clem55

can you show a picture of your quilt? Then maybe it would be easier to know how to help.

madequilter

thank I will practice and I always have fun. I am trying to teach my daughter to quilt and if I can't do a square then how will she.

madequilter

one side is always straight and the other is alway off by a few inches. my camra is not working and my computer is slow. I will try it may take a while.

madequilter

this is as good as it gets.

watson's mom

Your quilt is very pretty, maybe you just need to practice cutting and sewing squares with scrap pieces. Don't give up! I am mostly self-taught and the first book I bought was Singer's 'The Quilter's Bible". It had everything I needed to know in there to get started and was easy to follow. Maybe you could get a beginner quilt book to use as a guide. Just a thought. Carol

Sadiemae

I think cutting accurately may be the place that you might want to begin practicing. What are you using to cut your squares?

BKrenning

Accurate cutting is step #1 & cutting on the straight of grain for square blocks. Then you have to be able to sew a straight line & make all your seams the same 1/4", 3/8", 1/2", whatever--as long as it's the same on every block. Pressing seams so they alternate helps lock your patches, blocks, & rows together and that locking helps keep everything square.

Starch &/or good quality fabric will help keep things square also but if you cut off grain to begin with, the edges will become unstable and distort. If you use good quality fabric & cut it straight, you still have to be able to sew a straight seam.

Don't feel bad. I threw more blocks in the trash than I kept when I first started. I even tried to fussy cut diamonds for a Tumbling Blocks quilt and it looked like I had sewn B cup bra's together. I even knew about bias from sewing for clothing to drape & give like I want but for some reason I didn't think bias applied to quilt blocks.

117becca

I picked up something here that i read that was one of those "Ah~ha moments"

I have a habit of not pinning my borders to the main quilt - afterall, I'm just sewing a straight line!!

But, when i put this last piece on, I'll be making sure that my 2 side pieces are the same length and i'll be pinning the 2 pieces together. Hopefully, the one side won't "grow" when i sew it...

madequilter

I just use my sisers and my patern peace. I know that I could use a roterey cutter but they just don't work for me they turn out wors then with a patern peace.

madequilter

I know what u mean I don't pin mine eather and I think that is my problem. But with this one I did and still it grew on one side and shrank on the other I don't know any more but I think I will keep trying and any help is a great thing.