Skylark53

I'm about to start sewing a patchwork square quilt with 6" squares. When I line up the squares together to sew, should I make sure the "stretchiness" is going the same way, or is that not really important? Or, if I do match them up, with it make the quilt stretch all one way? I've been looking at tutorials and not seeing this mentioned. Maybe it's something I shouldn't even worry about If it matters, I will be tying the quilt.

Thanks!

Lisa_wanna_b_quilter

I have never given this a thought. I'm no expert but I cut my squares from strips cut WOF and then start sewing squares together.

ManiacQuilter2

I don't think with 6" blocks you will have any stretchiness. It is when you sew on the diagonally from the weave (45 degrees), that is where the bias is. I am sewing some 14" long diamonds which all 4 sides are on the bias so I am being very careful to make sure the bias side is down when stitch. Figure my friend would choose an old Kaffe pattern. Good Luck.

Jeanne S

I think you can sew them together any way you want. Normal 100% quilting cotton just doesn't stretch that much when using squares to worry about it.

Skylark53

Thanks all! If I pull on the fabric I can definitely tell a difference but forgot that worrying about the bias refers to sewing diagonally (still new at this hah). Alright, off to get started!

Skylark53

Sewing on my fourth square, I noticed it was stretched a little longer at the corners whereas the other two seams much less so. Turns out I had my first three squares all aligned the same way of stretchiness by sheer luck, whereas this last block was not. I have no idea why this is happening; the fabric is quilt store quality, made by Kaufmann. I also did prewash it. The machine I'm using is a c. early 1940's Featherweight and it was fully serviced at the end of last year so I don't think it's the bobbin tension. I've set my needle tension at 3.5. For now I'll just take this seam out and redo it with the fabric aligned the same way but I'm lost as to why this is happening because it really doesn't seem to be an issue for others.

Sewnoma

A lot of fabric does stretch a bit one direction (along the width) and not the other; it's just the nature of woven fabric. But usually it's not enough to throw a seam off, at least not by much.

I'm not really sure what could be making that happen, but someone will come along who does.

Oh - you aren't tugging or dragging on the fabric as you sew, are you? I had a bad habit of tugging the fabric through the machine when I was a beginner, and that would sometimes give me weird stretching & curving.

dunster

Check to be sure that your squares are really square.

Once the quilt is quilted to a batting and backing you won't have to worry about stretching. Some people do prefer to have the squares aligned the same way, especially if dealing with fabric that has a directional pattern or sheen. Most of the time it's too time consuming to figure out which way is which. If we were sewing clothing then we would definitely pay more attention to the orientation of the fabric.

Skylark53

Hmm...I could be tugging on it while trying to keep a straight 1/4" seam. I'll keep that in mind, because I've had this issue in the past too.

I did check it on my cutting mat and it seemed to pretty good, but I'll pay closer attention to this as well. Thanks guys!

lfty298

Hi Skylark - I agree with your observation. There is a difference in stretchiness of the fabric -
the width of fabric (wof) is selvedge to selvedge and is stretchier than the length of the fabric which is far more stable. Bias is of course the most stretchy. Cutting fabric parallel to the selvedge will give you the most stable cut - length of fabric is great for borders where you don’t want any stretch. The bias is great for curved edge binding when you need some give, and the WOF is probably the most commonly used cut. It is often the most economical way to
cut fabric, and while it has some stretch to it, it is not uncontrollable. If you are prewashing your fabric, be aware that you are washing out the sizing and losing some stability. I often
use spray starch which will restore a bit of body. You are less likely to distort the fabric
if you starch in large pieces before cutting. I have problems with precision, but I find that if
I pay attention to the grain, use lengthwise cuts when practical, take my time, sew carefully and press as I go along, I will get a better result. Watch an Eleanor Burns video. She uses a
stilleto to control her fabric when sewing, and to get the ends to match on each seam. I find using a scrap of fabric to start and end seams helps keep my seam line accurate (aka leaders and enders, stoppys and startys etc)

Mostly - don’t stress over this - as you sew, you will find techniques that work for you.
Lefty - in Philly