Geri B

Yes, your fingers on the ruler spread and bent...little finger off - on edge to keep from moving - like a spider....then holding rotary cutter straight up, cut firmly, but not pressing hard, and only the area that your fingers are on...stop, keeping cutter in fabric,move hand up ruler and cut that new area....etc.

madamekelly

Most of you will be horrified by my solution to perfect 1/4" seam. Please understand I have severe coordination problems so my solutions need to work everytime I sew. I moved my needle position to be sure both sets of feed dog teeth will be touching the underside as the fabric feeds through, made a note of the position, then measured my quarter inch from there, and using a permanent sharpie fine line, I drew a line all the way to the front edge of the machine. I redraw the line as it wears off. Keeps me from sewing like a drunk, and keeps me from having that damnable curve I kept getting at the end of the line of stitching. Works for me. Bonus, my bindings are much straighter too!

ckcowl

Starch, or use sizing Before you cut your strips. It sounds like you are distorting them after cutting. And to help you stitch your 1/4" seams for a while try drawing the 1/4" line on the strip then sew right along the outside edge of the line. After some time you will find it automatically and won't have to draw it anymore. Although, after 49 years of sewing occasionally I still draw that line. You need to sew along side it, not right on the line- that allows for opening/pressing the seam.

caspharm

I have found that the 1/4" foot for most machines is not a true 1/4". I went and bought the seam finder that Bonnie Hunter sells on her website (http://quiltville.com/shop.html#!/Se...egory=13129325). It works really well. You place your needle in the appropriate hole for the seam you want and mark your machine with tape or whatever you want.

I now get much more accurate seams than I did with any of my 1/4" feet (Janome or FW).

Latrinka

Awe, don't cry! Go on the "links and resources" forum, and open the posts "Best quilting tips ever by Angela Walters", and watch that video. Maybe better day tomorrow, good luck.

lovelyl

I agree with Fabaddict! It sounded like a problem I used to have and it was because I assumed the fabric was "square" coming off the bolt. If you move the selvages as Fabaddict explained and then square up your fabric, it should help. Then fold your fabric carefully before you cut. This helped me a lot when someone explained it to me. That, and pressing, not ironing. Good luck, you will figure it out!

meanmom

Is the table that is under your mat flat. Mine is 2 cabinets pushed together back to back. I discovered that one is heavier than the other and has sunk into the carper deeper than the other. Just a slight difference in height, barely noticable. It makes a slight bow in my straight cuts.
Or try asking for help at the LQS.

sprice

sounds like you are distorting with your iron. try to just press. don't drag the iron over the piece. they do sell ironing board covers with grid lines on them. might help you to have straight lines to use to line up your pieces. lots of good suggestions in the above responses. don't beat yourself up. relax and enjoy the process.

sherryl1

I have to wonder if your rotary cutter is bad. If it is worn the blade will wobble as you cut. Maybe the little nut needs to be snugged up. Not tight just snug. Anyway what you need in seam allowance is a scant 1/4 in. 1 or 2 threads shy of 1/4 in.. This gives a better finished measurement because the thread and fabric take up space in the seam. Using a scant smaller seam will account for that difference.
Have you tried sewing diagonally across a square to make a 1/2 square triangle? Well if you mark your line exactly on the diagonal and sew on it your resulting square will be smaller then it should be. You need to sew just to the right of your line to get the exact size you want. But I don't like the word exact while piecing. If I make sure everything is exact, well then I don't have anything done. Because exact is mostly unattainable[?] for this craft. I don't know where exact is but it isn't in my sewing room. And for the most part , my quilts are fabulous. And I am positive yours are too. IMHO

marciacp

Kathy,
I haven't read what others have said, but I have a tip for perfectly straight strips every time. The ruler is not the issue, other than to cut across a 42" or greater fabric, you need the long ruler, 24". Here are the steps.

1. Always cut on the single fold, not double folded. In other words, when you lay your width on the mat, you need a large enough mat to lay it out as it comes, only folded once. When you double fold the fabric (fold it another time to have a smaller width), it is nearly impossible to get straight cuts, no matter how straight it may look.

2. Only cut 2 strips, then do a straightening of the fabric before cutting the next strip. You do this by lining up the fabric on your mat using both the horizontal and the vertical lines. You will find that when you line it up
with the horizontal lines, there will be a sliver of fabric that is over the vertical line. Lay your ruler on that vertical line and cut off the sliver. Then cut 2 more strips and repeat the process. If you do these simple things,
your will have perfectly straight strips every time, no matter how many strips you have cut.

I find that with cutting the border strips, especially for the long side, if you don't want to piece it, measure the width, say 6", then put a snip at the 6" mark, lengthwise the fabric, and tear it to the desired length. I know a lot of people cringe at tearing the fabric, but if you do that for a long length, it will tear straight and your borders
will not be wavy. If you prefer to piece it, cut as many strips as you need to end up with the desired length for the borders. Then, after you piece them together and before you sew them on the quilt, measure the middle width of the quilt, the top measurement, and the bottom measurement. Then take an average of the 3. For instance, if the middle is 45", the top is 46" and the bottom is 46", cut your border strips, 45 1/2". Pin those on the top and bottom, working in the excess on the top and bottom as you pin. After sewing the top and bottom, repeat for the sides, measuring vertically. Pin and sew. If you do this, you will have perfectly straight borders - no waves.

I realize this may sound confusing. If you have any questions, pm me and I will be happy to try to explain better.
I can promise you these simple cutting suggestions, and then measuring for the borders, will yield a perfectly straight quilt every time, and you can wave goodbye to waves forever.
Marcia