Hey, All!!

BRAND new to the Board--referred by a friend. I'm in the process of starting a quilt for a friend, and would welcome ANY advice you can offer!!

She purchased a quilt kit for a pattern called "Summertime" at a shop in the Netherlands several years ago, and asked me to complete it for her. One hiccup--the instructions were written in Dutch!! No big deal, I contacted the store that she bought it from--they didn't have an English translation, but did have the instructions in German, and while not 'fluent' I grew up in a household that spoke it a little, so was more comfortable trying to translate instructions from there.

I also decided to invest in a metric quilting ruler so that I wouldn't need to try to convert the sizes into inches, so that will be a fun challenge, too!

That being said, I'm stuck on one part, and not sure if seam allowances are included in my cutting instructions, or if I need to add more fabric. In the 'Overview' section, it talks about 8 cm squares & 4 cm squares, and strips of 2x8 cm. THEN, it goes on to say: "All measurements are without seam allowance (0.75 cm seam allowance on each side this type)" So I'm confused. Does that mean I need to ADD 1.5 cm to all of my measurements, or is the 8cm squares unfinished?

Any/all advice would be GREATLY appreciated!!

TIA!

Pam

HMM. don't know what to tell you. Can you post the exact German text? Maybe a native speaker can 'read in' to the instructions.
Another idea is get some inexpensive fabric and make a sample block to verify. Actually a sample block is a good idea for any quilt.

Hi Pam,
Welcome!

Yes, I would interpret that (in any language) to mean you need to add the seam allowances to the sizes given.

Those are some pretty small pieces!

I would suggest, however, that you always read through the entire set of directions to make sure that it makes sense.

Sometimes the folks writing the patterns aren't the best communicators (and that applies to all languages).

I actually am going to do a 'mock-up' of the quilt top with fabrics from my stash--the finished size of the piece is only 110 cm (43"), but even when cutting into my fabric, I don't want to 'waste' a whole lot there, either!!

The line I quoted is written:
Alle Masse sind ohne Nahtzugabe (Nahtzugabe 0,75 cm je Seite dazugeben.)

Thanks for your replies!!

I think I am going to plan on adding the 1.5--I can always cut stuff down (on my mock-up one), but it'll be harder to add to it!

With such an emphatic statement I would say you need to add seam allowance. Also suggest you make up a block first and test it for size etc. then you will know for sure.

Is it an easy pattern that you could redraft in inches and have enough fabric in the kit to make it. As to stitching seam allowance.......arn't the needle positions on machines set at metrics even tho we assume inches.

I am with everyone on a test block. Thanks for the feedback!!

I'm not sure on that one, and my dad did sewing machine repairs for years before he died, so one would think that I'd know that, but I don't!! The 3,4, 5, 6 marks on my machine are 1/8" indicators, but maybe I'll have to pull out my instruction manual to double-check, too!! Thanks!! :)

You are correct in that you need to add 1.5cm to everything. "All measurements are without seam allowance. Add .75cm per side."

So the 8cm block is FINISHED 8 cm, unfinished 9.5 cm

Thanks, Martina!!