Hand Piecing: Sewing for Pleasure and Peace

This is a post about taking on a large-ish quilt as a hand piecing project and how to break it down into blocks to keep it portable.  It’s also a post about using stitching as a self-care technique.  Or, more specifically, why stitching makes us feel better IF we don’t make it into one more pressure situation in our lives.

Note: this post was written in the early part of the 2020 lockdowns and I’m updating it in 2023.

Unless you haven’t spent the last four months on planet Earth, you are fully aware that we are all coping with a pandemic.  When lockdowns started in my part of the world, I confess to being one of those people who thought, “Okay, I’m going to get so much done because I’ll be home.”  All. The. Time.  I was wrong.  

An aside…I talk mostly about hand piecing here but that’s just because it’s what I often do.  If you find your Zen in front of a sewing machine, I’m talking to you, too.  Just mentally substitute “sewing” for “hand piecing” and know I’m talking to you, too.

What happened when we had to lock down to protect our health?

First, I had to learn to work the day job differently and that took time.  It also took more time to do the same things remotely because a question wasn’t a simple pop into a colleague’s office for a quick answer.  I had to type each and every letter of that question into an email, hit send and, usually, wait for them to reply back to me.  If I wasn’t perfectly clear, it might have taken several emails just to figure out one small problem.  Multiply that by everything a job requires in a day and suddenly that time I thought I would save on the commute was gone.  Poof!

Then, there was that “feeling.”  That sense that things were a bit off.  I knew what the big problem was but why couldn’t I just get busy doing all the sewing things?  I was in my house, the place I spent most of the day wanting to be rather than in an office.  But, when I had the time to sew, I often found myself in my favorite chair wondering why I couldn’t convince myself to just get up and get busy.

a cup of coffee and a vintage jar of squares on a wooden tray, ready for hand piecing.

Eventually, I learned something about stress and anxiety in lockdown.  Three things were holding me back: (1) too much pressure to be productive; (2) too busy meeting basic needs, such as safety and finding food and supplies that were suddenly scarce, to worry about accomplishing something that gave a sense of self-esteem and achievement; and (3) that “feeling” I mentioned? It was grief.  It was going to take time to work through it and, to be honest, I’m still doing that work.  But, it’s getting better.

You need to disconnect some of the time

This brings me to using hand piecing for pleasure and peace.  We shouldn’t make our hobbies stressful.  I enjoy social media and spend a lot of time scrolling through all the quilts and other projects that my online friends are creating.  But, too much of that scrolling becomes massive sensory overload and I start comparing myself to what seems like the endless productivity of others.  Suddenly, I feel too fatigued to do anything BUT scroll through social media.

Sensory overload is also a result of too much multi-tasking.  It is impossible to remain balanced and relaxed when we are constantly doing more than one thing at a time.  

Multi-tasking has become standard practice in our time and this time of forced togetherness makes it even more prevalent.  Of course you want to pay attention to your family and you have to do your part to meet their needs, and your job’s needs, and your volunteer commitments… But, it’s important to carve out time where you can focus solely on your own wants and desires.  No making a to-do list for tomorrow at the same time, either!

Sewing is good for you

So, I’ve issued myself a challenge.  Wait?  Doesn’t that sound like more pressure?  Actually, it’s my personal stitching as self-care challenge.  It’s a challenge to make a date with myself, to force my schedule to accept time for me.  I don’t meditate, but I can do something meditative.

My project is a hand pieced postage stamp quilt that I started a few years ago and then put away.  Hand piecing a project allows one to be mindful and forces you to focus on one step at a time.  You engage your senses in a meditative process of threading the needle, concentrating to make each stitch the same as all the others, to feel the thread as it pulls through the fabric layers, and to hear your scissors clink on the table as you set them down.  You feel a sense of achievement when each little seam matches perfectly and you watch your finished blocks pile up, created by your own two hands.

The Postage Stamp Quilt Project

The postage stamp quilt is simple.  So simple, in fact, that it doesn’t even require templates.  All you need to do is cut 2-inch squares and, using a ruler, draw pencil lines ¼-inch from the edge of the fabric to mark your stitching lines.  This project alternates a printed fabric with a cream solid background fabric.  It’s scrappy so you can pull from your scrap box or cut some pieces off of all the fabrics in your stash.  It is your call.

Two inch unfinished squares marked with 1/4" seam allowance in pencil
Two-inch unfinished squares with 1/4′ seam marked in pencil

Once you have a small pile of squares cut and marked, it is time to start hand piecing them.  As I mentioned, the goal is to keep this project portable so you can gift yourself a chunk of time where you shut everything else out and pick up some pieces and start stitching.  Put your fabrics, pins, small scissors and a hand sewing needle into a bag or box, just something to keep it together in one place so you don’t waste time searching for your supplies.

Sewing the postage stamp quilt – step by step

Line up the corners for hand piecing two squares together
Put a pin through the two corners to perfectly align two squares
  • Take a print square and a background square and match them up at the corners.  Put a pin in your ending spot and use your needle to align the starting corners. 
  • Take a couple of back stitches, making sure you split the thread so it anchors without a knot, then stitch from one corner to the next. Do not take any stitches in the seam allowances. These should be left free and you’ll see why in a few steps.
  • When you reach the end, make a small knot by pulling your needle through the thread loop a couple of times and pulling it tight. Take a couple of running stitches in the seam allowance and clip the thread close to the fabric.
Hand stitch seam joining two squares
Hand stitched seam joining two squares
  • Stitch together another pair of squares in the same manner.
  • Now you are ready to sew the two pairs of squares together into a four-patch.  Match them the same way as you did the single squares but add another pin in the center to align the seams.
Align fabric pieces by pinning at each corner.
Align the pieces by pinning at the corners.
  • Make three more four-patches to go with the first one.
  • Put together two four-patches to form a 2 x 4 rectangle and then make a second.
  • Finally, stitch all four 4-patches together to form a 16-patch square. Make as many of these as you need to create the size of quilt you desire. Mine will be a “throw” size which I consider to be somewhere in the range of 40″ by 50″ before my borders.
The circles are used to point out how to flatten the seams in a hand pieced 16-patch block
The circles are used to point out how to flatten the seams in a hand pieced 16-patch block

To assemble the 16 patch blocks into a top, stitch them in rows and then stitch the rows together. I plan on adding an applique border to mine to replicate an antique quilt I once saw but could not afford. But, for now, I’ll just focus on stitching little squares. Do you want to join me? If so, leave me a comment below or just start stitching, take a picture, and tag me on Instagram @reproquiltlover or Facebook @reproductionquiltlover

Supplies – you only need a few

I am including links to where you can find the few necessary supplies for this project.  If you click on them and purchase, I might earn a small commission and I thank you for your support.  But, you've likely got them in your sewing kits already. See full disclosure.

To make this quilt you just need pieces of fabric large enough to cut 2″ squares. Mine is scrappy but I’m using the same alternating fabric, my go-to Kona Natural which you can find at many online quilt shops. You’ll also need a hand sewing needle (Sharps, they are called), a neutral color thread (see the photo showing the stitching line above, it just blends in perfectly), a pencil, a ruler, and a small pair of scissors and/or rotary cutter.

  • Hand sewing needles – I love Piecemakers needles but they can be hard to find. If you choose a good quality “sharps” then you’ll be fine.
  • Neutral thread – Any shade of beige works well and I like the Aurifil 50wt because I can use it for both machine and hand sewing.
  • Small scissors – I like nice but inexpensive scissors because I like to keep a pair with each project. I ordered this pair of colorful stork shaped scissors for this project because they just look happy.
Close up of postage stamp quilt project
Happy stitching!!

 

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13 Comments

  1. Love your post, you put so many of my thoughts into words. The sensory overload of SM and the funk that keeps you scrolling? WOW, exactly what I feel. I now have a 30 minute time limit on my FB and I’m not even hitting it. Now I need to limit my IG scrolling. I hope you are continuing the hand piecing, I did sew through a few WIPS at the beginning of this crazy time, but have only worked on hand projects for the last few months. Take care

  2. I did have to substitute machine piecing for hand piecing as I read, but I really connected with the things you were saying. Lovely post!

  3. Thank you so much for your post! I love using hand work as a stress reliever! I am always adding to my scraps from any fabric I use from other projects… I always let my original pieces kind of flow and say I do them with a twist!

  4. It is darling and agree self care is so important.
    Nothing has changed for me during covid, only working in person longer hours. I feel a need to get hiking on the weekends. The outdoors gives me the mental reset I need.

  5. Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts and feelings. I too have had a similar experience. I’m retired and have been caring for grandchildren who have been out of school since March. I thought this would be a productive time also but have felt so badly for all the people who have had to pass without their loved ones nearby and for those mourning their losses of family and friends. I have felt their grief. Thank God for the young and their positive outlooks!! My blocks have been cut out for some time and now I’m looking forward to the hand stitching. Thank you again for sharing.

  6. I liked reading your message. I have the same problems but in my case, I can’t seem to focus on work any longer. My mind is on what I have in stitching progress ALL THE TIME and I am so stressed that I am not getting through enough. I have dug out UFOs and started new quilts and everything seems to be calling me, except my work. Even housework is a pleasant distraction. I am also a hand sewer and hand quilter. I see you use the same thread and needles that I do. I find the applique needles suit me just fine for hand piecing.

  7. A fellow Jo Morton retreater posted about your blog today. Thank you for your insightful blog and for the hand piecing instructions. I have wanted to hand piece for some time but was scared to try. Thanks for the clear and simple instructions that made perfect sense to me today!

  8. I’ve been doing this for about a year and a half, and I find it very therapeutic. I have enough 4-patches for two queen-size quilts, alternating the 4-patches with solid alternate squares. I love the way the 4-patches come together so quickly, and the idea that I’ll soon be sleeping under a hand-pieced quilt of my own making. So satisfying!

  9. I just finished reading the daily stats here in VA for the virus. Feeling quite dismal I switched to the mail and here you were. Just what I needed! A boost to get back to it. Thanks so much.

  10. This is wonderful and definitely speaks to my heart. I am itching to do some hand stitching. I will read and re-read this to keep myself motivated.

  11. Thank you so much for the pictured instructions. You have given me the push to start the hand sewing.

  12. I really love this post and agree with your thoughts about stress/productivity during this stressful COVID time. Nothing could be sweeter than the simplest postage stamp. Your tutorial is beautiful too.

  13. Thank you Taryn. You have put into words exactly what I have been feeling. When I started working from home I too expected to have time to finally get some quilts started/finished and yet, nothing got done.
    Add to that a recuperating husband and my sewing has been on the back burner.
    I love your idea of setting aside non guilt time for personal healing with our sewing. I might work on finishing my Dear Jane while you do your postage stamps😊
    Thank you again for your wise words.

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