Question on squaring
Let me start by saying I'm a novice at quilting. Ok, now to my question, which may not seem silly after reading the first sentence.
I'm attempting to make a quilt from a layer cake. I pressed (well, I pressed much later in the process, before that I was ironing, didn't realize there was a difference) the seams to the side and made 7 rows of 6 blocks. I did use a 1/4" seam allowance, with some consistency, I won't lie that at times it got off track.
After joining all my blocks into rows, I joined the rows together. Some rows didn't want to line up (the squares didn't want to join at the seams). I did the best I could for that.
I did not press the squares before joining or use any starch or sizing.
Now that I have all the rows joined, I'm ready to add borders. When I lay the top out on the floor, it doesn't lay completely flat. There are waves in some of the blocks.
My question is this: did I miss a step? Are there things I should have done? How often is squaring done? Do you square rows before joining?
Because I work, going to a quilting class isn't an option - they are during the day. So my teachers are folks like you who post tutorials online and answer questions on blogs. Bless you for both!
Thanks in advance!