Pickles....A scant means 'just a bit less than' a qtr inch....it is more than an eighth and does not cause more fraying or raveling than a true 1/4 inch.... it holds quite well.

warm quilt hugs, sue in CA

A scant is just enough to allow for the fold of the fabric.
So it is only a needle move to the right.

i've been told i take the easy way out for things but this is my take on the scant 1/4 inch.

its basically a thread or so short of a 1/4 inch.

so i just put it into my rotary cutting instead of trying to fudge my machine to work that way.

i have a nice machine that came with a perfect 1/4 inch foot for it - when the needle is in the standard position its exactly 1/4 inch.

why mess with perfection - cut your fabric 2 threads bigger than called for...

ex: if you want to cut a 2.5 inch strip and have a scant 1/4 seam. cut the strip 2.5 plus a couple threads and sew the standard 1/4 inch that the sewing machine and foot is meant to do.

you will have the same amount of fabric out of the seam that you would have had you sewn a scant seam with exact cut fabric.

The purpose of the scant quarter inch seam is for the block to be the size you want it to be when you're done piecing it. BUT some fabric is thicker than others so when you press your seams to one side, you'll have more or less fabric in the block. Sometimes it's not the sewing or measuring or cutting, it's the pressing that makes the difference.

To me scant means skimpy and not sturdy. I prefer to make allowances elsewhere to make up the difference.