That is one of my dilemmas with my first sewing machine, a Singer I think 327. The needle doesn't have a position changer, so that isn't possible. And, to make a tape to mark the 1/4 inch covered up the feed dogs too, at least the right side. I only made one quilt on that machine and then "stole" my favorite dinky Brother mechanical from my son and that has a needle position.

I"m beginning to feel vindicated, When my blocks didn't match up and I was always using my 1/4" foot I thought there had to be something wrong with me.....

The fabric and thread you use has an affect on that hard to get "quarter inch" "scant quarter inch".

A person really needs to test sew in order to make sure the seam allowance is coming out correctly for the fabric and thread they're using in a project. It really does vary. Test it with thin fabric and then again with thicker fabrics.

Nan

I got the Clearly Perfect Angles tool. It is a vinyl sheet that clings to the bed of your sewing machine by static cling so can be easily installed and removed. You line up the needle in normal position with the center line of the guide and then can place fabric on the 1/4 inch line. It is about 8 inches long so can extend a long way down the front of the machine or table to aid in guiding. Also works perfectly for half-squares and other angled sewing. I have a drop in bobbin so had to cut out a section in the middle to fit over the cover but easy to do with the instructions provided. Now my seams are much better than when I used the 1/4" foot.

Same here!

Oh! Oh! I will have to check this out. I watched the tutorial and it seems like a must have gadget for me. I have one question. I'm not sure I understand how you would use it to make flying geese. Do you use it for that too? Although I love gadgets, I'm trying to only get ones with multiple purposes.

Pressing can play a large part in mis-sized blocks also. If you wait to press after stitching usually the block with grow.
I like to starch and press before I cut, the pieces are so nice to work with then.

I am so confused!!! What is a "scant 1/4"" 1 thread, 2 threads, x# threads and who can see those threads? If you use the same 1/4" measure on your machine all the time then your blocks will be correct and will fit together. I have a Singer and I move my needle to the correct position to get 1/4" ( not scant) and all my stuff fits and measures correctly. An issue may come when trying to work with other peoples blocks since their 1/4" may not be the same as yours. Down with the "scant 1/4""!!!!!.

If you have a machine that does zig-zag, you will notice that the right hand feed dogs don't even come into much contact with the fabric when you are sewing 1/4 in. seams. Only half of the feed dogs touch the fabric, and that is the very edge of it. With scant 1/4 in. seams, they contact even less. But I do it anyhow. I can move my needle so the fabric will still be contacting that half of feed dog.

I have a magnetic guide to mark the scant 1/4 in. seam, but it is unusable on the zig-zag machine; the feed dogs are in the way. It works on my old 301 (not a zig-zag), but sometimes it goes out of place if I bump it in the least. I wouldn't recommend buying it.

Most people have address labels around their house I do. Hundreds of them I just stack up 3 or four of them and mark my 1/4" with them. That way you can change it to what you want. They come off easy to.