If you’ve made quilts with snowball corners, you know they can add up quickly. Drawing a diagonal line on every single square works well and gives accurate results, but when you’re making dozens or even hundreds of snowball units, that extra step can take quite a bit of time.

Over the years, I’ve started using a simple shortcut that helps speed things up without sacrificing accuracy. In today’s video, I’ll show you how I use a strip of washi tape as a sewing guide so I can skip drawing those diagonal lines altogether.

Sewing Machine Station:

• Juki 2000 on Amazon or Juki 2000 at Sewing Machine Plus
• Dura snips (hanging on my machine)
• Sewing machine light
• Sewing cabinet 
• Sewing chair 
• Washi Tape
• Diagonal Seam Tape (didn’t show this product in this lesson, but I use it often and have demos for it)
• Sew Laser

The Traditional Method

Most quilt patterns, including my own, are written using the traditional method of drawing a diagonal line from corner to corner on each small square. It’s reliable, easy to understand, and works beautifully for quilters of every skill level.

That’s still the method I recommend in my patterns because it’s universal and easy to follow.

A Faster Way to Sew Snowballs

Once you’ve made a few quilts, though, you may find yourself looking for ways to speed up repetitive steps.

One of my favorite tricks is placing a strip of washi tape on the bed of my sewing machine to act as a visual guide. Instead of drawing a line on every square, I simply line up the corner with the tape and sew.

It takes a little practice, but once you get comfortable with it, it’s a technique you can use again and again on future quilts.

Why I Like This Method

For quilts with lots of snowball units, skipping the marking step can save a surprising amount of time.

I also enjoy keeping the sewing process moving. Rather than stopping to draw lines on every square, I can sit down at the machine and focus on sewing.

It’s a small change, but those little efficiencies really add up over the course of a large quilt.

Practice First

If you’ve never sewn snowball units without marking the diagonal line, I’d recommend practicing on a few scraps first.

Once you get a feel for lining the square up with your guide, it becomes second nature.

From the Swayful Quilty Class

This lesson is a free preview from the Swayful Quilty Class, where we make the Swayful quilt top together from start to finish.

If you’d like to join us, the full class includes the Swayful pattern along with step-by-step video lessons covering fabric placement, organizing your fabrics, constructing the blocks, building the border, and assembling the quilt top.

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