Originally Posted by
MarionsQuilts
Bree - thanks for the input, but I'm more concerned that it's all bunchy in the middle - it's like a huge whack of fabric and I don't know how to "unbunch" it ... that's one of the things - the other is ... I'm not getting "triangles" the meet in the middle ... they're more like rectangles ... do I make sense??
It's almost as if I didn't have to have 1/4 inch seam everything would line it ... but as soon as I sew it together it's all bunchy in the middle
I've given up for the night LOL ... I'll see what other ideas pop up in the morning.
Thanks all
The prints that are coming out like rectangles are due to not cutting repeats. The bunching isn't obvious from the photos. You will have a lot of fabric in the center from all those points, but one thing that's tricky with these designs is that you are working on the bias for every seam. Personally, I struggle a lot with that so I usually end up creating paper foundations to help give it some extra stability while I am sewing -- I have used craft paper on occasion because it is nice & big, but just taping together computer paper works fine. I know other quilters who use either wash-away or tear-away stabilizer & mark their design on those before piecing. Barring that, you can use a huge amount of starch to help keep the fabric from moving or stretching out of shape while you are piecing. Or you can grab a marker & actually draw your 1/4" seam right on your fabrics.
I've totally had that exact problem when piecing together a project for a beta class on iQuilt. I'd swear that I had accurate 1/4" seams. I'd measure them. I still can't completely explain it to this day, but after 4 attempts & way too much wasted fabric, I ended up creating my own foundation & doing it that way. Turned out perfect every time. And after that, I went back to my beloved applique. Way too much frustration for me! Good luck!