How to Make Those Goofy Fish....

I have a new pattern, Bear Tracks, so I thought I would do a mini tutorial on how to make those goofy fish.  Designing the pattern was fun, but to get the angles I wanted on the fish I had to be a bit creative.  Not the easiest way to make them, but I was having a total brain block as to how else to do them for the angles I have drawn out.  I wanted finished edges...Would it have been easier to change the fish and do it a different way?  Absolutely!  But I'm not known for taking the easy way out.  I was set on these goofy angled fish.... love them now that I have my quilt done.  You should have heard me in my studio as I worked on them.  It was not a happy sound.... so I thought a tutorial to help make the pattern clear for those of you who have the pattern,. If you don't have the pattern, it's a tutorial on easy turn applique......

To easily get the angles for the northern pike block we will do quick turn applique.  Trace 6 Northern Pike triangles onto the smooth side of fusible interfacing. 

Layer the fusible interfacing, smooth side up on the right side of your fabric. Sew on the lines marked ‘sew’.  Here you can see how I sew on the traced line.  Then trim each piece ¼” from the stitching.  Trim corners.  Turn the triangle sections right side out.  See the one piece I have turned inside out?

Lay the triangle pieces on the 5 ½” x 4” cream blocks as pictured above.  Line up raw edge of triangle piece along 5 ½” edge of cream rectangle.  Iron in place.  Here I have the sections of the fish lined up and ready to be sewn. 

Oops.... don't forget to trim away the excess fabric on the back before you sew the block together.   This reduces the bulk of the fabric in the block.  Then sew the sections for the fish block together.

Hand stitch finished edges down using a blind stitch.   (If you don't like hand stitching you can also do a blanket stitch around the fish when all the blocks are pieced together.)  I like the blind stitch on this block....

Make 2 Northern Pike blocks. Here is the finished block in my Bear Tracks Quilt Pattern.

Finished block measures 5 ½” x 20 ½”

You do the same technique for the Bluegill block...

You will need 3 Bluegill blocks for Bear Tracks...
Here is the finished block in the quilt.

I hope that you enjoyed this mini tutorial.  If you have any questions or comments on this or any other Quilt Doodle Pattern, feel free to email me anytime.  I love to hear from you!

Happy quilting and perfect stitches to you,