quilt Blocks
Spinning the seam allowances on 4-patch quilt blocks has several great benefits and is a wonderful technique to have as part of your skill set.
This technique goes by several names: Swirling; Spinning; Twirling; and Popping. Regardless of the term that you use, the aim with this technique is to end up with a flatter 4-patch quilt block!
When you have four pieces of fabric coming together at one point, all of the seam allowances need to go somewhere and frequently we end up with quilt blocks where the seam allowances are not spread evenly.
It really can be quite frustrating when you have a bulky quilt block, but don’t worry, this technique is just what you need!
Why the need to reduce bulk?
Benefits of spinning the seam allowances on 4 patch quilt blocks
You may wonder why it is important to have a flat quilt block and whether it is worth any extra effort. Well, there are a number of great reasons worth thinking about:
- More appealing – a flatter quilt block will always look nicer, than one that is all ‘lumpy’ and ‘bumpy’.
- More accurate – if you need to trim a block, having it as flat as possible will make it easier to do so. The edges of the squares are more likely to be straight and a ruler will lie flat on top of the block, making it easier to trim back any excess.
- Easier quilting – with a flatter quilt block it is easier and quicker to quilt over the top as there are fewer bulky areas to manoeuvre under your sewing needle.
How to Spin Seam Allowances on 4-Patch Quilt Blocks
You can read below or you can jump straight to the demonstration video…
Once you have made your 4-patch quilt block (using your preferred method) and before you have pressed the final seam, you will need to loosen some stitches to allow the seam allowances at the centre to spread out, or spin.
Before you open out the block to press, lay the block with the long line of stitching running parallel to you. Loosen the few stitches above this stitching line (within the seam allowance) that are from when the left hand square was sewn to the right hand square. Ideally do not cut these stitches, just loosen them so that the two pieces of fabric within the seam allowance can come away from each other.
Flip the block over so that you can repeat the process with the stitching between the other two squares that form the 4-patch.
Once the stitching has been loosened, lay the block flat with the wrong side uppermost. Arrange the block so that the horizontal (most recently sewn) seam is running parallel to you. Using your finger or the very tip of an iron, arrange the little seam allowances, to create a small 4-patch in the middle of the block.
You will find that the two horizontal seams, as a result of the loosening of the stitches, will naturally want to lay in the same direction as the other two vertical seams.
Note – the direction that you press the seam allowances on your pairs of squares (to make the rows) will determine whether the seams on the final block are pressed in a clockwise or anti-clockwise direction. Either is fine, just follow the fabric!
Gently press the horizontal seams from the wrong side of the block, taking care not to iron in any small pleats at the stitching line.
Flip the block to press again from the right side.
A closer look at a that centre point...
Here you can see that the two vertical seams were pressed in alternate directions. The horizontal seam is then separated at the centre of the block so that the seam can be pressed with half going up and the other half going down.
This is a close up picture of the centre seam after it has been opened out. You can see how the seam allowances are evenly distributed around the centre point and a small 4-patch design is created.
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