Trying to sew a curved seam can seem daunting but there are a couple tips from FMQuilter Kim Stenehjem to help give you a smooth and pucker free result:

• Pin the seam before sewing. Find the center of the curve on both patches and pin them at that point. Next, pin the ends being careful not to stretch the bias. Add additional pins easing the fabric together. Leave the pins in place until the pin is just about to go under the needle.
• Use a tweazers to hold your fabrics together as your patch goes under the foot. This keeps the patches from slipping and protects your fingers.
• Keep the concave patch on the bottom so the feed dogs can help ease extra fabric that might cause a pucker.
• Sew slowly, checking for puckers and folds as you go.
• Try glue instead of pins. Some quilters swear by it although I have not used it myself.

Kim says “I’ve made two New York Beauty quilts and several abstract art quilts with curved seams and it got easier the more practice I got.”