accuracy--Am I too critical?
 

I obsess over my seams lining up. Sometimes I rip the seam and try over and over and over!

Is your piecing perfect?

Nope, but improves with every quilt. And no one has ever noticed a bad seam. Thank goodness.

I am the same way. If things don't match...I rip and re-sew until they do. Especially with paper piecing. I think even though it will only be me that sees that quilt..I know I will ALWAYS know there is a boo-boo , so I want it right. Although, I have been told .."if you have to rip it out more than 3 times...get over it."

Life is too short and you shouldn't be at war with yourself over an imperfection.

If you are redoing seams over and over - maybe you need to go back further -

Are your pieces cut as accurately as possible? are your pattern pieces/templates correct? (Sometimes they are wrong.) Is there an error in the directions? (Sometimes that happens, too.)

Some fabrics, if unwashed, do shrink when they are pressed (with moisture) -

Yes, I do try for accuracy and precision - but I feel that after three tries, I need to recut the fabric pieces because all that stitching and unsewing has weakened the seam line.

And why did I mention the other things? Because I have encountered them. Some of the things one learns from experience.

I also will see if there is some other reason why things aren't working - because I usually get fairly close to what I am expecting to get.

Perfection? not possible.

I usually try to do as well as I can do - but there are times - when good enough - IS - good enough!

After three tries, if one intersection out of several just won't line up - and everything else is - so be it.

Back to the original question:

No, my piecing is not "perfect."

However, most of the time, I do think it is "good enough" to satisfy me. I do unsew and redo when I think it is necessary.

It depends on how bad it looks to me. There used to be a traveling Amish/Mennonite sales show - and I bought a pot holder that didn't match up perfectly. It hangs in my sewing room to remind me that it doesn't have to be absolutely perfect to still be pretty. And time to sew is too short sometimes to waste on something only I am going to notice. My quilts are made for people that I care about and they don't look for the imperfections.

Three times and then I will move on!

Thanks.

If I have a better than 50% chance of getting the incorrect thing right the second time around, I will persevere. But I would never rip something out more than once or twice for fear of hurting the fabric! I would cut new pieces and do it again. If it is critical to the quilt, I would do practice pieces until I got the hang of it.
I do not see a big virtue to ripping things out so you can practice on them again and again. Cut yourself some slack or admit you need to practice a certain technique and then go back when you are ready. Relax! :) :) :)

ask yourself is your life perfect my isn't
so my quilts aren't either.

Yup...this says it all!

Relatively picky but not obsessive. I'm a long arm quilter and quilting can hide a lot of mistakes!

t really depends on what it is. If it impacts the "size" of the block, corners/seams that are high contrast and stick out, Star points that are way off - I do as Tartan does.

If however a match is a couple of threads off, squares of background fabric meeting or generally not in my face -and the seam will be able to be finessed I am more tolerant.

Points and seams matching are important to me and I will rip out if I have to but I find if I take my time preparing the fabric (washing sometimes and starching if necessary), careful cutting and matching and pinning I rarely have to rip out. I mark my points with a pin and then with a marking pencil on the wrong side so I have a place to shoot for with my seam. If I go too narrow then I just sew again to hit the point and I don't rip out since it's in the seam allowance anyway. If I go too wide and cut off the point then I rip. I pin my seam intersections. It takes more time than just stitching but it is rare that they don't match so very little time is spent on ripping and repairing. I try not to be too OCD over it but it's hard for me not to be.

I do my very best to match my seams, but as I only do charity quilts these days I dont think anyone is going to hand back a quilt because one or two of my seams do not match, I am more intent making quilts for these more unnfortuneated folk, i have enough fabric for a lifetime, I still make quilts for my very small family

I would literally never get anything sewn together and quilted if perfection is what I am working towards. My goal is to make a pretty and useful quilt.

Open your dictionary to the word perfection. Now, cross it out.

Other words to cross out:

afraid
can't
intimidated
can't
hard
can't
rules
can't

Get the idea!:D
peace

F&P says you should NEVER rip more than three times otherwise the fabric is going to get wonky. This is suppose to be a hobby so try to loosen up a bit and enjoy the process and learn from your mistakes. WE ALL HAVE at one time or another !!

If it doesn't match the first time, I will 'unsew', and then use my Elmers glue stick. If I can't get it to match with the glue stick, I'll leave it go.

My piecing is rarely perfect. I do a lot of fudging and easing in, and when the quilt is done everything usually lookss good. I only obsess on it if it's really bad and it's not going to fit with the other blocks.

After 10 years, I get "gooder and gooder" but I have learned to rip if it is really going to keep getting worse but otherwise, its pretty good after quilting and when I decided I was never going to have a work of art, I really started to "love" the whole quilting process!

I definitely enjoy the precision piecing part of quilting. BUT if I've ripped twice and still have trouble, I accept the situation knowing that we are working in a soft medium, not wood or stone, and that some fabrics just have a "mind of their own" (probably due to the weave/fiber content/thread count/coloring/even humidity or insanity!)
And you know what, in over 30 years of quilting I am unable to go back and find those "faults' in my finished quilts.

Jan in VA

I used to be obsessive over seams that were not perfect but I went a little nuts so I have a 3x rippit rule. After the third redo it stays. Now I have a better eye as to what will and what won't be noticed after the piece is quilted. I no longer go nuts.

Girl. lol on this Storm At Sea, my seam ripper got a work out today. I get really upset when points do not turn out perfect with that 1/4 seam allowance in site . My son says I sit there and talk to myself and I am sure i do. The thing is others when they look at our work they do not see what we see. lol well that is a good thing though i guess I have known you for years and u always do beautiful work.

I will often rip and try again if i am way off....a little off....i'm probably gonna be ok with that. I've said it before .... as my dear gram used to say "close enough for the guys we loaf with".

I don't slop seams together and hope for the best but I don't fret over a smidgen off. I just don't care and don't care if anyone else cares. I have good luck using Wonder Clips to hold the seams right where I want them when piecing. The clips are so much better then pins. No distortion of fabric and I don't have to remove them when sewing. The backs are flat so they glide along the machine bed.

I shoot for perfection, knowing it isn't happening. If I get close, that's close enough for me. I doubt I will ever enter a quilt in a show. My quilts all go to someone I love, and they are thrilled to have something I have put my time and talent (?) into. If something is WAYYY off, I will take it apart and try again. If that doesn't fix it, that block ends up at the edge of the quilt, or in the orphan block pile, depending on how bad it is.

This is a hobby, and I do it for fun, and the satisfaction of giving a gift to someone. If I don't enjoy it, why bother?

So in short, yes, you probably are too critical. Try to relax a bit. If someone gave you the quilt with the blocks that were nearly perfect would you use it? I bet you would, and would never notice those "customizations" again.

Darren

Are you too critical? No, not at all, not if you're asking the question.

You have to work to your own standards, not to anyone else's, not even Fons & Porter. Perfection isn't an attainable goal, but excellence sure as blazes is and there's nothing at all wrong with going after it full speed until you get there. Do what suits YOU.

Me, I work until it's the very best I can do no matter how long that takes or how many times I rework it. If the fabric quits before I do, I recut and start again. The result is that with each new project, my best gets better and I never, ever settle for 'good enough'. Compulsive, perhaps...Invigorating, definitely! :)

This is very close to where I'm at. Pointing up.

I started without a rotary cutter or mat. What a difference they make! My accuracy improved a lot just with those tools. The better your cutting is and the more accurately you set up your machine the more accurate your piecing will be. Wash and press your fabric before you start if it's possible. It helps eliminate surprises later. It also doesn't hurt to make a few extra blocks. You can pick out the best ones to use then.

That doesn't mean my work is perfect. Far from it. I drive my wife and daughter nuts because I point out every flaw.
My seams aren't always a perfect 1/4" and my points don't always line up. I do the best I can and if it's too bad I'll take it apart and start over. If I'm just a little off I'll live with it. I strive for perfection but know I'll never reach it. Sometimes close enough really is close enough.

A machinist friend told me there is no perfection, there is only "in spec" or "out of spec".
Rodney

It depends, is it a quilt to keep and use? is it for display? is it going to be judged? I make cuddle under quilts, well used and not perfect. I just do the best I can

love these words.

i love it when points match up perfectly. i am very willing to overlook it when they don't unless i won 't be able to add the next blocks on if i leave them. most of the time i just continue on sewing. i'm enjoying this quilting process way to much to agonize over little things.

Friend who started me on quilting said a rule of thumb is "If someone riding by on a horse can't see it, leave it alone.". I use this as a determinant if I should redo something.

I have never had anyone bring a quilt back because I did not match up everything perfectly. They love it for the comfort it gives them. I do my best, but its no always perfect. Relax and enjoy the process.

Imperfection is my signature. Don't sweat it after a couple of tries to perfect.

My good friend has a rule about seam ripping. She'll rip something 3 times, if it's not perfect after 3 attempts, she'll leave it. I rarely have to rip something that often. I find that the more pins I use, the happier I am with the outcome. I've just learned that pinning is every bit as much of the process as cutting, sewing and pressing.
I also see we are neighbors, of sorts, I live in Blaine...

First, I aim for "finished, perfect or not!" If the seam is too badly skewed and refuses to line up after a couple attempts to correct and the piece is small enough to redo from the start and I have enough fabric, I might start over after throwing the offender in the trash with appropriate (usually not very nice!) words!!

If it bothers me I will redo it, but never more than three times...that's my rule. When viewed as a whole quilt a bit off is hardly noticed as a rule. I don't make quilts for critical people.

I don't obsess over my seam, but I make sure my outer edges are lined up - much more important. In other words I line my strips, blocks, etc with the outer edge being perfect and stitch the seam on the other side - I think it is more important that the outer edge is on the money.

I will rip out up to 3 times and then I go with the results.