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.

Yes! Quilting is the one time where "fudge" can actually be Good for you!!

There are 3 main things that can make your blocks come out wrong. Cutting is the first one. Make sure that you are accurately measuring & your ruler isn't slipping. Use the same ruler for the entire project, but if you do need to use different rulers, try and use all the same brand. Then next is pressing. Make sure that you are not pressing a tiny pleat into the seam allowance when you press. Also, press, not iron. An up and down motion will keep the pieces from stretching. And finally we talk about the size of the seam, however, you don't measure the seam you measure the resultant patch. If you use a quarter inch foot, you may still have to adjust your needle position. Also, fabric and thread weight will affect your seam so it's a good idea to check at the beginning of every project. Here's how to check:
http://www.quiltingboard.com/tutoria...ce-t89997.html

You don't necessarily need to rip it up. I like your attitude of trying to learn from your mistakes, that is how I learned what I know today about quilting. Take a small ruler and find out where you went wrong. Are your blocks an 1/8" too small?? Check you seam allowance. Remember when you press a seam to one side you lose just a bit with the hump of the seams. Then I would check your cutting. I wish I could show you but a frend taught me where to put the line on the Omnigrid ruler.

I gave up quilting for over a year being disable with poor motor skills that I could not quilt any loner. What I use to compensate is to cut my strips 1/8" wider. It is amazing how many blocks you can press and starch at the end and then trim down. I learned this from Eleanor Burns. So I have been quilting for an additional 8 years. I try my best to avoid bias edges and triangles.

I agree with quiltsRfun "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've made about 5 or 6 myself, and none of them are perfectly matched up. I hope to get better with time and practice, but at the same time the eyesight is going so maybe they'll just start looking better to me lol

If you fabric isn't pressed before you cut it, it can grow or shrink when you press your blocks
If you are an 1/8 off once in a while, welcome to the world of quilting, fabric is forgiving.
If your blocks are all 1/8 off, if you are doing 16 blocks across, by the time you get to the end you are 2" off.

I had this trouble when I first started to quilt, I found out I needed to square up my blocks, which I did not do when I had the trouble.

This is EXACTLY why I hope to buy an accuquilt go...SOON!!

I was going to suggest the same tutorial... or one like it. It took me a long time to be consistent with my quarter inch seam. Some patterns can be fudged a bit without much notice if they are "off" but as you challenge yourself with intermediate patterns, you will want them to match up. Besides, I am a little OCD and needed to achieve an accurate quarter inch seam and now I am a much happier quilter.

Watch yourself when you come to the end of a seam. You my start off perfectly 1/4" but way go off just a tad at the end. Just be aware. Caught myself doing that!

One thing I have recently learned is when you cut your pieces, keep them stacked in the direction they were cut. The reason is, fabric has "give" (or stretches) selvage to selvage, but not lengthwise, so if you get them turned around, some blocks will stretch and others will not, so you get mismatched seams. My last checkerboard came out perfect using this info. None of the others have! With triangles, stack them in two piles, upper cuts, and lower cuts, and try to match the stretch directions for both piles with what you are joining them to. I stick a pin down through the "no stretch" edges so I do not mix them up.

First, it could be the cutting. Are you using your rotary cutter straight? Or do you lean a bit? This can make a difference. A couple threads per cut add up quickly in a block. Second, your stitching. Practice your 1/4" A LOT. You will be happy with the results. But, if you do have a block off a bit, a good thing to remember is 'we are bigger on the bottom'. This means to put the bigger piece on the bottom and the presser foot will help ease in a small amount.
Third (and most important), just keep quilting!!!! The more you quilt, the better you will be. Small errors are actually new design elements. Chances are that no one will notice but you. Quilters can be so hard on themselves, just have fun and keep quilting.

I have been trying for years to make a perfect quilt. Sorry to say I haven't made a perfect quilt yet.
I try 3 times to get blocks to line up after that I just go on.
Remember we are our worse critic. We see quilts up close, on the bed it is harder to see.
Just keep going and you will get better.
Welcome to this board, lots of help here.

Square up your blocks and if you can, square up the pieces that make up your block!!! I do not have a lot of issues with getting my blocks and then my quilt to come out right because I square up...a lot. It is definitely more time-consuming to go this route but it pays of in the long run :)

Such a good idea about the 1/8 in extra- I learned accuracy by working on a log cabin and it was a combo of cutting, 1/4 in seam and using the Shape Cut Ruler inconsistently( cutting angles in stead of straight)
It was frustrating to say the least but I learned so much about how to measure after each seam sewn, accurate width of strips and improving my cutting. And the illusive 1/4 in seam. Measuring as you sew helps your accuracy. I use a 1/4 in foot without the guard- works for me- best wishes

I have been quilting since 1992 and I have yet to achieve the perfect block. My 12 1/2 blocks always seem to end up 12 1/4. I have stopped worrying about it. As long as I am making all the blocks in my quilts, they will be off by the same amount.

You could unsew once, maybe twice but I don't think it really matters if you are not doing intricate blocks. I have found that if I get really picky about my blocks I have more trouble matching seams. If I relax & do my best a quilt can go together easier & faster & look very good. I'm not saying bee sloppy, just relax & do your best.

Pressing sometimes affects block size. The crosswise grain of the fabric has more give to it (and will stretch slightly when pressed) than the lengthwise grain.
When sewing two blocks together, place the slightly shorter one on top. It is easier to ease in excess on bottom block.

Do not rip it out again. It's too much work! Really examine some of the quilts you see in magazines and you will see that many of them have seams that don't quite match. If the magazines can't make everything match for a quilt that they display to quilters all over the world, then you can forgive yourself if some of the blocks don't quite match.

Just keep trying to improve; eventually you will be more perfect. But no one has ever made a 100% perfect quilt!

Besides, the problem could be a cutting problem. You can't undo a cutting problem unless you have enough fabric left over to re-cut the quilt or even parts of the quilt, again.

One last thought: Sometimes the blocks are fine, but matching the seams where they intersect is off by a bit. We have all gone through that, and, sometimes, in spite of our best efforts, the seams simply won't match no matter what technique you use to match them.

Before you sew the blocks together, try using some elmers washable glue sticks to hold the matching seams together before you sew the blocks together. The seams should nest together. The glue makes it harder for the matched seams to move when you are sewing them together. If your seams don't match by 1/8th of an inch, this method will help you ease (slightly stretch) the extra 1/8th inch into alignment.

Pressing is very important , I found that you do not push the iron but pick up and press down. You can stretch the fabric by pushing to hard.