Originally Posted by
wesing
... experiment with some scraps before you commit to a real quilt. Then KEEP your experimental piece and use a sharpie to write all the particulars on the fabric so you will always have a reference to go back to.
Great idea for the sharpie notes!
Another tip for the test piece ... make sure you use all the same fabrics/battings as the quilt. Different weights/thicknesses and you may need the seam a little wider/narrower to get things to line up just right!
A Wee Reminder ... if the outside edge of your quilt is not a plain piece of fabric/border and there happens to be stars/points ... changing the seam width could risk points being cut off. One way to work around that, is to trim the quilt edge a little wider than normal, so that you get the intended 1/4" seam buried in the now wider 1/2" (or whatever) binding seam.