Hello, everyone!
I've been sewing for 30+ years, even been employed as a seamstress, and quilting here and there for about the last 10 years.
However, in the midst of cutting material for a new quilt project, I didn't pay enough attention to the directions and I made a big mistake - with a LOT of material. Please help me rescue this project intended for my teenage daughter's first quilt from Mom!
The directions said to cut a 5-3/8" square, then cut in half diagonally, making two triangles. Well, stupid me, I cut a 5" square, then cut that in half, not realizing what I had done until it was too late.
The finished size of each block is apparently supposed to be 4-1/2 x 4-1/2. This, in itself, seems confusing. How could you cut a block 5-3/8" x 5-3/8" and make it equal 4-1/2" if the seam allowance is 1/4"? Am I missing something, here, when considering the focal, whole block is supposed to be cut to 5" x 5"?
Is there any way to save this material for this quilt, without these blocks obviously looking like mistakes? Is there is a way to make them just look "creative?"
Your expertise and experience would be greatly appreciated in southern California!