Pinked edges
03-07-2014, 12:06 PM
#1
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Join Date: Feb 2014
Location: Chandler, AZ
Posts: 97
Pinked edges
I am having a horrible time lining up the pinked edges of precuts when piecing. Does anyone else have problems with this? I ended up cutting an 1/8th of an inch off all sides of my charm packs so they have straight edges. Now my seams line up perfectly! Any helpful hints on how to deal with pinked edges? My solution works for this pattern, but may not work for other patterns (plus trimming precuts kind of defeats the purpose of using precuts). Thanks!
03-07-2014, 12:10 PM
#2
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Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: Ontario, Canada
Posts: 41,538
I hate pinked edges! I want my seam line to be 1/4 inch from the pinked valley so the pieces end up being smaller. I understand it is to keep the honeybuns and such neat but they should cut them so the total measurement is from valley to valley. I don't buy pre-cuts for that reason.
03-07-2014, 12:35 PM
#3
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Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: home again, after 27 yrs!
Posts: 19,388
if I get pre-cuts, I get Moda. never have a problem with them. I did recently buy some pre-cuts from Connectingthreads.com and they were straight cut but had strings on all edges like crazy. I much prefer pinked edges.
03-07-2014, 01:26 PM
#6
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Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: Tennessee
Posts: 1,501
I'm one of those quilters who loves the pinked edges because I don't have all those strings to cut off when I get the quilt ready to take to the LAQ. I have never had trouble sewing fabric with pinked edges.
03-07-2014, 01:52 PM
#7
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Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Piedmont Virginia in the Foothills of the Blue Ridge Mtns.
Posts: 8,562
This is one of the reasons I never buy precuts....that and the fact that I'm not paying someone else to do my cutting for me when fabric is so expensive anyway!
03-07-2014, 02:11 PM
#8
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Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Northern Michigan
Posts: 12,861
I actually prefer 'pinked' edges on my charm squares- I just line them up with the outer tip just inside a thread or two of the piece I am adding them to- works out just fine & I don't have to worry about raveling/stringy edges. I generally only pick up a charm pack if the edges are pinked.
03-07-2014, 03:58 PM
#10
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Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: The Finger Lakes of upstate NY
Posts: 3,572
Instead of using a line to the right of the needle to line up your seam allowance, mark to the left of the needle how wide that piece will be when sewn.
IOW - If you are sewing two charms together, instead of looking at that scant 1/4" seam, calculate the finished piece to be 4.75" and put something on your bed there. If you don't use the products made for marking beds, you can use a bunch of Post Its piled up, a cut up credit card, piece of foam... Whatever. Now let that be your fabric guide. Some of the outer edge of the pinking will be lined up with the 1/4" line you usually use for measuring, others won't. But after sewing, if you open up your unit and press as usual, you should have a 9.5" wide unit. Or if you are using 2.5" strips, put your marker at 2.25" to the left. When you sew two together, open and press, you will have a 4.5" unit.
Be careful that your seam allowance doesn't get to be too scant, but other than that, you should be good to go.
IOW - If you are sewing two charms together, instead of looking at that scant 1/4" seam, calculate the finished piece to be 4.75" and put something on your bed there. If you don't use the products made for marking beds, you can use a bunch of Post Its piled up, a cut up credit card, piece of foam... Whatever. Now let that be your fabric guide. Some of the outer edge of the pinking will be lined up with the 1/4" line you usually use for measuring, others won't. But after sewing, if you open up your unit and press as usual, you should have a 9.5" wide unit. Or if you are using 2.5" strips, put your marker at 2.25" to the left. When you sew two together, open and press, you will have a 4.5" unit.
Be careful that your seam allowance doesn't get to be too scant, but other than that, you should be good to go.
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