Just one more little tidbit. If the fabric is considered going "north" as you sew, I put my pins going "west to east" rather than "east to west". That way you can literally take them out at the last minute.

It takes practice. Do not give up.

When you have the seams ready to pin place the pin directly on the front seam and as you poke it through then make sure the pin goes directly in the back seam then push the pin back to the front be sure you are directly on the seams again

Be patient and keep quilting

jlcquiltnfun

I have been a professional seamstress for many years, which means seams were always pressed open.
When I began to quilt I followed the rules and pressed to the dark side.
Even with pinning, I could be just a shade off in the matching.
I went back to pressing the seams open, and now I have no problems with seams matching up.
Joyce

I press mine open too. They say a quilt will be made stronger when you press all seams one way but then you have trouble hand quilting over it because it's so thick. So I press mine open, less bulk to sew into. I might add that my quilts are used and washed quite often and I've never had any fall apart. I think each quilter should do what is best for her.

Well, Joyce and Debbie, I so identify with the seamstress open seams. Way before sergers we used to "finish" those seams, eh? It's been really hard to make myself undo the rules of garment making to go to the rules of quilting.

I don't think the quilt police will get us for our seams but some HAVE told me that the quilt seams are stronger with the one sided seam pressing. I just can't get used to the one sided hump yet, but I'm working on it. lol lol
Sharon

Hi Ina, I'm new on this site. I recently made a Q with LOTS of seams to match. Something I never thought of made a big problem. That was that one of the fabrics was thinner and with a lower thread count. This made it stretchier than the others, thus the seams were off. This might help, though: somewhere I learned that you can stick a pin into the seam at the exact point to be matched then into the exact point in the other seam. Make sure the pin is vertical to the seams, then pin closely on both sides of it along the seam allowance. Leave the vertical pin in place until you have to remove it as you sew. This helps. Also. if the match is tricky, sew just the fraction of an inch that covers the matched seams. Then check to see whether you've nailed it. If so, scream with joy and finish the seam; if not you'll have only a few stitches to undo instead of a long seam. (The next Q I make will not have 8 seams coming together!) Hope this helps, Anne

I have sewn for many years and also had to force myself to press to one side. After hearing/reading that open seams were less stronger, I got to thinking about the hundreds of pieces of clothing I've made for myself, children, and the home. I cannot remember very many seams that had to be mended. I don't like the hump and decided recently that my seams would be open.

I use the two pronged pins.... they are marvellous.. I put the prongs either side of the seam... wouldn't be without them now... I always check to see if the seams are in the right place first, from the top of the seam, then in goes the pin....

Ina, one thing I have found that makes a BIG difference in making your seams match is "Ironing" . I iron each block as I go, after every seam I sew, so when I'm ready to put a block together I butt the seams up to each other and I don't even have to pin. I do check to make sure they are together by wiggling them, but no pins. Of course, sometimes you have a few that just won't cooperate & then I pin. But I made 4 sets of 20 blocks of nine patch and didn't pin. They came out pretty good. I even had one of the ladies in my quilt group look at them & she said I did well....she's a home ec teacher. So I was proud. But I swear the key is to always IRON first to set your seams, then press them to one side or the other. I read that in a Better Homes & Garden Quilt Book & it really works. Try it, you'll like it....LOL The 2 prong pin sounds good too.

I want to thank every one who took the time to help me with the seams. Ijust finished a lap robe with lots of matching and I am happy to say ALL SEAMS MATCHED. Ina :)