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Any tips or best advice for a scant 1/4 seam

Any tips or best advice for a scant 1/4 seam

Old 03-15-2013, 04:30 PM
  #21  
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Originally Posted by mucky View Post
I say forget worrying about the scant quarter inch seam. As long as all seams are consistent that is what counts.
That works for certain types of patterns. It doesn't work for more complex patterns.
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Old 03-17-2013, 04:12 AM
  #22  
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I'm fair"ly new to quilting, what is the difference between a scant 1/4" and a 1/4"?
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Old 03-17-2013, 04:39 AM
  #23  
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A scant 1/4" is just a thread or two short of a full size 1/4", to accomodate what is lost when the seam is folded to one side, with the thread thickness inside. If you sew a full quarter inch seam, you'll lose a bit more in that folded seam with the thread inside, and your block will finish smaller than it should. If you sew the scant quarter inch seam, then what is lost is lost in the seam allowance, not in the remainder of the piece. Make sense? It may sound insignificant to be concerned about a thread width, but it isn't. If you are off just a 32nd of an inch, and repeat that 32 times over the width or length of a quilt top, your top is now a full inch off. If your quilt top was constructed of only equal sized squares all over, it wouldn't matter in matching up the seams as long as your seam allowance size was consistent--it would just mean your quilt top would not end up exactly the expected size. But for any other pattern, involving pieces which are not squares, (triangles, rectangles, etc.) and with unequal numbers of seams vertically and horizontally within individual blocks and over the entire quilt top, all those minor inaccuracies add up and make seam matching impossible or just very difficult.
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Old 03-17-2013, 08:45 AM
  #24  
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Originally Posted by MartiMorga View Post
There is a small ruler out there with a hole in it for your needle and that shows you exactly where the scant quarter is - mark it with one of the above mentioned seam guides. Works all the time for lining up your scant 1/4 and keeps you consistent. I have found I do better without using the 1/4 foot now that I do the ruler method.
I too bought a 1/4" foot and later found it wasn't accurate. So now I put a section of multiple layers of masking tape at the scant 1/4" location. It takes a bit of retraining myself when I use this, but it's worth it in the end. I started doing this when exchanging blocks with others, to ensure my blocks would be accurate. If I'm making all the blocks myself, it's not such a big deal, however once you learn how to sew a scant 1/4", why not do it all the time.
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Old 03-17-2013, 09:41 AM
  #25  
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I agree with LoriS's comment. If you can pssibly move your needle, do so. I made several four patch units
using a different needle position until I found the exact one to give me a scant 1/4 inch. I think that we all forget that when we fold the material at a seam we lose just the tiniest amount of width on the square.
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Old 03-17-2013, 09:42 AM
  #26  
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I am a beginner but I have been following this message board for a couple of months and have just finished my first lapsize quilt top. I too have had difficulty in achieving a consistent 1/4" seam even with a 1/4" foot. After reading all of the advice here, I ordered a new 1/4" foot with a guide on the right hand side. Then I tested it by sewing together 3 pieces of 2 1/4" fabric and measuring the 3 blocks. My results were less than the expected size. I have a machine that will allow me to move the needle several spaces to the right or the left on a straight stitch, so I moved the needle one space to the right and tested my fabric again. Voila!! The fabric measured 6" exactly. If I were a little younger, I would have danced with joy. I have a reminder set by my machine telling me to reset the needle position. I also reduce the stitch length, so doing both makes it easier to remember. My question is- am I using a regular or a scant 1/4" inch?
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Old 03-17-2013, 10:18 AM
  #27  
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Originally Posted by BellaBoo View Post
It will be helpful to use a seam guide. I use Command Strips but you can use painters tape, mole skin or paper. I make my seam guide to go across the whole width of my machine throat. I use a 1/4" foot. Be careful to not veer the end of the seam to one side. That causes a lot of fitting problems later. Sew very slow. I piece slow enough I can count the stitches as I go. I went to an expensive precision piecing workshop for making show quality quilts and the main point was to sew SLOW, never be able to see the underneath fabric peeking out and backstitch at start and stopping even when chain piecing.
Here's my 2 cents worth: I read somewhere on QB to let the bottom fabric just peak out when piecing because fabric always seems to slip a bit so I guess whatever works. I pin, pin, pin so fabric doesn't slip and if you have a speed set on your machine that helps to set it on slow.
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Old 03-17-2013, 10:23 AM
  #28  
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I use my 1/4" foot on my machine and tend to sew just inside for a scant 1/4" seam, or at the very least I wind up with a 1/4" seam - that works.
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Old 03-17-2013, 10:25 AM
  #29  
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Fortyniner, I am confused by your mention of sizes.

As far as I can figure out, 3 strips of 2-1/4" fabric sewn together with scant 1/4" seam should measure a total of 5-3/4" after sewing two seams.

A more common method is to cut 3 strips 2.5" wide and aim for a measurement of 6.5" exactly after sewing two seams (not 6" because there is an unsewn seam to left and right that add up to .5").

Edit: Regarding your question, you want to *sew* a scant 1/4" seam so that after pressing, the fabric taken up by the seam (including turn-of-cloth) is *exactly* 1/4". If you think about it, we all draw block patterns based on exact *finished* 1/4" seams. In order to achieve the exact finish, we need to sew a "scant" seam to allow for turn-of-cloth and space taken up by the sewing thread.

Last edited by Prism99; 03-17-2013 at 10:28 AM.
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Old 03-17-2013, 10:32 AM
  #30  
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Yes! Forget the term "scant 1/4 inch seam." Some misguided soul who wanted to take the fun out quilting made that up to see how many people would stress out over one thread width. Use your 1/4 inch seam foot or other guide and keep your seams uniform--or not--depending on what degree of perfection you require.

Scant 1/4 inch seam my right foot!! froggyintexas


Originally Posted by bobbiesboutique View Post
Good morning QB I have a huge favor to ask I just got my first patterns I've ever paid for in the mail and I am picking out fabrics and beginning to make templates. Starburst and Stardust from Dereck Lockwood I will probably alternate working on quilts lol. My question and request is one calls for a 1/4 scant seam is there anyone who can give me some pointers on the best way to achieve these, and is there anyone who has done either one of these quilts if so any info that would help. I have been a quilter for almost a year and I am really confident with my sewing I absolutely have fallen in love with quilting and not a day goes by that I am not learning something new by choice or sewing, planning just anything to do with quilting. I absolutely love this site and all of you I do not belong to a guild or group there are none close to me and I have a 6,4,and 14 year old so there is no gatherings at times I can go to until they are all in school You guys are my guild love ya all you are such an inspiration!
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