Thread: 1/4 inch for quilting and when done, it

1/4" seams can be a pain in the ........ (you fill in the blank) The biggest question ~ do you have a 1/4" foot? Trying to sew, just using the itty bitty, tiny little mark on you machine is another pain in the ....... You should be 'guiding' the fabric, not push, pulling, or stretching.

Rotary cutting does also affect the outcome of your blocks. As does pressing and your 1/4" seams.

Try to use the same brand of ruler on a project.

What are you watching when sewing the seams? If you are watching the needle, then you probably will not get a perfectly even 1/4" seam. I have marked my machine bed...I use blue painter's tape (comes off easily), and I have made a fine point mark on my clear plastic foot (on one machine, the mark is there already...at the center..but I put a mark for just shy of 1/4" from the center of the needle out).

My eye is at the front of the foot (about 1/2 to 1 inch in front of the needle)..my tape is bright enough and that tiny bit of a difference in height off the bed of the machine is also a reminder...that I find watching the needle throws me off a bit...so I just keep an eye on keeping the fabric against the edge of the tape (used to use 2 layers, but one works) but mostly keep looking just in front of the needle...it's like driving a car...you tend to drift to where you are looking, not where you need to be.

Originally Posted by sewhat540

Thank you for your interest in my problem. I also notice that every 1/4 is not the same with or without a foot. I do have a foot but now am wondering if I should just mark my machine and call it a day.

Originally Posted by sewhat540

I know I was having a problem with the bottom thread and had to turn it around but with talking to others, I am now wondering if it can be the thread if it is not the same top and bottom. I usually don't have this problem but this time it really irritated me. I had to take it all apart.
Thanks for writing.

I just took a class last month and the teacher said this happened to him. His blocks were good then all of a sudden they were off. It was the bobbin thread. I always make sure to use the same top and bottom; your machine will also thank you for doing this, no tension problems. I have a 1/4in foot but I move my needle over to a certain # when I'm piecing to make sure I have the scant 1/4 in. I need the foot because it has the bar that keeps my fabric straight so I use it and then just adjust my needle to the same spot each time.

Oh Ginny - could be ALL OF THE ABOVE! If cutting is off, then the block size is off. If you stretch the fabric, especially a problem when sewing on bias edges, then the block size is off. I've even had a problem when using two different rulers (from different companies) and the block size is off. Then there's the "scant quarter inch" issue. Don't get me started.........Best thing is to take three precisely cut 2.5 inch by 3 inch rectangles and sew them together on the 3 inch sides. Measure when done and you should have a 6.5 by 3 inch block. If you don't, and you know for certain that your cutting was accurate, then it's your sewing. That means you need to "find" your quarter inch. Take a piece of grid paper, 4 squares to the inch or a lined index card. Put your needle EXACTLY on a line and see where the next line to the right of it falls in relation to your sewing machine foot. That is where your fabric needs to flow under your foot in order for your seam to be a quarter inch. If a block has many seams in it, it's best to have your seams be "scant", or ever so slightly short of a full quarter inch. And some people even use thinner thread in order to not take up excess measure in the seam (once it is pressed over). Oh, and pressing can also turn your block into the wrong size. Remember to press, not iron. And check your block measurements at interim steps in the block. Square up if necessary. There should be a full 3 credit college course on this subject - so keep practicing until you get it.