Someone please tell me who came up with a SCANT 1/4in. seam? I bought a pretty quilt top from a lady. While ironing it I noticed a few seams that were not sewn together. I looked and she really took a scant seam to extreme. Log story short I had to resew about 50 different places... Geez
Holy Moly Batman and Robin... I will never use a scant 1/4 seam ever again. lol

Maybe she didn't wash the fabrics before quilting/sewing. The washing will bring out the weakness in fabric, if any. Or make it softer or thinner.

Scant 1/4" doesn't mean no seam allowance. My scant 1/4' seams (done correctly) hold up just fine.

Tell me about it, and lived through the experience too.

If in a block swap, then by all means my 1/4 seam is relevant to the pattern directions, but for my projects now, I am using a tad bigger than the 1/4" seam to avoid ripped seams.

IMHO; It's better to make the seams a tad bigger just in case.

I figure I'm lucky to get a 1/4 seam. LOL

A scant 1/4" seam means a thread or so less than 1/4. Your quilt was probably constructed a bit carelessly in the areas you found loose. Easy mistake to make. Also the possibility of shrinkage is true.

I was lucky enough to find a 1/4 foot ,same as mine, at the thrift store. Got DH to grind the side just a tad & that's my scant 1/4 inch.

Some of the cheap imported pieced quilts have only one or two threads of seam allowance.
Someone once gave me one as a gift ( no comment) .. and it did not make it through one wash without falling appart.

Scant doesn't mean no seam. Maybe her tension was off and that caused the threads to come out.
Sue