How to match your points

Have you ever wondered how to match that centre point on an eight star block?  

 

1.   Make sure your seams are all a perfect 1/4" or at least are all the same size - without that, you're going to struggle to get perfect points.  

2.   When making a block like this one which is paper pieced in 8 triangles, mark a 1/4" seam allowance on all the internal seams and a 1/2" seam allowance on the perimeter of the block on each PP template.  This will give you the waggle room to trim to a perfect block at the end. 

3.   Sew the four pairs of triangles together starting from the centre of the block.  Since you start at the centre, you are pretty much guaranteeing that that part of the seam will match accurately.  If, by the time you reach the outside of the block, your seam has gone a bit awry, it's less important.   

4.   Press seams open and trim off the little pointy triangles.  

5.   Sew the four resulting squares into the two halves of the block starting from the centre of the block.  

6.   Press seams open.  

7.   Now here's the magic.  Align the final seam and take a pin and slide it vertically through the centre point on each half so they are pinned together at the exact matching point.  Hold that pin through the two centre points vertically and carry the two halves of the block, with the pin sticking out vertically over to the machine.  Slide the whole thing under the needle.  Slide the pin out and slide the needle into the exact point the pin left.  

8.   Sew from that centre point to the outside of the block.  

9.   Flip and sew from the centre point to the other side of the block.  

10.   Press seams open and trim to size.  You will be able to do this beautifully if you have added a 1/2" seam allowance to the outside of the block since that allows for the slight imperfections that result from assembling an 8-piece block like this.