joe'smom

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/343892121525909051/

Have any of you made this quilt, called Jambalaya? I opened the pattern last night and my first reaction was, 'forget it.' I found the directions confusing (I'm now on my 5th read and it is starting to make sense). It seems like a lot of trouble and I was tempted to go looking for something easier. It has partial seams throughout. Is doing partial seams complicated/time-consuming or is it something I'd quickly get the hang of?

Tartan

If the pattern is all partial seams, then I would probably pass. There so many patterns I have yet to do, that ones that give me a headache are out.

mindless

Once you get the hang of it, partial seams are not so difficult. But, kinda like paper piecing, it's more about your personal preference. Different people see things differently. So like with paper piecing, some people love it & some hate it.

With partial seams, you just stop sewing sooner than normal, then come back later and finish it. There are lots of video tutorials on youtube:
https://www.youtube.com/results?sear...seams+quilting

For me, they are no big deal. It's a pretty common thing to do in clothing construction, and I have done a lot of that. I didn't know they were supposed to be difficult when I first learned, so I guess they never have been for me.

Having said that, that pattern could probably be done without partial seams ... a bit like a braid quilt, Strip pieced.

edit: I'm not sure that link sent me to the correct pattern. I keep getting an error message, and when I try to follow the pinterest link at clotilde.com, I get a message that says that product is no longer available.

This is another link I found: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/89227636347381408/

joe'smom

mindless, thanks for that better link! I'll try putting it in the first post in place of the other.

edit

I guess I can't do that, as the time for edits has passed.

platyhiker

This is amusing in that I very recently picked out a very similar pattern for some fabric I already have on hand. Here is a video that shows how to put together the quilt with all the partial seams. (Your pattern would be a little different in that it looks you would first sew thin strips of of sashing fabric to your colorful fabric, but after that the construction should be like that in the video.) I expect that the video will be much clearer than written instructions.

The main downside of partial seams is that you need to do a little bit backstitching at the ends of seams to lock the stitches, so it is a little bit slower than a similar project without partial seams, but not by much. Ultimately, you are sewing the same length of seams, you are just breaking it up differently.

Personally, I've done small amounts of partial seams, and I don't find them a hassle, so I am looking forward my project. For me, I would rather do partial seams more than some other quilting techniques, such as curved piecing. I suggest grabbing a few scraps and cutting out a few rectangles and trying out the technique. With just 8 rectangles, you could make two (very short) "braids" and then join the braids together. For your test, you can make the rectangles much smaller than the quilt pattern , say 4" x 2", so that you waste less fabric, but it should still be enough to give you sense of whether the technique is overly aggravating to you.

If you do find partial seams not to your tastes, you can easily alter the pattern to cut of the points on the sides of the braids and join the straight seams. (This will reduce the width of the quilt.) Here's some samples of that type of quilt:




Best wishes in weighing your options!

joe'smom

platyhiker, thanks so much for the video link! The instructor's cheerful attitude makes me feel more like giving this a try.

I was also curious as to what machine she is using, as it seems to be mechanical but has a drop in bobbin! When I looked for machines, all of the mechanical ones had a lower side bobbin.

Krisb

I think that machine could be a Janome hd3000. Mechanical as in not computerized, with drop in bobbin.

maminstl

Partial seams are really quite simple. Just give it a try and decide for yourself. Y seams now ... that's a little tricky.

Watson

It's a pretty quilt and once you get the hang of the partial seam, it isn't a big deal. Make a trial block before you commit all your fabric and see what you think.

Watson

Three Dog Night

I took a class from Krista Moser for her Entangled Sky quilt which uses partial seams. She has a tutorial on her website that is great explaining partial seams https://www.kristamoser.com/tutorials. Once you do one you will realize they are really pretty easy.