Janice McC

Hi Vikki, yes, scant is just less than 1/4 of an inch. Maybe a thread or two less. I think of the quarter inch line as the fold line, not the stitching line. The thread and the fold take up the tiniest bit of fabric. If you have multiple seams across a block, it may be enough to account for your missing 1/4 inch. Also, like Kass, I've heard you must use a scant one quarter inch seam with the cut pieces but that's only what I've heard, not experienced. I've also heard that depending upon the type of cutter you have, the direction you feed fabric may make a significant difference in the cut size of each piece. You'd have to test that one yourself and it may vary with different cutters. I'm pretty sure someone else here must have one so they'll speak up to help. But in the meantime, check your quarter inch seam. The best thing you can do is sew two pieces of fabric together using your 1/4 inch seam and see if they come up to the proper size. For example, if you've got two precisely cut 3 1/2 squares, (measure with the same acrylic square, with the ruled line directly on the cut edge of the fabric, not inside, not outside) after sewing them together they should measure 3 1/2 by 6 1/2. If not, un-stitch and adjust your seam smaller if the pieces are shy of 6 1/2 inches wide or enlarge it if they are over 6 1/2 inches wide. Hope this helps. Until you get the problem figured out, all of your blocks will be short. Spend some time working it out and soon your blocks will be coming up just about perfect every single time. The quarter inch seam is an elusive thing.