Mini-Marathon Mystery, Part I      Part I is the instructions needed to begin your project. Have fun! The panel/fabric piece must be pre-washed and then trimmed so that it does not have a border on it (If using a panel, many times it is surrounded by a decorative border). Notice that there is no border on the batik panel used in this mystery as an example.

December 31, 2001

3. Next, make sure that the panel is perfectly square or rectangular, depending on the shape of your fabric. In the panel above, the top is the same width as the bottom, and the right side is the same length as the left side. You do not want your fabric piece to be uneven or skewed.
4. Fold the panel in half, then in half again, quartering it. Lightly press.
5. Unfold the panel, and carefully cut it apart on the folds, into four pieces. Refer to the illustration below to see how the example was quartered.
   
   NOTE: Since this panel is really 28" x 35" in real life, it would be too large to quarter. Instead, I would probably cut it into six equal parts.
6. The panel quarters are referred to in clockwise order, beginning at the left, top corner and moving to the right with the numbers 1 through 4. Refer to the diagram below to see how each panel is numbered.
   
7. Using a very dark fabric, such as black or brown (a woodgrain would be perfect!), cut a 3/4" strip the width of the fabric (42 to 44 inches).
8. With right sides together, pin the dark strip to the right side of quarter panel 1. Sew it with a scant (just a few threads short) 1/4" seam. It is extremely important to be accurate in sewing this because of the narrowness of the strip. In fact, if you are relatively new to quilting, then practice before sewing!
9. Using the instructions in step 7, do the same thing to quarter panel 3.
10. Open the two pieces just sewn together in step 7 and press flat, pressing the seam toward the panel piece. Trim the dark strip even with the panel at the top and bottom.
11. Using the instructions in step 9, do the same thing to the panel 3 pieces. Once pressed flat, these two panels should look like this:
    

12. Next, with the right sides together, pin panel 2 to the panel 1 section and sew it with a scant 1/4" seam. Then, pin panel 4 to the panel 3 section and sew it with a scant 1/4" seam. Refer to the following diagram to see how these two pieces now look:
    

13. Now, to finish Part I of this MQ. Pin the dark 3/4" strip (cut more from the same fabric if you don't have enough), right sides together, to the bottom of the 1-2 panel piece. Sew it on with a scant 1/4" seam. Press with the seams going toward the panels, then trim the sides even with the panels. Refer to the diagram below to see how this looks.
    

14. Lastly, pin the 3-4 panels to the 1-2 panels, along the bottom strip, right sides together. Sew with a scant 1/4" seam, then press toward the panels. Trim the edges so that they're even with the sides of the panels. Refer to the diagram for an illustration of how this should now look.
    

Ready for Part II?

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