I can't tell you how many times I have been asked this question. And given that I released my Dragon Dreams quilt pattern more than 5 years ago, you could argue that this blog post is slightly over due... But well - better late than never! 🫠

The skill level on the pattern states "Confident beginner". And by that I mean that I would generally assume that you can make it, as long as...

• you know how to prepare and cut your fabric using acrylic rulers and a rotary cutter,
• you have a sewing machine and know how to operate it,
• you know how to gently press (not iron!) your sewn units, and
• you have a bit of patience and are motivated to spend some effort on staying organized and working with accuracy.

In addition to these, there are 2 basic sewing skills that you should master in order to successfully make a Dragon Dreams quilt. Namely these are:

1. sewing with a consistent (and ideally scant) 1/4" seam allowance and
2. sewing diagonal seams using the so-called stitch-and-flip method.

Let me walk you through both of these today!

1) Your seam allowance

I could give you a much longer explanation as to why your seam allowance is so important and how to adjust it, but I promise I'll try to keep it short!

Essentially, the reason your seam allowance needs to be accurate is so that all your pieces and units will fit correctly as you're sewing them together. All the pieces in the pattern instructions are dimensioned such that they account for an extra 1/4" on each side. So, if your seam allowance is more than 1/4", your pieces will turn out too small, and if your seam allowance is less than 1/4", your pieces will turn out too large.

Even better than an even and exact 1/4" seam allowance is one that is just a wee bit less than 1/4", or "scant" as we say. And that is because fabrics are not infinitely thin (as the pattern math assumes) and a tiny strip of fabric will be "lost" right in your fabric fold when you're pressing your seams.

Let me give you a visual:

Have a close look at each of the three seams and follow them down as indicated by the arrows!

• Exact 1/4" seam: The seam is perfectly underneath the 1/4" mark of the ruler.
• Scant 1/4" seam: The seam is just to the right of the 1/4" mark of the ruler.
• Too narrow: There's a gap between the seam and the 1/4" mark of the ruler.

Ideally, your seams should consistently look like in the middle picture.

If you were sewing a quilt pattern with lots of skinny strips, you might need to dive even deeper into this topic and identify exactly how "scant" your seam allowance needs to be with the specific fabrics, thread etc. you're using for a given project, so that all you units will turn out precisely to size and all your points will match perfectly. But Dragon Dreams is not that demanding, you'll be just fine as long as your seams looks mostly like the one in the middle photo above. If you are curious though, Brittany from Lo & Behold Stitchery has a great in-depth blog post on mastering the perfect scant 1/4" seam (read it here).

Now, how do we achieve that magical scant 1/4" seam?

I am so glad you asked! 😅

Let's start by evaluating where we are. Maybe grab a few fabric scraps and cut some strips, e.g. 2" wide (they don't need to be very long - I cut mine at 2" x 4" for the photos above). Join two of them with your "normal" seam allowance, then let's inspect with a ruler:

• Is the seam allowance the same from start to end?
• How wide is it?

If it's off, you'll have to adjust it. Either by

• adjusting your needle position to the left or right (if your machine allows you) or by
• adjusting your fabric position as you feed it through the machine.

Adjusting your needle position is the easier option. Move it to where you think it needs to be, then do another test seam and measure. If you're still off, repeat this process until your seam looks like in the J photo above.

If your needle position can't be altered, you'll have to adjust how you feed your fabric through your machine relatively to your needle.

There are various tools that can help you with keeping the right edge of your fabric in the desired spot, or rather help you move it along the desired line. What's best for you or what's available will depend on your sewing machine, but these are some general examples:

• markings on your presser foot or stitch plate
• 1/4" sewing machine foot with a guide (see example on the left below)
• guides you can attach to your machine (see example on the right below)

Notice how the stitches in steps 2 and 3 are not perfectly on the blue markings, but rather along the right edge of the markings? This is intentional, once again to achieve the grandiose scant 1/4" seam described in section 1. 😎

That's it! You'll be using this method numerous times while stitching up your little sleeping dragon. For some of the dragon's body parts, the units will be as simple as the example above. For some others (e.g. the spikes), the units will be more complex, involving several consecutive stich-and-flips on the same fabric piece or unit.

For those consecutive stich-and-flips, it will be particularly important that you work accurately, in terms of your marking, your sewing and your pressing. During step 2, you'll be sewing on your fabrics' bias, the direction in which they're most prone to stretch and distortion. Therefore, do not rush, but sew and press slowly and accurately, so your units turn out with the correct dimensions and not wonky.

Phew, this got a little longer than I imagined... I hope you found these tips helpful and you now feel confident to make your own Dragon Dreams quilt!

Don't worry, you got this, even if you need a little practice! 🥰