Originally Posted by bearisgray

It also makes a difference where/how one places one's ruler while cutting.

The Quilter's Rule- the one with the raised ridges on the bottom - has wide lines, for example.

I think it's a good idea to do a test sewing - I cut three strips of material approximately six inches long - using my version of a two-inch wide strip - and using my version of a quarter-inch seam.

Press the seams the way you want to. Then measure the width of the sewn together strips. It "should" be five inches.

If it's more or less, then one needs to do some adjusting - change the ruler one uses, change the placement of the ruler - change the width of the seam - etc.

I've gotten comfortable with the way I cut and the way I sew.

We did a group sewing once - everyone was supposed to bring in a bunch of 1.5-inch strips, and then we all were going to sew four strips together using 1/4 inch seams. Then the strips were supposed to be pressed and then cut into 4.5 inch squares. Funny thing. The widths of the sewn together strips varied from 4.0 to about 4.625 inches.

It turned out that part of the problem was in the pressing - the seams weren't pressed completely open - there were little pleats left at the seam lines -
Pressing is also part of the equation.