Tip for Sewing 60-Degree Diamonds

While sewing the center section of my Kingfisher Stitch Along Quilt, I found out that sewing 60-degree diamonds together (and getting them to line up properly) is not the easiest thing to do. I mentioned, in my last post, about a little trick I used to line up my diamonds for piecing the center of the quilt--here it is. (If you'd like to refresh your memory of what my Kingfisher Quilt looks like to this point, click here.)

When sewing two 60-degree diamonds to each other, there needs to be a 1/4" overlap/extension on each end. I was trying to eyeball that quarter-inch overlap; that didn't work very well for me. I discovered that using a 1/4" tape of some kind helped me measure that 1/4" overlap/extension very quickly and accurately. (The silver tape I used was just some I had on hand. I think it was used to do something with slides--photos--back in the day. ANY 1/4" tape will work.) Let me show you what I mean.

As you can see in the picture above, the tips/points of the diamonds need to extend/overlap by 1/4". In the next pic, you will see a 1/4" silver tape attached to my cutting mat. I used that 1/4" tape to quickly measure an accurate 1/4" overlap/extension for those tips/points.

In the pic above, you can see the edge of one diamond lined up with the tape, and the tip/point of the other diamond extending over the width of that tape. The very, very end of the tip/point lines up with the top edge of the 1/4" tape. You will need to do this with both diamond points (as shown below).

If you follow these instructions, you will get perfectly aligned 60-degree diamonds.

Let me know if this works for you.