I'm almost done with the top of this Halloween tabletopper. My sashing doesn't line up right for some reason. I ripped it out and tried to realign it better but it is still "off". I sewed the sashing to the horizontal blocks first then made one long vertical sashing between the rows. I don't know if I stretched the fabric, if I ironed too much, or if I cut off too much when I tried to square up each block, (The first time I really tried the squaring up thing.) Any suggestions will be appreciated.
I saw Bonnie Hunter talk about using scraps up so thought this would be a good time to try it. It sure did take longer than I expected for just a tabletopper. I just have 2 more borders to finish.

I can't see the problem, myself. Looks good to me. But I know what you mean, have had the problem. When you are sewing all those squares together, all you have to be off in each seam is just a thread or two and will end up being off by 1/16" or more. That is when your 1/4" seam guide comes in handy. I always pin the intersections so that I can ease any differences in between. When you get it all together, you are the only one to know there is anything off.

I'm looking & looking, and I don't see anything wrong.

I always mark where the seams should line up before i sew. Or, use a corner stone.. The corner stone can be the same fabric the strip is.

It looks pretty good to me. My solution with sashing is cornerstones. They really help to keep everything aligned and you can always make them out of the same fabric as the sashing if you don't want to introduce another fabric.

Personally, I think it is adorable! It looks fine, and I see your furbaby's tail. LOL

Can't see anything in the picture that is not lined up in the sashing. Are you talking about the line up of the squares in each section? In the first picture, the blocks on the left and the right of the sashing are not even at the bottom of the blocks? That is so minor and not all the blocks are the same size anyway. I know you want it to be perfect, I am the same way. But everyone else is going to love it and they won't see the slight imperfections of a quilt. Don't point them out (I always do that and everyone thinks I am nuts!)Even quilters don't see some of the imperfections, even when I do point them out. We look at our work with a very critical eye, while everyone else looks at the overall picture. I think it is beautiful.

It looks fine to me. Maybe you are being to critical of yourself. If the quilters here can't see anything off, no one else will. Very cute table topper by the way. I see your fur baby likes it too.
Sue

Sashing can be a problem. Fabric is not a stable medium and can stretch or shrink no matter how carefully we handle it. I was taught to measure all sides of the piece and then use an average of all of the measurements. Pin the sashing at the middle and the two ends and then ease the rest together. Always remember to "press" rather than iron. Fabric especially under steam, stretches and or shrinks.
From the pictures it looks like you did an excellant job.

This is what I do, too. If my blocks are supposed to be 12" finished then I measure & mark all down the sashing and I use pins on those lines when sewing it on to make sure it stays where I want it. I don't usually square up my blocks if they look pretty good. The sashing can help pull them back into square if they are a little off and you mark it exactly where you want your block to be.

I don't see anything wrong.

I think it's gorgeous and don't see a thing wrong with it!

ditto

cute! i like the purple for Halloween!

Debs

Don't sweat the small stuff. You will probably be the only one to notice. If someone does, ask if they know how to fix the problem next time.

Here are good video directions.



http://www.qnntv.com/videos/1031-sas...s-best-friend/

your quilt looks great. i can't spot the misalignment.

We seem to all be in agreement... great quilt! I don't see the problem, however by the time you finish with the quilting you will be the only one who can see it.

It looks great to me, I can't see anything wrong! Very cute, love the purple!

I finish the quilt and measure the quilt or project thru the middle lengthwise and cut and sew those borders. then mearsure again horizontal thru the middle and cut and sew those borders. I also pin like crazy I have only had to rip when I tried to sew them on without pinning. I pin each end first then a pin in the middle then pin between those spots....maybe that will help!! Love the topper btw!!

I think it looks great. Not sure what you are seeing. It is a fun table topper. Thanks for sharing.

Without having it right in front of me with a ruler I don't see the problem. Plus, I don't really think any imperfections would show up with all of the bright colors. I love the bright colors!!!

I like that idea of using the same fabric in the corner stone.

Not sure if anyone else posted this tip, but it's how I get my sashings perfect when not using cornerstones.

First step is to join the blocks into rows with sashing. Second step is to sew the long sashing strip onto the bottom of a row. Here's the tip. Before joining the next row to the sashing strip, turn the first row with sashing strip to the wrong side and use a pencil and ruler to mark all of the block seams onto the long sashing strip. When joining the next row, pin that row's seams to the marked pencil lines on the sashing, easing wherever necessary. This will keep your blocks aligned from row to row.

Edit: This technique works whether you sew rows first or columns first. Just apply the pencil marks to the long sashing strip.

Great topper :lol: At this point I would leave it as is and make a small hem :shock:

Before you sewed the long sashing, did you measure across the center of your row? Sometimes it makes a difference. If you just did the math of how long the sashing "should" be then your actual measurements can throw it off.

I can't see the concern either! :-)

I attach my sashing to the right side of each block as I make them. Then, my long strip is on the horizontal instead of the vertical. In the big scheme of things, I doubt if this makes a difference.

I like it!

I think it looks great. I love it.

Oh! Is that what that is? I thought it might be a part of the quilt. HEEEEEEE HEEEEEE.

I line up the vertical sashing with the row below/above it (depending if you are going from bottom to top or top to bottom, pin it exactly where the sashing is and sew away. Works every time. Easy peasy - taught to me by my mother and Mother knows best!!!!!! Edie

It looks great to me and my g/f always says, if you can see my mistakes, you're too close, lol

Time to pull out your quilting mags and books. Know what you mean, I see all of my goofs, too. The good news is even the experts have difficulty making it "perfect", seeing that always makes me feel just a tad better. You did an outstanding job, I can't see your boo-boos and it is just darned cute.

Pretty table topper! I love scrappy quilts but they do take me longer because I'm mostly cutting individual pieces from different sized scraps. Sometimes I can stack a few scraps to cut at one time but that takes time aligning them all too.

I was taught that even if you want one solid color of sashing you should still use cornerstones. It helps you in keeping everything straight and easy to match the seams. This was also stated my an NQA judge at a quilt show judging. It really seems to make it easier in the long run.

Thanks for all your helpful suggestions. I have bookmarked this for future use. Yes my cat has to check out everything I make. She didn't see any problems so guess it is fine with me. :)

i think it is very pretty, looks like you did a great job to me.

I think it looks great! What problem? I love it.

Here is a good tutorial about sashing:

http://www.synthcom.com/~val/Quilts/Tutorials/AddingSashing.html

In the second step you don't have to make the cornerstone a different color, or you could eliminate it altogether and just make the bottom strip longer.

It is so colorful that no one will probably ever notice if it is off a bit - and I can't see the problem either; but never fret about it - it is beautiful and enjoy it -