I know what it is, and used to have it down pat. But the last few months everything is turning out wonky. So, for you experts (which I clearly am not), let me ask you this. If you use scant 1/4" in your patches, do you also use it when you piece the horizontal strips, too? I have been playing around trying to get back in the "zone" with it and I cannot. It's very frustrating -- though, I've been know to make things harder than they need to be. :roll: Do I make any sense?

You make perfect sense! I'm no expert by a mile but if I use scant anywhere I use it all over. I'm not good at the math anymore so adjusting later makes me pickin' angry.

Hugs,
Sharon

When I participate in a swap, I do whatever it takes to make the block be the right size.

When my block has matching points, I adjust to where my points (hopefully) don't get cut off. Otherwise, I sew my seams with the same line.

I am not one to give advice. A scant seam is like a pinch of seasoning. Not worth the bother for me. hehe.

I am an all or nothing kind of gal :wink: I think it makes it easier to use it throughout the whole quilt.

do u have a 1/4 inch foot????
Hope these articles help



http://www.scrapquilts.com/accurate_seams.htmlt
http://www.allthingsfrugal.com/quarter.inch.htm
http://quilting.suite101.com/article...arterinch_seam

If I do it on the block I do it to join them. I don't know if that's right but if works for me.

this is what I would do too.

If you use a wider seam it will cut off any points you have on seams that are a scant 1/4 inch so use the same seam allowance on all your seams.

Yes, me too.

i'm adding my vote for using the same seam allowance for everything.

I think we should as a group lobby the sewing machines company to start selling a "scant 1/4" foot (rather than the traditional 1/4" foot). This seems to be a universal problem we are all struggling with........

Yes, I agree with everyone else. Always us the same seam allowance all the way thru a project.

I usually cut my pieces 1/8 inch bigger and sew them. I press my piece and then square up to the size. It is an extra step but well worth it. Does not leave you heartbroken because you cut the point off to your star or hourglass or whatever you are working on. Easier to cut away than to add when it is too short. I also struggle w/ scant 1/4 inch. If in doubt have a small ruler next to your sewing machine and measure as you go along. Better to correct your mistake as you go along than after you finished and your p[attern does not work out. Just my 2 cents ;-) ;-)

that is an excellent idea. maybe i should email janome.

hey....bebe, that is a great idea tooo!!! gonna try this! thanks:-D
thanks, Ducky. last 12.5 block I sent to someone, had to add a border. I'm sure it was ok for that quilt, but otherwise would have had to start over, and it was a ppr pieced and just didn't feel like it. Didn't have a pattern, was a pain in the keester!

I use a scant quarter inch for all parts of the piecing. The other thing that I've been doing lately is starching my fabric for piecing.

Yeah...it's another couple of steps...you'll want to wash your quilt at the end to get rid of the starch so it doesn't attract critters, too.

When I starch my fabric (mix my own from Sta Flo--half water and half Sta Flo) I starch just what I think I'll need. Starch with a spray bottle, then throw the fabric over a rod (real technical for me...a broom over the top of two chair backs) and let it almost dry. Don't have a problem with flaking or wrinkles I can't get out.

The starch just makes the fabric that much easier to handle.

Between that and my trusty edge stitching foot, I'm a happy camper...most of the time.

Julie

Believe it or not but the J foot for my Brother SE350 on the right side of it sews a scant 1/4 inch ... who can believe my luck. I'd never measured it before and just did a few moments ago and and it was perfect. I did it 3 different times just to make sure and it did it every time. I even adjusted the needle over 1 click and it sewed a perfect 1/4 inch so I am good to go. All I need to do is to remember to use that seam for the whole thing.

Thanks to everyone who has offered advice.

I've often wondered why piecing feet are an exact 1/4" rather than scant.

I'd add my voice to the remaining consistent throughout chorus too!

Another tip is to put a piece or a stack of pieces of tape on the plate where the edge of the fabric will lie when the seam is right. This only works when piecing a straight seam though. Speed piecing HSTs and so on, it wouldn't work.

I found when I made a log cabin using the Judy Martin method of pre-cutting the strips that I finally got to grips with where my 'scant' was. You piece two patches, turn through 90° and add the next pre-cut strip. If it's too long, your seam is too generous, too short and you're too mean. You could play with this til it was right. I now know by sight where the 'scant' is, ie just a tad under the edge of my clear 1/4" foot. Having said that, this can vary a shade with thicker threads or fabrics. :hunf: If you get close enough, there's always a bit of stre-e-e-tch to make it fit. That's why I'm glad we work with fabric not wood!

:lol:

I use a quarter inch foot through out my quilting. If there is a problem, use a stack of post it notes placed to the right on the machine deck, just in front of the foot, so it will feed the fabric thorugh at the right mark. A scant is only a thread or so width. Which is to the right side of the line. Any quilt teacher will tell you that the scant quarter inch makes a big difference with certain blocks.

You can try a skinner thread and needle too.

While I agree that the terminology of working with a 1/4" or a scant 1/4" is a little bit of a problem, I don't think the problem lies with the foot.

How many of us have taken the step to put our rulers "on notice"??? I have one ruler that I like to rotary cut with, and I know exactly where to stitch on my pieces to come out with that 1/4" seam. But when I bought a new, smaller ruler to use on smaller pieces, the 1/4" was just a bit different. How do I know? My blocks weren't coming out the correct measurement.

So I took the new ruler to my machine, put the needle in the down position and put the 1/4" line up to it. Now put my presser foot down and sure enough, the mark on my straight stitch foot that I use for 1/4" did not line up with the edge of the ruler. It was further out, so my blocks are being sewn a little small if I use that mark.

Since it is a straight stitch foot, moving the needle position over is not an option as there is nowhere for it to go without slamming into the foot. I do not want to buy yet another foot. So I make every attempt to insure that my 1/4" seam from the ruler is translated to my throat plate so that my seam can be sewn at the 1/4" the ruler says it should be.

I also need to make sure that I only cut with one particular ruler when I cut out a quilt. It's inaccurate cutting that leads to inaccurate piecing, that leads to inaccurate blocks, etc., etc., etc. I'm tired of being the dog chasing it's tail: I'm too fat to ever catch it!

HTH Ducky ( and everyone else with this problem ).

I try to use the same all over. There have been times when i have had to adjust to save points though. Just use your common sense in doing this, and you will do fine.

THIS is the 1st time I've heard this solution. Do you add the 1/8 extra to each piece you cut, both strips and triangles etc?

When I first started quilting I had NO IDEA there was such an animal as a scant 1/4 and couldn't understand why the 1/4 foot did not work out as it should.

It seems to me that the engineer/designer for sewing machines does not know that they have the option to sell an new product - namely "the scant 1/4" foot just for the millions of quilters all over the world. Maybe we should all write to the various companies and suggest such an idea?

When I need to sew a scant 1/4" seam, I use my 1/4" foot and move my needle over 1 position to the Right. Works well for me. If you have this feature on your machine, experiment with it and see what works for you.

I also move my needle over to the right side...on my Janome6500 the screen shows 3.5 when I turn on the machine. Then I click until it gets to 4.5 and that is usually my scant 1/4". I put a sticky note on my machine so that I don't forget to move it again when I restart my machine.

My whole project will be completed at the same scant 1/4".

Hope your machine has that capability...it sure helps.

warm quilt hugs, sue in CA

I wish I could remember her name but when I was able to get one of the quilting shows on my cable stations, there was a quilt teacher who used to say "whatever your seam allowance is, that's YOUR seam allowance. Just make sure all things stay the same, i.e., always measure w/the same ruler, keep needle position in same place and try to have fun". Now I realize that doesn't help when the block you have to turn in is supposed to be 12.5 and yours turns out 12.25. I get so frustrated, I keep trying to remember the "try to have fun" part.
Wendy

Mary Ellen ???????

Whatever seams you sewed doing the blocks, do the same throughout the quilt. Are your blocks coming out the size they are supposed to when you do your "scant 1/4"? Do a test block; measure it to make sure block is correct size, then do the same seam throughout quilt.

Actually Janome just came out with an scant 1/4" foot. I was in a local dealers taking a lesson on my 6600 and commented that the AD quarter foot made a huge 1/4" seam - even when i moved the needle as far over as i could it still seemed too big. I ended up just using the reular quarter foot and moved the needle over. of course they tried to sell me a scant quarter foot at the time.

Hi,

I do a scant 1/4 inch for my blocks and sewing them together all the time...only thing I use basically.

Bev

Great site.

When I first started to learn to quilt, I read some where about a 1/4 in foot for my Janome. I am not sure if it is a scant 1/4 or not but I use it for all my quilting.

I did try a pinwheel quilt and most of the points came out great.

Ducky thanks for asking the question...I am awful at the scant 1/4 seam.
Bebe thanks so much the great links...I have saved them all.
dee

Why is a scant quarter inch better than a regular quarter inch? If you use the same seam allowance throughout, it shouldn't matter. In my NTBHO. There's no way I could switch back & forth. It would not only drive me nuts (well, nutsier! :lol: ) but it would totally screw up whatever I was working on. As long as you are consistent, it should all come out right.

Odessa thanks so much for the great post, i have the same situation as you w/ not wanting to buy another foot and I am using a older straight stitch machine and your explantation helps me so much.
thank-you
dee

Gaigai I so totaly agree and as I keep trying to learn I get frustrated. I keep thinking as long as your seams are accuate you should be ok, but that being said I think the more you get into quilting more detailed patterns it is going to make a differance.
Thanks to all the seasoned quilters for their patiences in posting.
dee

My Juki TL98QE has a 1/4" compensating foot and that is what I use and the blocks turn out how ever they turn out and I figure if I don't tell anyone the size the quilt is suppose to be they won't know if it is or not. I give most of them away and I figure they can't be choosy.

LOL, love your philosophy!!! You go girl!

I didnt bother with the size either until I joined a group of quilters and we each made blocks for a quilt for wounded soldiers. The blocks all had to be a certain size so I played with my needle position on blocks until I got the blocks to come out the right size.
On my machine I had to set my size to 3.0 even though it had a 1/4 inch setting built in.

I have 3 sewing machines & 2- 1/4" feet...ALL are different! Even the things that you 'stick' on your machine bed, if you don't put them in the right place, you're bummed! :evil:

When you use the scant 1/4 " seem how do you keep your
seems from all the materal fraying after washing your quilts
and end up with your blocks coming lose? It just doesn't seem like a scant 1/4 inch would hold together for very long
to me.