Skylark53

I'm making a basic quilt with patchwork squares and from my understanding, you alternate the direction you iron your seams by row. (So, row A to the left, row B to the right etc.). Instead of sewing one whole row together at a time, though, I've been sewing the whole row into groups of two, then doing the same for the next row, and sewing those two together to make blocks of 4. I'm not sure if I accidentally ironed some seams the wrong way or if this is what it is supposed to look like.



Line A is where I initially sewed two blocks together and then line B is where I joined the two 4-block sets. Should that yellow and red square really be smaller? I tried to google some reference pictures, but people don't seem to post a whole lot of pictures of just the back of their quilt tops For some reason I have it in my head that it should all come out to the same size...

GingerK

Yes, something seems to be wrong. Please check the size of the squares that you sewed. I wonder if the larger squares were cut bigger to begin with. When you sew a row of squares together, and press all the seams one way, and then attach to another row of squares where the seams have been pressed the opposite way, they should nest together quite nicely. Honestly, I think some of your squares were cut a tad wide.

Tartan

Cutting accurately and sewing accurately will help your squares go together better. If this quilt top is just going to be squares, rather then ripping and re-sewing, you could off set the seams (kind of like a running bond on a brick wall) and trim the edges.

Skylark53

That was my first thought, but I'm pretty sure they're not that off. Before sewing, I've been re-measuring each square and doing any trimming as needed (typically 1/16 of an inch or less). I know I don't have perfect 1/4" seams, but I've been consistent, and measuring a square between two seams yields roughly the same result. My first quilt was a rag quilt and my measurements were much worse and uneven and I don't remember it coming out like this. I can only figure I ironed a seam the wrong way somewhere, but I just can't see where. I must be thinking about it too much and blanking. This is the front, for square size reference:

BrendaK

On the front of the quilt your seams match. It doesn't matter what the back of the rows look like no one is going to see them. This looks like it's going to be a very pretty quilt. Be sure to show us when you are finished. BrendaK

Cass62

I agree with BrendaK, everything looks great on the front. Don't worry about how the back looks, you'll drive yourself crazy! Yes, pressing in opposite directions will help you when matching seams, but once that's been accomplished, I wouldn't worry about it.

citruscountyquilter

Just be concerned with what the front of the quilt looks like. You want seams to match, points to be pointed etc. and reduce as much bulk as possible. To accomplish this seams go in different directions and are sometimes even open. There is a technique when assembling a 4 patch of pressing the seams all in the same direction around the 4 patch and the seam intersection in the middle opens up and forms its own little square. This reduces bulk at the intersection. The bottom line is how the front looks and not the back.

Your patchwork is looking great!

PaperPrincess

Looks like the picture is the back of the piece, so no, your squares would look different depending on how they were ironed. Duh, just read the rest of the posts... Ignore the back, the front looks great. What you are trying to do with ironing the seams in different directions is to minimize bulk where 4 squares come together and/or ironing the fabric to the 'dark' so the seam doesn't show thru on the right side of the lighter fabric.

GailG

I have always had brain fizzles when knowing which side to press the seams. So...in a piece like yours, I would press all of my seams to the left on the odd number rows and press the even number rows to the right. That way I know that the seams will always be opposing. Now when it comes to doing blocks with several seams, I am always "fizzled." So If I come to a seam that has been pressed to the wrong side, I just finger press it the way it should go to stitch and then press well with the iron later.

ManiacQuilter2

The reason the blocks LOOKED wrong was because the top row shows the FULL size of the actual block and the next row having the 1/4" seam pressed on it's back, that made the row of squares look a 1/2" shorter. Just an optical illusion. Don't worry about the back. Just make sure your front is correct. Have fun quilting !! I