I really am not dumb but...........
08-30-2012, 07:18 PM
#71
Power Poster
Join Date: May 2008
Location: MN
Posts: 24,659
Until recently, all of my piecing was done with C&C thread and 1/4" seams. Different weights of fabrics. No problems (other than human carelessness) with blocks matching (and being the right size) or points being where they should be. Consistency & proper cutting and pressing, is what really matters.
I have some very old hand-pieced blocks - those seam allowances are less than 1/4 inch.
Perhaps one reason for narrow seam allowances on those - I think fabric was an expensive commodity for many people - and people used the absolute minimum seam width that would not pull apart. Perhaps approximately 1/4 inch was around that width.
09-01-2012, 05:16 PM
#72
Super Member
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: Texas
Posts: 2,281
Bah! Any pattern that mentions a scant 1/4 is banished from my life. Since that measurement can't be defined it is worthless.
I also don't fret if I can't exactly meet the given dimensions of a pattern. For the most part (I said MOST not all) it just doesn't matter.
I can't imagine my grandmother sitting at her treadle worrying if she is sewing a scant 1/4" - or a precise 1/4" either and she produced some amazing quilts!
This is a hobby to be enjoyed, not to get tangled up in stuff that gives people stress.
I also don't fret if I can't exactly meet the given dimensions of a pattern. For the most part (I said MOST not all) it just doesn't matter.
I can't imagine my grandmother sitting at her treadle worrying if she is sewing a scant 1/4" - or a precise 1/4" either and she produced some amazing quilts!
This is a hobby to be enjoyed, not to get tangled up in stuff that gives people stress.
09-03-2012, 01:53 PM
#73
Member
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: S. Jamesport, NY
Posts: 74
Yes! Yes! Yes! Wish I'd figured this out when I started. I don't really care if a quilt top is a little smaller than the pattern predicts -- that's what borders are for, in my opinion. Consistency is way more important.
09-10-2012, 06:10 AM
#74
Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2009
Posts: 682
I usually draft my patterns on 1/4 inch graph paper. When you do this and have half square or quarter square triangles, the finished product hardly ever fits the beginning design. Sooo. I set my needle to a little less that 1/4 inch and that gives some room for trimming if necessary. If you have a design with 4 squares across and only lose 1/32 of an inch, that amounts ot 1/8 inch which isn't noticable, but if you lose 1/16 on each, that is 1/4 inch which will mean that things won't fit.
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