How many seams must I rip out?
#1
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Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Snowy Minnesota
Posts: 1,378
How many seams must I rip out?
I sewed a whole bunch of 2 1/2" strips together to make a jelly-roll quilt. Stupidly, I ignored advice to reverse direction on every other seam. As a result, the top came out badly bowed. To fix it, can I get away with ripping out every other seam and resewing them in the opposite direction? Or is the bowing so embedded in the overall shape that I have to rip out every seam and start over?
Thanks in advance for your advice!
Thanks in advance for your advice!
#5
Is it possible that as you were sewing the feed dogs fed the fabric on the bottom a little faster than the fabric on the top, so you actually have more fabric on one side than the other? This probably is seen frequently when sewing longer pieces of fabric, and I think that's the usual reason people have for sewing every other row in the opposite direction. Now that you have ripped out every other seam, can you press the pieces so that they lay completely flat? If so, I think you will be okay, but you might try using the walking foot to do the remaining sewing. Also, pin the pieces together in several places so that one side doesn't feed more quickly than the other.
#6
Senior Member
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: new zealand
Posts: 769
I did exactly the same thing... and I knew to alternate them... mind wasn't working properly.... a quilter told me to take out every other seam... and start again but I don't know which side I was stitching on.... however, it doesn't matter now as it has been tossed out with a lot of my stuff... whether by accident or on purpose I don't know... and the person responsible died... so that is that... it was a community quilt... things certainly happen in your life, don't they? Some good, some bad.
#7
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Join Date: May 2011
Location: Pacific NW
Posts: 9,406
Well if you've already ripped them out, then I guess just flip them over and sew them back up again. Hopefully you were keeping track of which end you started at originally, so you don't repeat the problem.
#9
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Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Snowy Minnesota
Posts: 1,378
Thank you all for your advice! Based on it, I'll dampen my 2-row strips, iron them 'til dry, starch them and iron again. Fortunately I labeled each set in numerical order, and I know exactly how to sew them back together from the other end. (Oh, the virtues of being an experienced creator of bargello quilt tops!) If that doesn't work … hmmmmm … I'll probably consult y'all again.
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06-14-2010 10:02 PM