What’s the key to learning and improving your embroidery skills? Practice! The My Block Piecer Sampler Quilt block of the month will help you do just that! Learn the ins and outs to creating in-the-hoop quilt blocks with My Block Piecer, one of today’s hottest techniques. You’ll get familiar with one-unit blocks, advance to two- unit block and three-unit blocks. You’ll learn how to create in-the-hoop blocks from the block library and original artwork files. Plus you’ll create borders – perfectly proportioned without the math!
Don’t have the software? You can download a free trial by clicking here. You’ll enjoy a fully-functioning software with only the “Save Function” disabled. Once you’re ready to purchase the software, visit an Inspirations Dealer to make the purchase. After you purchase, you can duplicate the quilt shown here over the next 12 months.
This block of the month series will feature two lessons every month:
Software Lesson: First Saturday of the Month
Sewing Lesson: To be published the following Wednesday
This block of the month sampler quilt has unlimited potential: scrappy, monochromatic, jewel tone, batiks, or ultra-modern quilt.
All blocks are a 6” finished square and the border blocks are 3” x 6” finished. You can make one of each block or make four for a larger quilt.
Quilt Dimensions
- Finished size: 24” x 30”
- We opted to piece our quilt without sashing. If you plan on adding 1” wide finished sashing, you’ll need 1/3 yd. of fabric for the sashing.
- Fabric requirements:
This is a great opportunity to use scraps or select your own palette. You could go for a bright sunny look as shown above or opt for medium and dark jewel tones. The image below shows a 42″ x 54″ version. In this version, you’ll make four repeats of each block. If you opt for the larger quilt, double the yardage of each fabric.
Of course, you can never go wrong with an array of blues.
Yardage calculations are based on ¼” seam allowances. We have slightly increased the amounts for each fabric to allow some wiggle room for cutting and seam allowance.
Special thanks to Nancy Stansbury for this Block of the Month Series.
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My Block Piecer Sampler Quilt
Block of the Month: Block 1 Peony
Software Instructions
- Open MBP.
- Click on Create a New Design.
- If the units for the ruler on the design page show mm, Right Click on either one of the rulers on the Design Page, and Click on Inches.
- Right Click on either ruler again and click on Grid Settings.
- Check marks by:
- Maintain aspect ratio
- Snap to grid.
- Set horizontal spacing to 0.25.
- Check marks by:
- Click OK.
- Click on the Block icon.
- Enter Peony #2 in the Find box at the bottom of the window (DO NOT CLICK THE ENTER KEY). You’ll find Peony #2 under Foundation Blocks, Foundation Flowers. Remember to include the # sign as there are several Peony blocks in the Block Library.
- Click on the Down green arrow, next to the Find box.
- Click OK to place the block on the design page.
- In the Properties Window on the right side of the screen, click on the Transform icon.
- Have Maintain aspect ratio checked.
- Change the Width to 6.
- Click Apply.
- Click on the Select icon and draw a box around the entire block, OR Enter CTRL-A to select all of the block.
- Click on the Workflow icon.
- In the Hoop field, select a 200mm x 200 mm hoop or similar for your machine from the drop down box.
- Click the Auto Build button.
- Click on Sort numbers. Click Yes in the message box.
- The numbers have been sorted according to the order you will add them to the block.
- Click Preview. I’ve filled in patch 1 with green for easy detection. On your file, look for the green outline. Click Save, located under Preview.
- The software will automatically create a new folder with three files: the stitch file (select the format for your machine), the artwork of the block and the stitching instructions in PDF format.
- Close the file window.
- Close the Save window.
- Click the Cutter icon.
- Seam allowance default is .25”. Normally I change this to 0.4” or 0.5”, to make it easier to place the fabric pieces no matter which output format I choose.
- How you are going create the fabric pieces for the block, will determine which file format (hoop) to choose for the templates.
- If printing templates and using them to manually cut the fabric pieces, select the Paper Letter 210×279 from the Hoop field.
- If using the Scan and Cut, select Brother SCN 12×12”.
- If using the Silhouette, select Silhouette 12×12”.
- For digital cutting files, change the repeat from 1 to 4 if you are making the large quilt.
- Can Unclick Optimize Orientation if using a directional fabric (This will optimize how the pieces file on the paper.)
- Click Apply.
- Click Save.
- In File name enter Peony Templates.
- Click Save.
- The Following Files are created.
- Peony templates.pdf.
- Peony templates_preview.pdf.
- Close the files window.
- Close the Cutter window.
- Print the templates, or prepare your fabric and send the templates to your cutter.
- Load the design in your machine and have fun making this block.
20 COMMENTS
Audrey
7 years agoGood incentive for me to learn my software! Thanks Eileen!
Donna
7 years agoIf you checked with the machine embroidering public, you would know that more have 5×7 or smaller hoops than have larger than 5×7 hoops. Do you seriously think that you are serving the majority with your size choice in this endeavor? I don’t!!! One needs an excess of money to afford one of the new, larger hooped machines. (unless, of course, they get one free as a spokesperson for that machine manufacturer)…
Pamela Graham
7 years agoI beg to differ..more have 6×10 today than ever!
Rebecca
7 years agoI have a Husqvarna Viking Designer SE machine and bought all the accessories for it but now I too feel very left behind. Even though my machine is barely used it has deprecated in price so much that selling it in order to purchase a new machine would hardly be worth it. I felt so left out in all the projects in Designs in Machine Embroidery magazine that I cancelled my subscription and have decided to just be left behind in the dark ages. It would be so nice if those of us with older machines were included in the projects and continued education.
Connie
7 years agoStep 3 allows you to define the block size to work with your hoops
jackie kraemer
7 years agoit sounds like a personal problem.. machine embroidery is not a cheap hobby.
DONNA STEIN
7 years agoEileen, thanks so much for the tutorial! I purchased a few years ago, My Block Piecer as well as My Quilt Embellisher, I must admit I have not worked on these programs much and really appreciate your BOM. Is there a monthly fee to do the work?
eileenroche
7 years ago AUTHORNo Donna, this tutorial is completely free. You do need My Block Piecer software to participate but other than that it is free.
DONNA STEIN
7 years agoPurchased them both from you, thanks! I have also added the MQE so that each block has quilting on it. Enjoying this, thanks!!
SANDI CUNNINGHAM
7 years agoIs the trial version sufficient to do this block? I noticed it indicates a “save” function in the instructions and you do mention that “save” is disabled in the trial.
Denise Holguin
7 years agoHi Sandi,
The Block of the Month does require you to own a fully-functioning version of the software. You’ll need to be able to transfer the saved designs to your embroidery machine to stitch them out.
We mention the trial version in the blog post to give you a chance to play with the software before purchasing. The software is available for purchase through Inspiration Dealers. https://www.inspiredbydime.com/inspiration-dealers/
Denise
Terri
7 years agoI would like to actually make the first block, but how do you make the needed files if you can’t save the information? Where would the needed files be located?
I am new to embroidery and this is confusing to me.
Denise Holguin
7 years agoTerri,
The trial version will let you practice all the steps of creating the block. It’s like a test drive but with software. The save function can be activated once the software is purchased through an Inspirations Dealer.
An Inspirations Dealer locator can be found here: https://www.inspiredbydime.com/inspiration-dealers/
Denise
carol spoelstra
7 years agoLove this idea
Dottie Joyce
7 years agoEileen:
This is an excellent plan for learning MY BLOCK PIECER; I’ve had it for several years and haven’t gotten around to learning & using it. I mostly use PEP & am thankful for it. Thanks for the renewed opportunity on Block Piecer. I never cease to be impressed with the capability of DIME software.
eileenroche
7 years ago AUTHORThank you for your kind words, Dottie. I hope you enjoy the tutorials.
Sheila Green
7 years agoI am a Janome user and would love to be able to use this. Is there any way to do this with my Janome?
Anjelah Johnson
7 years agoThank you for sharing this Embroidery Design software. Now i can design new and unique designs.
Audrey
7 years agoI have my first blocks done! I would love to see everyone’s blocks. Is there a place we can post pictures?
DONNA STEIN
7 years agoEileen, I have jumped ahead and did a few blocks on my own. My question is this: I did the Four Patch Part 1 “around the block #2, (in your sample quilt) when I did the work flow, it came up with 4 separate designs. Each one is stitched independently with stabilizer, then you put stabilizer in the hoop again and then join the blocks, so now you have 2 sheets of stablizers, and on it goes. I have removed the 1st stabilizer, but it is difficult expecially with the #’s embroidered as well as the stitching lines. Is there a tutorial I can follow so that I can make sure I am doing this correctly? Hope you understand my question