nativetexan

match the ends, put one under the needle, start stitching. while the fabric is moving, hold the other end-matching and all should fit. no pulling, moving, etc. If necessary pin the center and ends. remove the first pin after placing it down. Good luck.

LindaM

Starch will help! I starch my fabric before I cut it, and it really helps keep both cutting and sewing straighter and crisper.

I also found that using leaders/enders stops me from pulling, and keeps the machine from eating the first edge of the seam. <leader - a wee bit of scrap fabric you stitch across and then abut the patches you're sewing - a 'starter' chain; ender - I use the same scrap to finish the chains. Bonnie Hunter has tons of patterns to create quilts out of scrap leaders/enders, but when I don't have scraps organized, I just reuse the same scrap over and over.>

bearisgray

On some fabrics, even woven ones, there is quite a bit of difference on the amount of stretchiness between the lengthwise and crosswise grains of fabrics.

If the squares are square (I had a commercial template once that was 1/8 inch off - and that really made a difference) - it usually does not matter if you sew them the same way or not. But if you are obsessive-compulsive, and it makes you feel better to do it that way - that's fine, too.

jo bauer

This kind of thing is why we all learn to fudge a bit. *Ahem* Not s'posed to admit that one. All of the suggestions above are great. The only thing not mentioned specifically above, though hinted at is that the sewing machine itself can contribute to the problem. The feed dogs pull the bottom layer ever so slightly which causes the top layer to slip down a little smidgeon. I always use an anchor piece to begin and am strict about making sure the top edges meet and pin until a couple of stitches are in. Before getting to the bottom of the squares (somewhere around 1/2 way, make sure they also are aligned evenly and hang on to them for dear life (or pin).

bearisgray

That is true - on most machines, the layer next to the feed dogs does get pushed through faster - which is why it has been suggested that it works better to put the layer that needs to be eased in on the bottom.

Now that you mention it, I do what you said. (Even with a Pfaff IDT mechanism!)

On long lengths - like borders - I mark on the fabric intervals that "match" intervals on the body of the quilt - and then pin at those intervals.

Skylark53

A lot of great advice here, thanks! I think I'm going to try starch...I read some more about it and it sounds like it might help me. I only had sewed 5 seams so re-doing them won't be a huge deal, plus just more practice.

ube quilting

The warp and weft ( length of grain and width of grain) of the fabric does have a small degree of variation in the amount of stretch on the cut edges but not enough to make any difference when sewing patches together. I never worry about it. The only time I am careful is with directional prints that I want to lay a certain direction.

The selvage to selvage cut has more stretch than a length of fabric cut. Not enough to worry over.

peace

citruscountyquilter

The bad thing about fabric is that it stretches. The good thing about fabric is that it stretches. I never worry about whether I have the warp or the weft facing a particular direction. After all the good thing about fabric is that you can nudge (stretch) it a bit to fit. Starch helps keep things stable as well. The only time I really fuss about stretch is when I'm cutting and sewing off grain like bias or fussy cutting.

A technique that I use for fussy cutting if it is terribly off grain is that I draw the shape that will eventually be my raw edge (1/4" past the seam line) in the position that I want it on the fabric and cut a larger piece quite a bit beyond those lines. My cut for the larger piece is with the grain of the fabric. With my raw edge lines drawn on the fabric I match up that line to the adjoining piece raw edge and stitch a 1/4" seam. After I have secured all the edges of my fussy cut piece I trim the edges to match the adjoining pieces. I find the larger piece doesn't stretch as much as if I was working with a cut raw edge off grain. Hope this make sense.