Have any of you had trouble with the blocks coming out the size stated. I did a PP one last weekend. it was supposed to be 12" finished. It wasn't even 12 inches when I got it put together. I sewed on all of the lines so it should have come out correctly.

I believe that Quilters cache patterns do not have seam allowances, you need to add them. This could be the reason your blocks are smaller.

could it be your printer?? you have to have the resizing or what ever it's called option off. most sites show a 1 inch line that also prints out so you can check it to see if it printed out correctly.
and i thought they had seam allowances... you might check that again.

Sometimes templates printed from the internet have to be sized to none or something like that. Several people have made comments about having to make the adjustment in your printer settings so that the printer does not size them to fit on the paper (maybe something to do with allowing for margins?)

When I print out the templates, I always measure them...sometimes they can be a bit off. Sewing the pp sections together, I use a scant 1/4" and then measure, then I can make an adjustment at that point, too.

I made the mistake of printing off one from there and didn't check my printer settings- and somehow my printer was set to print at 80%. She usually includes a one inch test square to make sure that you're printing right, so ALWAYS check that! And her blocks do include seam allowance.

My printer was set at 100% and I was doing paper piecing and sewed right on the lines. I guess I should do a practice block with fabric that I don't care about. Thanks for the info.

I did a pp from there, printer was set at 100% as well, sewed on the lines and my block was 12.25 not 12.50. Quarter of an inch isn't much as a single block, but added in a whole quilt, it can make a difference.

that's what I was thinking

What size did the block on the paper measure? If it wasn't 12.5 inches there's no way for the block to be that size. If the whole block is printed on one page it's not going to be 12 inches even since printer paper is 11.5 and then some printers won't print in the margins.

All the PP blocks she has that I've seen, usually are broken up into 4" segments. So there is a margin of error there when you piece the parts together.

I love all the info that has come out in this thread. I have not used any pp blocks from quilters cache but I do have some bookmarked so will bookmark this thread!!

I've had similar experience with those pp blocks from QC. You really have to check how your printer prints. Even when set at 100%, some printers print about 1/32 to 1/16 inch smaller than the original, so your patterns will be off. Always measure the little checking square. It's not what you are doing, it's a function of the printer.

:oops: I don't know what the printer has to do with it. If CUTTING

:( I have used the Quilter's Cache patterns and have had trouble with the size using the directions given for rotary cutting. Mine just barely come out to 12 1/2" and I use scant 1/4" seams. I don't have a clue what the printer would have to do with it. I've gone to cutting my stuff "the old fashioned" way and enlarging the measurements given on the patterns, i.e. 4 7/8" to 5". HTH Silvia

It has every thing to do with it though if you're paper piecing. The original poster is trying to paper piece.

if your template is to measure correctly , the printer must print it out the size correctly too. one inch should be one inch.
printers can differ on how they print things out. it pays to check.
if a one inch line is given, print and measure. or if the template is to measure 6 inches, print and measure.
granted if you are just printing directions to cut, it's no problem.