What is the difference between a 1/4 inch seam ans a scant seam?

I was just reading about this in a quilting book. The explanation goes something like this: the line of stitching takes up some room (even if it is only a very small bit) and so that it doesn't take up room "within the block" you sew a scant 1/4 inch so that the line of stitching is taking up room in the space between the 'block' and the 'seam area'....Is that clear as mud :lol: ?

I was watching an Eleanor Burns video earlier today. She always uses a scant seam. She says that it is one thread shy of the full 1/4".

Very well explained cabbagepatchkid. When I sew a scant 1/4" I am sewing less the thread thickness which is about 1/32. In my opinion this started as people did less pressing in their block constructions. In the past we had that thread in the seam taking up space but we still sewed 1/4" but we pressed seams at each stage of the construction. I had an excellent teacher and friend who taught me proper pressing and I have had some good chuckles when other describe how they press.

Hi,

I always piece with a scant 1/4 inch seam.

I have the Babylock Symphony....the quilt piecing stitch for 1/4 inch is set at 5.5 on it, that's a true 1/4 inch.
I piece at a stitch setting of 6.0 which is a scant 1/4 inch.

When you use a true 1/4 inch and press your seam to one side you are losing that "one thread width" as Eleanor Burns says, so your stitch is now 1/4" plus that tiny width.

If you sew with the scant 1/4" and then press...it's a true 1/4" when done.

That's how it was explained to me.......not so much the sewing of the seam, but the pressing it over is where you lose. Make sense? Hard to explain....

Hope that helps.

Bev

and the fold of the fabri also takes up a small amount of space making the seam less than the desired 1/4"

I am piecing my first quilt now. I measured, then remeasured,
then put blue painters tape on my thread guide for the scant 1/4". Every time I look at my blocks, I can only envision them coming apart in the washer. I'm using LQS fabrics and still nothing reassures me that this thing won't come apart after a few washings.

sammygirlqt How are we to press?

Depending on what I am making I may use a true (or scant) 1/4" or I may just follow the 1/4" guide on my foot (which will result in slightly more than 1/4" finished seam after ironing).

The important thing is if you start one way - you continue that way throughout the whole project. Uniformity is the key.

Right now I'm piecing a border, a tricky one, and because the corners of the pieced border are complicated the seams throughout the whole project MUST be 1/4" FINISHED (ie after ironing). Why? Because I've already done the math for the pieced border and that math say's my finished size has to be exact - which means my seams have to be exact. So the first thing I will do is sew seams using the same fabric I will be using in the project, sew what I believe to be a scant 1/4", iron my seams, then measure my finished piece to make sure that the measurements are true. With a pieced border that will meet precisely in the corners - if I'm off 1/32" ... times EVERY seam - it could translate into a very big mistake once I reach the corner of a 50" border!! So it must be precise and it must be uniform from the first to the last seam.

Thak you for asking this question and thanks to all of you who responded. Till now, I really didn't understand the difference. Now that I do ( I think ) I am going to place the blue tape on my machine to mark the scant seam 1st thing in the morning.