Hey there! Have you ever tried sewing curves? What about improv curves? Lately I’ve been sewing a lot of improvisational curves and I wanted to share the love by showing you how to sew improv curves.

Over the past year (I can’t believe I’ve been working on this since February!) I’ve been doing a bunch of improv sewing, including sewing improv curves. Let me show you a few examples of recent quilts I’ve made using improvisational curve piecing.

This is a black and white improvisational quilt I made and finished a while ago. I actually finished it before we left Holland. I mean to stretch it on stretcher bars and hang it in my living room, but I messed up the binding/facing. So I have to fix it. And so it’s lingered. I really should fix it!

This is Sunshine. If you follow me on Instagram, you’ll have seen me working on this one over the past months.  Sunshine, is a bit different. She’s two quilts in one – half traditional piecing and half improvisational piecing. There is a lot of improv curves in this one!

Though she’s a bit of an oddball, I love this quilt so much! It all started when I wanted to work with yellow. As I made the stars sets on yellow, it began to look really happy, but I personally didn’t feel happy. Nothing was or is wrong per se, but I most days I just feel like a mess with a smile on. So Sunshine is my self portrait in a sense.

Here’s a close up. Look at that curve! So fierce!

In my latest video tutorial, you’ll learn how I sew my improv curves. This technique is the one I used to sew my improv curves in the two quilts above. In the video, you’ll glimpse these projects, how I cut my improv curves, how I might pin the pieces together (it’s just for show, I’m a pinner sinner!), how I sew the improv curves, how I press the improv curves, and how I would sew the pieces together sans pins (be careful on this part!).

Bear (bare?) with me on this video. My videography skills have much improved since I shot this video six months ago. (It’s so funny how time flies!) You may notice my hand is in the way of “the money” shot for the sewing machine segments. Please know management has received your complaints and is working to improve the situation. Ha! In all seriousness, in spite of my shortcomings (I think I’ve mentioned being a mess with a smile on? Ha!) I want to share what I know about how to sew improv curves so that you can take the lesson and do you own thing. So, even with my big ole’ hand in the way, I hope you can find this video tutorial helpful!

Here’s the video! Enjoy!

Main Takeaway Tips:

• When sewing avoid sewing over any puckers.
• Prepinning the curves are the safest way to sew those curves.
• If you are a pinner sinner like me, just be careful when you are sewing. Take care of your fingers and either invest in a stiletto, or order take out Chinese tonight and save a chopstick for your improv curve sewing, or fight a porcupine to get a quill or two. Your choice but seriously, be careful of your fingers!
• Have fun with it! Let the process of improv sewing impact your work.

Recommended Products

More of my Improv Works

If you want to see more of my improvised quilts then check out Rainbow Remix, Wavelength, and the Mini Wavelength.