Two problems with using the serger... first, you have much less control at getting your feed even, which is why your block edges don't line up. Second, you can't control the stitch length on most sergers and you need a very small stitch for quilt piecing. To add a third problem, the stitching is gathering up the fabric a bit and not letting it lie flat.

I'd use a sewing machine and be careful to have edges lined up exactly and an exact 1/4" seam. A walking foot would help you too, as has already been mentioned.

Good advice, as is putting sashing between the rows that you've already stitched. Some of the new patterns do this. Welcome to the Board.

Lots of good replies here.
*I think the best one is the School Glue. The glue will hold the fabrics where you want them until they are sewn. It will help keep your seams nesting also. I'm sure the minky is hard to keep nesting as it goes through the serger.
*If you make an off-set seam, you will still want that to be mostly in the same place on each row. Pinning a lot will help, but you have to take the pin out before you put it through the serger.
*If you put sashing on, you will still want the seams to line up on each side of the sashing.
* From what you said about cutting your blocks 6 inches and adding 1/2 inch seams, your blocks should come out to be 6 inch finished. Do they? That doesn't really matter if you are consistent with the seams in the whole quilt.

So I guess I would glue the seams first, sew on a regular sewing machine, then serge those seams before they are added to another seam. If you have 1/2 inch in the seams, that's plenty to put through the serger.

You will learn a lot here from a lot of different people. Then do what you want to do. It's your quilt.

Good morning from "still cold TN"--that baby is adorable. I don't have young babies in my bunch anymore. Sniff, sniff. Mine are all teen-agers or tweens.

Your quilt will be wonderful. Just knuckle down, buckle down, and finish it; keeping your original picture in mind (never mind the wonkiness). She will forevermore love it; like someone mentioned the 40-year old kid who still has shreds of his around to remind him of "the good ol' days"......

okay, I've read through all the comments so some of what I'm going to say is a duplication but not all.
I quilt and I sew, both with serger and regular machine.

1. stabilize the Minky if you have a light weight interfacing.
2. Whether or not you can stabilize, have Minky on the bottom, near feed dogs when you sew.
3. put an almost continuous line of pins parallel to the seamline just outside the area that will be trimmed with the knife. do not remove them before sewing.
4. Sashing does not have to be the same fabric line as the main quilt, in most case it isn't. Pick a color that picks up one in the quilt pieces or a complementary color (opposite side of the color wheel).
5. Since she is already a big girl,be sure that you are making this big enough for a nap on the couch etc.

Rule number one: first quilts aren't supposed to be perfect.
Rule number two: children don't care if the seams match.

I would rip out the seams that are more than 1/4 inches off, resew and sew all the columns together. Do the best you can with what you have, quilt it and gift it. Your niece will love it to death.

Connie

So true!!!!!!!

I think if I was to combine the different textures I'd have all cotton squares and use the minky/fleece etc for sashing. That way you can have the best of both worlds. I think? Good luck

I would trim that column up as straight a I could, then use a wash-out stabilizer on the rest of those squares. It will hold them better until it is washed. Hope this helps..

QuSince you decided to offset the columns, maybe every other column should have 2" cut off the first block. That way every other column will definitely 'not' line up and look cute.

I've been quilting since 1992 and my sister and I took classes together to learn to quilt. You might try a beginner's class. Usually you make 12 blocks, all different, and learn all the tricks of the trade.

Also, chain piecing is taking two pieces of fabric, right sides together (RST) and running them thru the sewing machine again and again (since you are just using squares of fabric for your blocks) and then taking the two pieces just sewn together and attaching them to another two pair and running them thru the sewing machine again and again until you've sewn all the blocks together. Then sew the four blocks to another set of four blocks and run it again and again. It cuts down on time. I'm probably not explaining it correctly but look up chain piecing in quilting and it'll tell you how to do it. It cuts down on your sewing time by about half. It's a good trick to know.

Good luck. I gave away a kit that had Minky in it because I knew it'd roll when I sewed with it. I never thought about using a Serger. You had the right idea regarding that, but a 1/4" seam is sooooo important in quilting. What's more important tho, is that all your seams are the same width exactly. Not a hair off. It's something we strive for. It's number one for achieving a nice quilt. If you continue to quilt, figure out where 1/4" is on the bed of your machine and use something to mark it. I buy Seam Guides from Guidelines 4 Quilting to mark my 1/4" mark. I also use a thing called the 'Prep-Tool' to achieve the 'scant' 1/4" seam. You can buy it from Guidelines 4 Quilting, also. If you bought both these items, you'd be set for a scant 1/4" seam.

I figure you will start quilting since you are so earnest in making this first quilt. I bet it is your new hobby! We have lots of tricks to quilting and if you read this board and ask questions first, you will be off and running in no time. You can Google 'How to quilt' or look it up on YouTube. YouTube is great for learning to quilt. Jenny Doan has a few hundred videos on quilting and different quilts. You should check her out. She has a video on 'birthng' a quilt that would be great for this first quilt. Please check it out. It will save you so much time and you will enjoy it so much.

Good luck and welcome to The Quilting Board. Keep coming back. You'll be a pro in no time!