Mini-tutorial - Modifying a patch

This a technique I use a LOT and seems like a silly tut but someone might find it useful...  On this new CQJP block I have a rather small green patch lower right... I wanted a fancy seam AND a daisy patch AND a bunny on this small patch and all three weren't going to fit so I decided to make the patch larger.

First I folded a wide piece of seam binding and stitched it to the top of the patch..

At this point I could have used braid or lace to hide the seam... The gimp was too bulky since I wanted to embroider over it so I chose to cover the joint with a simple ribbon.









This technique added over 3/4" to the patch and will give me enough room for all I want to do.  Nothing matches perfectly but it all blends in.










This is especially useful if you end up with small awkward corners or long skinny patches...Remember this works equally well for a patch that is too large and not in balance with the rest of the block..

The following is a repeat of a tutorial on block talk demonstrating some of the same elements.

I discussed this block a little when I did it. It was Jeanne's block in a "seams only" RR. I had three areas I wanted to change..

1. I wanted the orange patch to appear bigger and make the lavender patch beneath it a little more interesting shape. 

2. The teeny tiny corner patch upper right was just too small so I either had to make it appear larger or disappear.

3. The long narrow patch lower left just had to disappear..

First the orange patch.... I put a purple ribbon on top of  a very wide orange ribbon and stitched it at the very lower edge of the orange patch making the orange patch look larger... By putting it at a slight angle it changed the shape of the lilac patch below it.. You don't have to ALWAYS follow the seam//

I used the same treatment to solve two different problems (#2 & #3)... an extra large bold seam.... 

and it made #2 (tiny triangle) seem larger by again putting a purple ribbon on the very edge of the patch. and giving it a bold seam and a bold seam on #3 (long narrow strip) makes the narrow strip seem to disappear.

The bold seams are always an excellent way to draw OR focus attention where you like  on a block

One RR tune up finished

I am very happy with with this finished block... I was going for a delicate and lacy look..  There was so much  that was lovely on this block that I just couldn't let it languish in the drawer... With one exception I pretty much followed my original plan.

I dyed a lacy butterfly to echo the color of the lace on the seam and also added a light floral background similar to the work on the upper part of the block

Then I added some cream flowers to the upper right patch to add a little light to that corner... In the upper center I beaded two lace dragonflies and because that patch is framed on all sides by elaborate seams, I did little else.

The one change I did that I hadn't planned on was the seam (1.) by the butterfly.. for two reasons.  There was the lovely seam (3.) and I wanted some of that white somewhere else on the block. That seam (1.) had bright yellow and royal blue beads which weren't in harmony with the block as a whole. New seam is 2.

So all in all, just a few minor changes that made me at ease with this block. There was never an issue with the quality of the stitching.  It was more the color choices which has prompted me to write the series on color and RRs on Block Talk with Gerry. I have several pieces to back and bind so will do them all at once.
Here is the before and after..