:? :?: :?: :?: OK Why do you use 1-4 or 1-4 scant seams and WHY?? What does it all stand for?? Makes me wonder??

I'll take a stab at this one...

Long time ago when the earth was green... wait, wrong story...

A long time ago, someone figured out if you used seams less than 1/4 inch there wasn't enough fabric on the wrong side of the thread to keep a joint from pulling apart under the stresses of daily quilt life. If you used more than 1/4 inch the quilt wasted fabric and got too bulky.

SO a standard was made. 1/4 inch. Confused the heck out of the Europeans who had newly adapted the metric system.

BUT, so it was. Now maybe 1/4 inch isn't strictly necessary, fabric being so much better made... but all patterns build that seam allowance in in this country.

A scant 1/4 means you move the needle over about 3 threads so when you press your seams over, the resulting finished dimension of a piece will be the desired finished dimension.

tim in san jose

Well done Tim!! WOO WOO WOO!!!!! :lol:

I use my 1/4 inch foot on my machine and press my seams open.... scant isn't in my vocabulary! LOL

to each their own! whatever works for you

My knowledge is limited, but after my first attempt at a one, I can tell you that when multiplied by eight a 'scant' seam can mean the difference between a cone and a mariner's compass. :(

they call it a "scant" quarter inch because instructions calling for a "3/16ths of an inch" or "7/32ds of an inch" seam would scare the crackers out of most people. and the rulers would cost a FORTUNE!!

:shock: :mrgreen: :lol:

Of course you can make your seam allowances whatever size you want if you aren't going to wash or handle your quilt (if they are too narrow) or if you don't mind bulky bumps behind the pieces (if they are too wide) and if you draft your own patterns. If you use a commercial pattern, you will need to use a 1/4" seam.

And if you are truly making art quilts, it matters not in the least! You are not using someone else's patterns, square blocks, or traditional methods (though I fully agree that you should know and understand the 'why' of every single one of them!). Entire pieces are made with no seams at all, only water-soluble fusibles, collaged, embellished, thread-painted and stitched to your hearts desire! In art quilting, the rules of art take precedence over the rules of quilting. :wink:

I look really carefully, learning from experience, at a pattern before I start. If it calls for a 1/4" seam, then it's okay. However, if it says scant 1/4", I don't do it. It's just too much of a bother.

:lol: I agree those tiny seams are just not mE soooo I go with the Patchwork stitch or straight st. and make it comfortable for me don't worry about it, You'll get old before your time!!!! Isn't it suppose to be FUN???

Also, if you are hand quilting following the shapes of pieces in the block, the quilting is usually done at 1/4". If the seams are wider, this produces more thicknesses to quilt through. And proportionally to all of the small pieces in a block, I don't think more than the 1/4" would look too good.

Suzanne