Fabric grain is one of those quilting topics that you might not think is important, but the way you cut your fabric in relation to its grain can produce a quilt that's accurate and easy to assemble -- or a quilt that just won't do what you want it to do. Put fabric grain to work for you -- it's one of the easiest things you can do to get a quilt off to a great start.

_{Photo ©Janet Wickell}

One of the last things you'll do to your quilt is sew on binding to cover up its outer edges. By the time that task rolls around you're often tired and just want to get it over with so that you can move on to the next project. Take a deep breath--and don't get in so much of a hurry to finish that you slap the binding on in any old way, because it's not difficult at all to make binding strips from any fabric you choose and sew them to the quilt with sleek, mitered corners.

_{(Photo ©Janet Wickell)}

Here's a little 24" square wallhanging that might come in handy the next time you need to make a quick project for yourself or someone else. It could also be used as a colorful throw pillow cover, or to decorate the top of a table. The pattern instructions walk you through the process of appliqué using fusible web. If you're not into fusibles, use your favorite technique to appliqué patches to the background.

_{Janet Wickell}

Here's a close-up of the Double Star block, but the pattern is for an entire quilt (20 blocks with sashing). It's just that an image of the block helps illustrate the special little technique used to assemble it. Take a look at the blue center, and notice first that the unit sewn to each of its sides is identical. Then take a look at the seams along the sides of the square -- they follow the center in a round-the-clock motion, but are shorter than the unit that's sewn to them. Are the seams inset? No, they're sewn as partial seams, and it's the same technique we used to make the Bright Hopes quilt block. Don't be discouraged by the slight change in assembly -- partial seams are very easy, even if you're a beginning quilter.

_{Janet Wickell}