Ina

:?: I am new at quilting, and I have a problem. When I match seams together they never come out even. I have one seam facing one way and the other seam the other, I pin and then sew very slowly over the seams, but they never match when I get done. What am I doing wrong?

Norah

You are being a quilter, that's what. What, more specifically, do you mean? I can't picture your problem.

Debbie Murry

Maybe too much bulk with seams going one direction or not iron pressing your seams. Try pressing all seams open, with right sides together line up seam to seam. You can hold them together and kinda rub them back and forth between your fingers. You can feel a little bump when they match up. Pin at the seam not right to left. Also peek under it just to make sure it looks good. I would also pin at the beginning and the end. I hope this helps. :thumbup: :thumbup:

Yvonne

Ina,
Are you pinning with only one pin? Try putting a pin on both sides of the seam after you've butted them up against one another. I've just discovered some two pron pins. They look like a hair pin. Really neat!

Be sure to iron your sections before you try to put them together. Big, big help! For awhile, I'd just sew the seam part, peek to see if it was okay and then sew the whole seam. Easier to rip just that little bit than the whole seam.

Bottom line it's just going to take practice to see what works best for you. :-)

zyxquilts

Hi Ina - One other thing that helps me when matching corners & seams - it sounds like you are already 'nestling' them with one seam going one way & one the other...now when you sew, try to have the seams on top pointing toward your needle. That way when you sew over it, it will 'push' towards the other seam instead of pull away from it. Does that make sense? I know it isn't alway possible for them to lay that way, but it does help. I also use a sort of 3 pin method - first I line up the seams, and I 'stab' one pin thru' the seams, making sure I've got it right thru the seam on the bottom too. While that one is sticking there, I then put a pin on each side of it (or one of Yvonne's 2 pronged pins!), then remove the first 'stabbed' in pin. It does take a bit longer, but I'm usually happy with the results! (It's one of the few things I'm picky about when quilting - my first quilt, when I couldn't get them to match, I ended up stitching over the intersections by hand & THEN by machine! LOL NEVER again!!)
sue[quote]

Knot Sew

I never use pins.....I mave sewed finger nails and finger tips........but I also had a needel break and fly into the base of my thumb while sewing over pins. I use safety pins and leave them open and they come out easy. sweep them up later :twisted:

Norah

Ruthie, with this pin story and the razor, I think your fingers have a death wish. Or at least, a severe pain wish. You are one brave woman.

vicki reno

I too use the 3 pin method. If you worry about sewing over them, well, simply slide them out right before you get to them. So close to the needle, and especially if it is under the press foot, it shouldn't slip. If you have a walking foot, I sometimes use that when sewing blocks together, especially when I have sashing and it would look ugly for things not to line up. Or if possible decrease the press foot pressure, some of the newer machines let you do that. I had an old Kenmore that you could turn something at the top and it would decrease the pressure. Hope this helps! Hang in there and good luck.

Ina

:lol: Thanks for all the suggestions on doing seams. I tried them all and I had better luck with the three pins set up. My seams look great now. I live just south of Seattle and would like to know where to buy the two pron pins. We are having lots of sun today so I am going to set in my sun porch and quilt, quilt quilt. Again thanks to all who helped me. I am sure I will have more problems later. Ina

Carla P

Ok, I'm JEALOUS!!! I want to just sit & quilt, quilt, quilt.... :cry: :mrgreen: