Get Prepped to Sew Along

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Hey there fibre friends! I’m excited to be back in 2025 with, hopefully, another helpful blog post.

Block of the month (BOM) challenges, quilt alongs (QAL) and sew alongs (SAL) are popular each year. They’re a great way to sew along with other quilters – even if it’s virtually – to build our quilting and sewing community. For example, Riley Blake has their annual block challenge. Have you seen it yet? Oh my, is it beautiful!

Being the organized quilter that I am, I thought I’d share a few ways you might find helpful in keeping your project organized and, ideally, on track.

Your Fabric

Depending on the project, there can be many fabrics that go into a quilt. The 2025 Block Challenge has 20. You can print the Fabric Requirements sheet to reference for each block pattern. If you choose to deviate and choose other fabrics, get a blank paper (preferably card stock) to use in the same manner. Cut a small piece of the selvage, glue it to the paper and label it according to the pattern with the fabric letter or number and the manufacturer assigned color (e.g. Texture Blush or Blossom Silver). I keep mine posted near my cutting table where it’s easy to see during the cutting process.

Cutting the Fabric

Speaking of cutting, once your have your cuts complete, be sure to label the cuts and I recommend using small design boards. If you do one block at a time or multiples, all the pieces for each block stay together and it makes it easier to move them around your sewing space if necessary. 10″ square or 14″ square boards are usually adequate for most block sizes.

You can also make your own design boards in any size you’d like! If you know me, you wouldn’t be surprised that I wanted ones with pink in the binding, so I used some leftover licensed RBD Barbie fabric and learned how to make them from Lori Holt. Unused rolie polie strips are also great for this project.

Extra or “On Hold” Fabric

When you’re not cutting all your fabric at once, you don’t necessarily want to keep repeating the ironing process before cutting the next block. If you have the space and somewhere safe, lay your fabric flat so it’s ready for the next time. You can also utilize a hanger and put them in a closet. Pants hangers tend to work best so you don’t have to fold your fabric. However, you can minimally fold your fabric and drape it over other hangers.

For smaller scraps to be used for later blocks, storage bins and reusable project bags are great for keeping them together. The RBD Quilty Scrap bags are also helpful. You can clip the project or scrap bags to your hangers, thus keeping everything together.

WIP Tracker

As much as we’d like to always stick to the timeline of the project, sometimes life happens. So you don’t lose your place, having a sheet to track your progress will help you to remember where you left off, where your fabrics go, and much more. If you need one to help you get started, click here to download a free PDF to use. When you’ve completed the quilt, you can 3-hole punch the page to keep in a binder for future reference if needed, like if you want to use the quilting design again in a future quilt.

Whether it’s a BOM, SAL or QAL, I hope these little tidbits are helpful to you this year! Do you have other ways of staying organized? Please share them in the comments section below. You’re also welcome to contact me on Instagram, Facebook or by email.

Don’t forget to check out the 2025 Block Challenge and other SALs for this year! If you find any other good ones, please share them in the comments.

Stitch on me hearties,