Perfection is a noble goal, but it stinks as a standard.
Pursuit of excellence is both.
sometimes a 1/4" seam is not exactly what we need to have things end up the correct size.
it's a good, standard starting reference.
consistency is
always important.
if i'm making the whole thing myself then "my full or scant 1/4" is the correct one.
if i'm making something as part of a team, then it's important that we all synchronize our seam allowances to make sure things come out the correct size - or at least all the same size so the blocks or sections will go together correctly.
-what a friend of mine swears is 1/4" seems to be closer to 1/8".
-what a different friend of mine swears is 1/4" seems to be closer to 5/16ths".