Tulips and Ivy Construction

There are inset Y-seams in this block.  Quite a few of them.

Most quilters I know avoid any block which uses these in their construction.  They are the bane of a quilter's existence.  The black sheep of the quilting family.

Not to mention, my motto has always been, "Why use a Y-seam when you can use half-square triangle?"

But honestly -- they're not that bad.  You just really, really have to remember some quilt basics.

1.  There are lots and lots of exposed bias edges.  Starch and handle carefully.
2.  Cut your pieces accurately.  I cannot emphasize this enough.
3.  You're asked to make several dots 1/4-inch from the edges of some of the pieces.  It is really necessary to make sure these are marked accurately and dark enough to see them well.
4. Make sure you have good lighting so you can see the dots.
5.  Speed is not your friend.  Sew slowly.
6.  Press after each step.  Use steam.
7.  This is not a block you want to have a tight deadline on. It's a good idea to take breaks from Tulips and Ivy.  Don't try to construct it when you're tired or  when you're distracted.
8.  Keep the pattern book handy.
9.  Keep consistent 1/4-inch seams.

The first dot you're asked to make is at the point of the triangle piece B.  Mark all the triangles 1/4-inch from the sides and the bottom.

A total of eight of these will be made.  Four like this and then four that are reversed.  Start with side the light pink strip is on.

Line up the edges as shown and sew s-l-o-w-l-y to the dot marked on the end of the triangle.

REDUCE YOUR STITCH SPEED....

It just helps you stop more accurately and quickly.

Sew down the side and stop when your needle hits the dot marked on the triangle.

It should look like this.  First side done.

Repeat for the second side.  When that is done, pin the ends of the two side together.

Sew from the point of the triangle to the end.

Press the seam open.  This is important because this step will reduce bulk, which will be helpful when you or someone else is quilting your quilt.

Notice that the base of you triangle stick out above the ends of the sides just sewed on.  It's supposed to.  If it didn't you'd cut the tips off your tulip as you construct the square.

You're going to make four each of these -- one set needs to be the opposite of the other one.

Now to make the center of the tulip.  Take square D and fold it in half, wrong sides together and press.  I can't tell you how much Best Press or spray starch is in this step.

 Fold in half again and press.  Now you have a teeny, tiny square.  You're going to want to measure 1/4-inch from one of the corners and sides and mark a dot on it, just like you did the triangle at the beginning of this process.

 Then line it up with one of the C squares.  At this point, I basted the smaller square to the large one along the edges.  This really helped in the final construction steps of the tulip.

 Line this square up with the the sides of the tulip previously made.  You want the dot on the yellow center to line up with the point-end of the tulip petal.

 Now it should look like this....front and back....

Now, add another section of the tulip -- the opposite of the one previously used.  Again, use the dot on the yellow square as a starting/stopping point.

And again, using that dot as a starting point, sew the center seam together.

I like the way that the center is kind of 3-D and doesn't lay flat.

Let me note here that as you're sewing on the sides, it is important to trim the little "dog ears" off.  This makes construction easier and reduces bulk.

Add the bottom triangle, and the hardest part of this block is complete!

 The blocks are going to be a little wonky.  When we're ready to put the whole quilt together, we'll square it up a little and when the setting triangles are added, all will be good.

Finish the last couple steps of the block and lay it out.

 Sew it up and make sure it measures 10 1/2 inches (Or pretty much.  It's going to be a little wonky because of the biased edges).

TADA!