Good morning!

I need some help. (teehee!)

I'm working on a d9p and while sewing my 9 patches together, I'm using Izy's easy intersection tutorial (from this forum) to chain stitch them together. It's really great... in theory, and I've been fairly successful- but here is my problem: I can't seem to butt the squares close enough together to make the chainstitching 'worthwhile' in a sense. I can get them close, but not close enough where it holds them perfectly in place.
Maybe I'm just being really retentive. They're not bad, but they're just not PERFECT, and it's driving me crazy because I KNOW I can do better...

I've been measuring and squaring up and measuring and double-checking and everything- and I can't seem to get it right. I'm ironing to the side (which I've thought about ironing seams open, but I need a different iron, or asbestos fingers... neither of which I have at the moment), and I'm still not lining up.

So! Any suggestions? any other tricks or tips that you're willing to share so I don't go crazy?!

Thank you!!!

When doing the "matching seams", I have to pin when I get them nested. After pinning I peak, and check that they are lined up correct. Then after all pieces are pinned, I chain stich all of them. Then press, and repeat till all sewn together. Without pinning, I cannot get seams to match correctly.

When you push in a pin to pin your seams together I find that when I go in on the seam on the front and it comes out on the back piece seam line then it will line up fine. Clear as mud?

One of the problems may be that you need to press, not iron.

I have not read Izy's tute, so I am not sure what advice she has given---though I am sure it is spot on. So, forgive me if I am just repeating what she said.

When I chain piece, I butt the next pair of fabric squares right up to the one on the machine bed. Do not wait until you have one pair completely sewn before putting the next pair in.

When you have pressed your seam allowances in opposing directions, they are easy to snuggle up if you have chain pieced closely. I also find it helps if the top seam allowance is facing away from you when you feed it through the machine. That is not always possible, but it does help snuggle the two seams close. I never pin and mine match perfectly 99 percent of the time.

Keep practicing. Soon you will be "perfect" every time. But, remember too---"Better finished than perfect", so don't drive yourself too crazy!!

It's clear to me, that's what I do too.

She says just that (feed the 2nd piece right in after the 1st one)- my problem is that I cannot get the next piece to get EXACTLY nuzzled to the one I just sewed, no matter if I feed it in right with the first one. (is THAT as clear as mud?!) Last night I tried laying them down, then pinning a piece of scrap fabric right over the top of the 2 I was trying to chain together- which helped some, but not completely. Argh.

I will try the pin through the top to see if it comes through the bottom- I think that will help some.

I am working on a quilt and have been frustrated with seams not coming out dead on. And it bothers me. My solution--press the seams OPEN. Pin through center of seam at 1/4 from raw edge through to center of seam. Place a pin on either side of pin as close as possible.
Either ride over pins or remove them as you sew the seam. Voila.

try double pinning; one on either side of the seam.

Fabric makes a big difference. When I use a cheap stretchy fabric it is much harder to match seams.
Also when making strip sets I cut them in half so they are the size of a fat quarter length, this helps keep them from getting out of shape. Pressing makes a difference also. I use a small travel iron, it is not heavy so will not distort like a heavy iron. If you do all this you will not need to pin your seams will fit togather just by feel.