Accuracy
 

Hi Ladies -

I'm relative new to quilting. I have made maybe 5 quilts and each time I am trying to do a better job. I still have trouble getting the blocks to line up perfectly. They are off perhaps an 1/8 inch. Is that acceptable, or should I rip out and try again?

Thank you.

:p

It could be your cutting and not necessarily your piecing

an 1/8 inch can often be eased in - or stretched - to line up "properly" with the next block.

From a distance, most people will not notice that amount of "offness" - so it is up to you to decide whether fixing it is worth it or not.

when I started quilting I had the same issue. The more you do, the better you will get, just like anything else. Being off 1/8" would be significant on some patterns but not on others. Work on two things--first accurate cutting, and second an accurate and consistent 1/4" seam allowance. Errors in either of these will cause your variances. And we all have them from time to time---that is why we have seam rippers!!:D

Do you pin your seam before sewing, or let your seams "nest" together? You may need to do this as the pieces might be shifting as you sew them.

I'm a perfectionist so I would rip and fix mine... but I see loads of people that are happy with their imperfections. It's just whatever works for you. The fact that you posted to ask other people's opinions tells me that you are bothered by your seams not matching up. I'd pick them out and try again. A lot of sewing (not just quilts) involves picking and re-trying. Nothing wrong with that!

It takes a while to get the cutting and piecing accurate. If it really bothers you, take it out. In my case, I did the best I could and kept going forward. My first projects had many mismatched seams and cut off points. But I enjoyed what I was doing and didn't worry about it.

I agree with the others. I started measuring my seams as soon as I sewed them. They were absolutely precise. My problem was with the cutting (and it was a BIG problem). Since I bought a Shape Cut ruler, my cutting has dramatically improved, but it's still in need of some work. At some point, I hope to be able to afford either a die cut or an electronic cutting machine. For now, if it's a family quilt, I ease it in &/or adjust my math to make it work. I really don't worry if it's a generous 1/8" off. They are meant to be loved & used, not scrutinized -- and honestly, even most quilters don't notice such a small discrepancy once it's quilted as long as the points match up. For client quilts, I will re-do any blocks that are off enough that I can't hide the problem in the seam allowance (e.g., 1/16" is close enough on most patterns to hide -- as long as I catch my cutting errors before I start sewing). Competition quilts are a totally different story -- those generally do need to be perfect, regardless of how many times that requires unsewing, resewing, recutting, starting over, etc. The judges will notice something like that. But I don't feel the need to be so competitive in real life.

Start with easier patterns/blocks. Like everything in life, we get better as we practice. Being off by 1/8 inch shows up more in some quilts than others. Someone has already mentioned pinning or nesting your seams, you can also try a light dab of washable glue to hold your pieces in place until you sew the seam. You may want to give paper piecing a try if you want accuracy - something like a log cabin block with many pieces comes out nice and accurate with paper piecing technique. Watch u-tube videos and read about accuracy in sewing and cutting, you'll pick up lots of tips that you can try out.

Sometimes a small difference can be fudged to make the seams match. At this early stage I would recommend pinning as you go . Concentrate on accurate cutting followed by an accurate 1/4" seam whole length. Good luck . Don't forget it is supposed to be fun.

My cutting was the downfall for many of my fails. Not getting the ruler in the exact same spot will really mess you up. I now use a Go die cut so I know if nothing matches up perfectly it's my piecing not my cutting.