Chain piecing in quilting is one of the most effective techniques for streamlining your quilting process, helping you piece quilt blocks quickly while maintaining accuracy. Whether you’re a seasoned quilter or just getting started, mastering chain piecing can save you time, fabric, and thread. In this post, we’ll explore why chain piecing is essential, how it benefits your quilting, step-by-step instructions for chain piecing, and how to incorporate leaders and enders into your workflow.
When purchasing through links on this site, I may earn an affiliate commission at no cost to you.
What is Chain Piecing in Quilting?
Chain piecing refers to sewing multiple pieces of fabric together in a continuous sequence without cutting the thread between each set. It eliminates the need to start and stop after every seam, allowing you to stitch several pieces at once in an uninterrupted line.
Related Post: Mastering an Accurate 1/4 Inch Seam Allowance
Why Should You Use Chain Piecing?
Chain piecing offers multiple advantages that can improve both your quilting experience and final results. Here are a few reasons why quilters swear by this technique:
- Time Efficiency: Instead of cutting thread after every seam, you stitch multiple fabric units at once. This speeds up the entire piecing process.
- Consistent Seam Allowance: By feeding one piece after another through your machine, you maintain a consistent quarter-inch seam allowance.
- Less Thread Waste: Continuous stitching between units minimizes the amount of thread used, reducing waste.
- Organizational Benefits: Chain piecing keeps your blocks in order, making it easier to assemble quilt tops with multiple blocks.
How to Chain Piece: Step-by-Step Guide
- Prepare Your Pieces: Begin by cutting and arranging the fabric pieces you want to stitch together. Organize your fabrics so that they are easy to grab in sequence.
- Set Up Your Sewing Machine: Set your machine to the correct stitch length (usually 2.0 – 2.5 for piecing) and ensure your quarter-inch foot is in place. I also like to have diagonal seam tape in place for any diagonal seams I’m doing like half square triangles or sew and flip corners.
- Start Sewing: Take the first pair of fabric pieces and begin sewing them together, stopping just short of the end.
- Add the Next Piece: Without cutting the thread, feed the next fabric pair into your machine, continuing to sew. Repeat this process for all your fabric pairs, forming a long chain of stitched units.
- Snip the Chains: Once all the pieces are stitched, use a small pair of scissors or thread snips to cut the chain apart between each set of fabric. There are also stand up cutters on the market that can help speed this process along. However, I haven’t found one I love yet and often end up with stitches pulling out near the end of the pieces. Therefore I usually just stick to small scissors like the Sweet Snips by Fat Quarter Shop unless I’m cutting a large amount of pieces apart.
The Benefits of Using Leaders and Enders
Incorporating leaders and enders into your chain piecing can bring additional benefits. Leaders and enders are small scraps of fabric or even quilt blocks that you start and end your sewing with, rather than wasting thread. They serve as “bookends” to your chain piecing, preventing thread tangles and ensuring smoother seams. But that’s not all – leaders and enders can also be used to make another quilt!
How Leaders and Enders Work:
- Scrap Management: Place a small scrap of fabric (your leader) under your needle before beginning your chain piecing. This helps prevent the fabric from being pulled into the machine and keeps your stitches smooth.
- Create a Bonus Quilt: Instead of scraps, use patchwork squares as your leaders and enders. As you chain piece your main project, you’re simultaneously sewing a second project, piece by piece. Over time, this can result in a bonus leader and ender quilt!
Using leaders and enders, whether it is scraps of fabric or extra quilt squares to be used in another project, also helps reduce thread nests. As you can see in the photo above, I started with a long started thread after rethreading my machine. And by just starting a new seam, the excess got balled up in the first several stitches. Leaders and enders is one way to prevent this from happening by never having a loose thread to begin a stitch line with since there is always a piece of fabric under the needle. Another option is to always pull up the bobbin thread and hold them to the back when starting a stitch, but this also wastes inches of thread each time.
Why You Should Try Leaders and Enders:
- Thread Conservation: Leaders and enders reduce the thread waste caused by starting and stopping between chain piecing.
- Accuracy: Leaders can help guide your fabric into the machine smoothly, resulting in straighter seams from start to finish.
- Bonus Quilts: Why not work on two projects at once? By using patchwork squares as leaders and enders, you can slowly assemble an entirely separate quilt with no extra effort.
Final Thoughts on Chain Piecing
If you’re looking for ways to enhance your quilting efficiency, chain piecing is a must-try technique. Not only does it speed up the process, but it also helps reduce waste and keeps your projects organized. Don’t forget to add leaders and enders into the mix if you’d like to for an extra layer of productivity.
Whether you’re sewing intricate patchwork or basic quilt blocks, chain piecing can take your quilting to the next level. So, set up your machine, grab your fabric pairs, and start stitching your way to faster, more efficient quilting!
