virtualbernie

I had a 1/4 foot that came with my machine but I had to be so so careful. If even one thread came past the edge of the foot, I was sunk--I couldn't see the fabric under the foot. Now I have a foot with a fence on it and can see the fabric moving against the fence and somehow that helps to steady my hand.

BETTY62

Thank you to everyone who replied. I think you guys have provided me with the information I needed to resolved my seam allowance problem. I do use a 1/4 inch foot and I have the 1/4 inch marked on the machine, however, I have never payed any attention to which side of the ruler I used when checking my 1/4 inch seam allowane. Also, I have never checked the seam allowance measurement by sewing the 3 strips together and checking the size of the middle strip. I did sew 3 strips together a few minutes, pressed the seam and measured the middle seam on the front side of the strip. My center strip was exactly 2 inches wide. I am a happy, happy woman tonight!

kelsunshine

What kind of machine do you have? I bought a 1/4" foot for my machine and although the website showed that it would fit my machine it didn't. It would have cost me more to return it so I didn't bother. If it will work on yours I'll send it to you. I did get one to fit my machine and love it!

CoyoteQuilts

accurate 1/4 inch seams is necessary if you are swapping blocks and you need the exact size needed otherwise it doesn't make any difference if you are happy with the block and quilt.

gigigray032447

You can practice on index cards, without thread in your needle. I have taught two people to piece quilt tops, and used this method until they learned where the 1/4 inch is on their machine and until they learned to sew a straight line. Neither of these girls had ever sewn before. I also did this when I bought a new "old" machine recently so I could determine exactly where the quarter inch should be. You'll be glad you mastered this very important technique as you sew more and more intricate designs.

Betty Boop

When I took a quilting class the lady had us use a 1/4" squared graph paper and use it to be sure our machine sewed a 1/4" seam. I just put the paper under the foot making sure the first line of the 1/4" was at the middle of the feed dogs and then used the hand crank to pierce the paper with the needle. You would be surprised how much that helped. If you are off much perhaps you could move your needle position. Another good trick is to be sure to measure the 1/4" and then use painters tape to keep you in line. Hope this helps.

Maureen

Mine are never perfect 1/4 ince, however they are all the same. Consistently off a hair. It works for me!

solstice3

Ditto on test strips. If you can adjust needle position that can help. You have a lot of good suggestions here and sure at least one will work

Holice

mark your seam allowance guide several inches from the needle. Very often if you don't guide the fabric beginning the several inches in front of the seam foot, it can go under the needle less than desired width. The way we sit in front of the machine can cause the seam to waver. I find this helpful.

jitkaau

As long as all of your seams are consistently the same width, it should not cause too many problems. You will just have to remember that the finished measurement of your blocks will not be the same as stated in your pattern if you are using one. Best thing is to make the first block and measure it. If all of your other blocks are the same size it will work out ok as long as you adjust any sashing and borders to fit.