Joseph's Coat, Block Base Plus Block #6

The Block Base Plus sew-along continues on with block 6 in the series, a Maltese Cross block that is spider-web themed, called Joseph's Coat or number 2734. 

Above is the color version from Block Base Plus, and here's my fabric version, which contains the same green as all of my other blocks, for consistency.

I was so hoping the Joseph's Coat block was going to be another that could be cut from squares or rectangles and easily pieced. Unfortunately, the identical A and C templates (see the arrow below) are not symmetrical triangles which would make that method really difficult. 

Choosing the easy route, I decided to use foundation piecing, printing out the paper piecing units on freezer paper. Why freezer paper? Because I'm not a fan of tearing out foundation paper after stitching. And I can make at least four units from each freezer paper template which saves on printing.

Here's the two units for the Joseph's Coat block,

which will make piecing this Maltese Cross style block a lot easier. Unfortunately, I can't provide these for you as they are available only in EQ8 or Block Base Plus.

So, how to use the freezer paper? Easy. Cut out the fabric pieces larger than needed and press the wrong side of the first piece to its location on the freezer paper. Use a piece of cardstock to help make a crisp fold on the stitching line. Place the next piece, right sides together, and keeping the paper folded back, stitch next to the fold.

Then press that new fabric piece in place on the freezer paper. Keep adding fabric, if there's more, or trim the unit with seam allowances to finish. Here's the backside, untrimmed,

and the trimmed unit, from the front.

How easy is that? After stitching and trimming the other unit,

it's time to stitch these two together. If I can, I like to remove the paper for matching. Sometimes though, it's better to leave the paper in place for that.

Here's a great trick I'll share for matching: take a few stitches at the matching point and check the match on the frontside before stitching the entire seam. 

This technique saves a ton of aggravation! Take a look at how well these seams matched up.

Yeah! I can now stitch the entire seam, stitching the corner units to the center units,

making four units total.

Then its a matter of matching seams again to make two units,

and for the last seam, matching at three points along the seam to finish the block.

I'm very happy with how well this turned out using the freezer paper piecing method, which I should use more often. It sure made this Joseph's Coat block a whole lot easier to piece.

Happy Quilting!

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