bobbiesboutique

Good morning QB I have a huge favor to ask I just got my first patterns I've ever paid for in the mail and I am picking out fabrics and beginning to make templates. Starburst and Stardust from Dereck Lockwood I will probably alternate working on quilts lol. My question and request is one calls for a 1/4 scant seam is there anyone who can give me some pointers on the best way to achieve these, and is there anyone who has done either one of these quilts if so any info that would help. I have been a quilter for almost a year and I am really confident with my sewing I absolutely have fallen in love with quilting and not a day goes by that I am not learning something new by choice or sewing, planning just anything to do with quilting. I absolutely love this site and all of you I do not belong to a guild or group there are none close to me and I have a 6,4,and 14 year old so there is no gatherings at times I can go to until they are all in school You guys are my guild love ya all you are such an inspiration!

bobbiesboutique

I have wanted to share photos of my quilts and other items I've made but I am not that good with computers and I do not know how to get my pics on here maybe I will just have to get my love (husband) to help me soon.

BellaBoo

It will be helpful to use a seam guide. I use Command Strips but you can use painters tape, mole skin or paper. I make my seam guide to go across the whole width of my machine throat. I use a 1/4" foot. Be careful to not veer the end of the seam to one side. That causes a lot of fitting problems later. Sew very slow. I piece slow enough I can count the stitches as I go. I went to an expensive precision piecing workshop for making show quality quilts and the main point was to sew SLOW, never be able to see the underneath fabric peeking out and backstitch at start and stopping even when chain piecing.

Donnamarie

Get yourself a 1/4" foot and always be consistent where the fabric lines up to the foot. Pretty easy with that foot.

ArtsyOne

Definitely get a 1/4" foot and keep the edge of the fabric under the edge of the foot, rather than poking out even a thread's width on the right side. On my machine it's a difficult process because the feed dogs are also directly under the edge and want to keep pushing the fabric just slightly to the right, so when it's not critical I just stay with a full 1/4" seam rather than a "scant" one.

lfletcher

I don't care for the "scant" 1/4" seam. I have a 1/4" foot for my machine and I just use that and have never had a problem.

bobbiesboutique

Thank you all for the advice I have the 1/4 foot and use it everytime the instructions say if I don't use a scant 1/4 the blocks will shrink in size if I use a 1/4 seam because of all the seams

PaperPrincess

If you really want precise 1/4" seams, then you have to check them. Here's a tutorial that shows the standard verification method. remember to use the same ruler you are going to use with your project:
http://www.quiltingboard.com/tutoria...ce-t89997.html

Once you figure out where the scant 1/4" is on your machine, you can adjust the needle and use your foot and/or use something stuck to your machine bed to guide the fabric (like a stack of postit notes, or a piece of moleskin). If you always use the same weight fabric, and same weight thread, then you really only need to do this once. If you change something, like the thread weight, or use a different fabric for a project, then you need to do a recheck. It really only takes a few minutes and with a complex design, it makes a huge difference.
Also, remember that pressing can also make it or break it. If you press and get a tiny fold in the seam, your patch will be off.
My thought is that it takes the same amount of time to sew a seam that's the correct width as to sew one that's sort of close. I think you really save a lot of time when your pieces fit easily vs. having to ease or rip.

A great book on this topic is "The Art of Machine Piecing " by Sally Collins.
http://www.amazon.com/The-Machine-Pi...ollins+machine

There are lots of copies available on Amazon for a dime. Even with shipping less than a magazine!

Lori S

I have a 1/4 inch foot that has an opening that allows me to "needle over" or move the needle to each side of center. Best investment I made in feet. Even with my single hole 1/4 inch foot I can move the needle slightly. The trick is to remember every time you work on that project to set the needle in the same position you used for the other blocks.

sewincircles

Don't laugh I use a "bumper". Since most 1/4 in feet are the full 1/4 in from needle to outer edge of the foot, for me I have to line up my fabric before it hits the foot. I use the Q tools Sewing Edge from Marcie Baker.

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