Blooming Baskets Quilt 
Mini Crossbody Bag FREE Pattern/ 
Double Oven Mitt/PDF patterns, and instruction 
Summer Star Quilt 
Evil Eye 🧿 Blue Eye / Nazar, Machine Embroidery Design 4 Sizes 
Honey V Revival Quilt 
How to Chain Piece
(Speed Up Your Patchwork with Continuous Sewing)
@blockpartyquiltco
@SuzyQuilts
@lobeholdstitchery9373
Step-by-Step Instructions:
Chain piecing is a massive time-saver for quilters. Instead of cutting your thread after every single seam, you feed pieces through the machine one after another in a continuous chain.
Materials Needed:
- Sewing machine
- 1/4 inch piecing foot
- Quality piecing thread (e.g., 50wt cotton)
- Pre-cut fabric squares/shapes
- Small thread snips or a chain cutter
Tips for Success:
- Use a “leader/ender” scrap to prevent thread nests at the start of your chain.
- Keep a stack of prepared pairs right next to your machine so you don’t have to pause.
- Maintain a consistent 1/4 inch seam allowance throughout the entire chain.
1. Prepare Your Fabric Pairs
- Stack all the fabric pieces you need to sew, right sides together. Place this stack directly beside your sewing machine for easy grabbing.
2. Sew the First Pair
- Start sewing your first pair of fabric pieces together using a 1/4 inch seam allowance. Sew all the way to the end of the fabric, but do not backstitch and do not lift the presser foot or cut the thread.
3. Feed the Next Pair
- Take your next pair of fabric pieces and feed them under the presser foot right behind the first pair. There will be a tiny gap of thread between the two pairs.
4. Create the Chain
- Continue this process, feeding pair after pair without cutting the thread. You will create a long “garland” or chain of patchwork pieces connected by short stitches of thread.
5. Snip and Press
- Once all pieces are sewn, pull the chain away from the machine and cut the final thread. Use small snips or a specialized chain cutting tool to snip the threads connecting the pieces. Press your seams as your pattern directs.
Top FAQs for Chain Piecing:
What are “leaders” and “enders”? +
These are small scraps of fabric that you sew onto right before you start your real quilt pieces (the leader) and right after you finish your last piece (the ender). They prevent your machine from “eating” the corners of your good fabric and prevent messy thread nests.
Do I need to backstitch when chain piecing? +
No, backstitching is not necessary for patchwork. The seams will be crossed over and locked in place when you sew your blocks or rows together later in the quilting process.
How does chain piecing save thread? +
Normally, you pull a few inches of thread tail before cutting each individual seam. By connecting the pieces with only a tiny gap, you eliminate all those wasted thread tails, which adds up significantly over an entire quilt.
