Easy Piecing Grid Tutorial
- Holly Reynolds
- Nov 7
- 4 min read
I loved this printed fusible the first time I saw it, and I was thrilled to get to take a class to learn how to use it!
I am all for anything that makes sewing easier, and this makes putting together a patchwork quilt so fast!
For this class, taught by product creator Carmen Geddes, we started with 2 jelly rolls and yardage of 1 main fabric. The class is called Jelly Roll Magic. We cut all the fabric into 2.5” blocks before class.
I chose a Kaffe Fassett x Williams Morris roll, and added yardage of a bright raspberry blender fabric for my main grids.
Amazon has a 32 Fat Quarter Bundle of the Kaffe x Morris fabrics
Here are my raspberry grids laid out on the Easy Piecing panel.
Here is Carmen’s quilt. Her main grids are white. This pattern looks difficult, but the gridded fusible makes it so simple!
Here is the Easy Piecing Grid. Both the grid and the pattern are numbered.
You can order it here https://tensisters.com/product/easypiecing-grid-panels/
I am not receiving any form of payment from Ten Sisters for my recommendation. I just really like the product!
I would earn a small commission if you purchase via my included Amazon links. You can see the items I recommend in my photos, so you know I've used them and approve. Thanks for supporting the blog.
Once we understood the layout, it was easy to create a pretty pattern. For this class, electrical outlets for irons were limited, so we used white glue sticks to keep the squares in place until we steam ironed the whole panel.
Supplies:
Ironing mat - I doubled this large one up to cover my table. I folded it in half under my panel just to be sure I wasn't accidentally damaging the tabletop.
just a few pins may be needed to hold panels together - these are my favorites
You can also use a small iron or heat wand to tack the squares in place until you iron the completed panel. Use the low heat setting!
Use an appliqué ironing cloth when you iron to protect your iron from the fusible's adhesive.
Here's a good silicon applique fusing mat
If you aren't ready to invest in a mat, you can use parchment paper
Above you see how I laid out all my squares around my work table. If you are glueing your squares onto the fusible panel, put paper or a plastic tablecloth underneath. Occasionally move your panel around a bit so it doesn’t stick to what’s underneath. Can you see the white paper under the panel in the picture below?
If you have room on your table, turn the panel so it all fits on the table. Our class was a little crowded, so I worked on the panel vertically.
After Carmen’s told me to swipe the glue onto the panel, instead of the fabric, I was able to speed up the process. It is so satisfying to have a design come together so quickly!
Initially, I worried about the edges of my blocks touching too much on the panel. My jelly roll had been cut in a zigzag , or pinked, and those edges overlapped a little. Carmen suggested rotating a block that didn’t seem to fit, and that tip helped immensely.
Design tips:
Note the placement of your lights and darks for contrast. Since my main grid fabric, raspberry, was darker, I tried to make the squares adjacent to it lighter colors, mostly pinks.
I have a lot of color happening with these fabrics, so I took care to select fabrics that seemed to fit well together in terms of color. I tended to alternate lighter with darker fabrics for visual contrast.
Here are the two panels I completed in class. Someone in the back of the room said the blender fabric looked like a pink solid from a distance, and they really do.
Next, fold the grid and stitch on each vertical row. You can see me do that in the video at the top of the post.
Clip the intersections of the seams, talking care not to cut through the seams. You will snip on the printed grid lines, outside of the seams. This will allow the panel to easily fold in the other direction. Very gently press seams in alternating directions. You are lightly moving across the fusible to suggest which direction seams will need to nest in later.
Once you have several panels sewn vertically, you can choose to join them by aligning the printed grid lines. Iron in place. Trim away excess fusible as needed. I used my new Kai scissors for this.
Once panels are fused together, sew them together. I felt like attaching a row of panels widthwise was as large a group as I wanted to maneuver on my sewing machine. Below are two panels that have been fused and sewn together
Next, fold and sew the horizontal lines.
Attach the rows of panels, and you have a complete quilt top!
Carmen Geddes said this quilt is a variation of a pattern called 6 steps to grandmas, which her version being technically 3 steps to grandmas. Have you seen this pattern before?
Follow me in Instagram & YouTube @happyquilty people to see the finished quilt!
I was not paid in any way by Ten Sisters or Carmen Geddes. This is just a product I think highly of because it is so helpful!
I have included my Amazon affiliate links to other products I think will be helpful for this project. I’ll earn a tiny commission if you choose to purchase through the links. Thank you for supporting the blog.
Love you,
Holly Jo
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