Blocks shrink after sewing! OMG!!NO!!
 

I cut the blocks the right size but after sewing they are smaller on all four sides. I have measured my quarter inch seam and it is a quarter inch so what am I doing wrong. Rarely spritz/steam while pressigng.

I recommend doing some sample blocks, like 2.5" squares sewn together, then measure. Try using a "scant" quarter inch or other trials until you know exactly where to sew on your machine and with that foot. Remember you lose a little with the fold, so if your stitching line is exactly 1/4" from the edge of the fabric, once it's folded you will lose a bit.

It could be the fold of the fabric, just as fay said. Frustrating when you've sewn precisely, but not taken that fold into account.

I tend to oversize my blocks when possible so I can cut to the perfect size. Sometimes you can't do that. But, doing a test block and learning where your scant 1/4" needs to be is so very important.

How much smaller are they? Plus when you measured before cutting did you add 1/2" total or in other words 1/4" on all 4 sides. Sometimes, and I'm guilty of this, I measure adding only 1/4" on 2 sides forgetting there are 4 sides making my block end up 1/4" off.

If they are all off by a similar amount, it may not make much difference to how they fit together.

I've always heard that to test the accuracy of your seam allowance, you cut three 2 1/2 inch squares and sew them together and then measure the finished product. It should measure 6 1/2 inches and the center square should be 2 inches wide.

I have a feeling that the thickness of your fabric, thread or both are causing the blocks to come out smaller.

I'm experiencing the same with the "Wild Blue Yonder" airplane block - just a smidge short in length on some of the blocks, others of same come out exactly. I have a sneaking suspicion it's due to a computer stating the exact sizes to cut instead of an actual person who would know to advise to cut a smidgen larger to be able to square up each block successfully.
I have tried opening seams that I had pressed to one side originally - that works on most, but sadly, not all. I will have to redo the tail section row, the last row, on some by cutting new pieces 1/4" wider to be able to square up exactly. The width of the block is overly generous, just not the length.
Hope I'm on the right track here. : )

Maybe you have a fabric that is a poly/cotton blend? I used what I thought was cotton from my stash for making churn dash blocks. Once I pressed it I realized from the smell of the fabric that it was polyester. I put one block together to see how it came out and it was off to the point it was useless. Needless to say the rest of the piece of fabric went into the trash. I would never have bought it, so it must have been given to me or part of a grab bag.

Was the fabric prewashed? I had that happen with a RJR fabric that had missed being prewashed. It shrunk enough to distort the block when I pressed it.

My clothes shrink hanging in the closet too. 😂 LOL

you "don't" measure the seam allowance. You measure the blocks, stitched together, edge to edge after pressing.

I have dozens of 9 patch blocks I've made over the years on different machines, getting the exact 1/4" down. It can be different for all of us, some sew with the edge of the patch just under the foot, some like to see a thread of fabric beyond the foot.

Cut 1.5" strips, sew three together; pressed, do they measure 3.5" across? Exactly?
Then cut another three patch off those strips, and sew it to the perfect one you just stitched. Is it 2.5" wide? Exactly?
Now do it again so you have a 9 patch. Is it 3.5" square? Exactly?

I know where I like to see my fabric under the foot, so I mess with the needle right adjustment. Until It's Exact :) It is well worth the effort!!! good luck, you can do it!

I made a quilt once and when Momma said "it looks funny"; Grandma came over and looked at, then put it in the trash, saying "MaryKa won't never be any good at doing quilts. She can't get the squares to be squares!" Momma reminded her that it was my first pattern quilt. I sewed it together anyhow and it was very warm But I found out I had cut half of the block 1/4 inch larger and the other half 1/2 inch smaller. Momma just took all the pieces and sewed them together and made a beautiful crazy quilt. Then she told me never to tell Grandma that it was the bad cut pieces.

When Momma passed I just put all her fabric in her room and shut the door. I did not quilt for 3 years. Now I'm back to full steam with a semi slow engine. I'm taking more time doing less quilts but I think even Grandma would approve of my quilts coming together properly--most of the time.

I have one that I'm taking apart as I found I had messed up on a few blocks. Of course they are the blocks in the center of the quilt top. I couldn't have messed them up on the side OH NO it had to be in the Center of the California King that I will finish for my big Brother--sometime. :}

Light bulb moment: The reason the last row in the airplane blocks is so finicky is because the pattern is written for using 10" layer cakes - not yardage, so there is no extra. Saving some cutting time to use layer cakes, in this pattern anyways, means there is no room at all for being a hair off, especially with the pinked edges. Always something new to learn.

What a great story! Loved "she can't get the squares to be square" - when it's not sugar-coated, the lesson sticks with you, for sure.

Sew Be It, I had a nightmare using the commercial 10" batik squares for a pattern. I was supposed to get a number of sub cuts with no waste but the last one was always off. I wrote the company and they indicated that the block sizes could be off because they were hand cut. Now I measure them using a square ruler to see what the real measurement is. (I rarely use precuts because I have to wash the fabric but that is another story).

Mary Ellen Hopkins frequently said that we all have our own personal measurements and if our blocks were not all the same size to measure the smallest one and trim the rest - that works as long as you are not going to show the quilt. Had to follow that advice when I made too many blocks too late at night - sigh.

If you fabric isn't prewashed and you sprayed and pressed the block it probably shrunk just a smidge, enough to be off. fabric never shrinks in width only in length and that will cause all types of what did I do moments.

If you do all the blocks the same way it should not make a big difference. Just be consistent it should work out fine.

I hate pinked edges!! I try hard not to get near those. Good luck.

I hate to answer a question with a question, but when cutting, are you supposed to put the line of the ruler inside or outside the cut line?

I suspect that’s why I have a problem with some of my blocks being a smidge off, and maybe that’s what you’re experiencing too. If I’m cutting, say, a 2 1/2 inch square, I don’t know whether I’m supposed to put that 2 1/2 inch line just inside or just outside the fabric.

In a simple block, it doesn’t make a difference, but when there are hundreds of little pieces, I can be off by quite a bit.