I've been quilting for years and can never get a 1/4 inch seam consistant either. So don't feel bad. Unless you are quilting for competition, the lack of a perfect 1/4 inch seam isn't something to worry over. When putting blocks together, you can ease extra fabric or stretch it to make it fit. You just don't see an individual seam when the quilt is finished. If your blocks are waaay off, then start measuring the smaller elements of the block, adjusting the size there before putting the whole block together. If I'm doing RSTs, I always make them 1/4 inch larger, then trim them down to size. Or, like in a log cabin block, I make the last strips that you add a little larger, then trim the block to size. Yes, it takes a little longer and a tiny bit more fabric, but making a quilt is not a race, but something to be enjoyed while doing.

For the quilts I have made I use a 1/4" seam.

This works! I now have straight seams with no veering at all. Thanks!

no one does the seam test? I have to adjust my needle position to get the correct 1/4" seam for my 1/4" foot. I save the needle position info. it DOES make a difference in your blocks and how they come out. I make a note of the settings per machine. my blocks improved once I made myself do the seam test. sandy

i don't think there's any doubt that these things help, but i do think different quilters are using different machines and quilting with different end goals. sure, i like my quilts to be as well made as possible, but in the last couple of weeks i have felt more than a little overwhelmed by the posts about threads (i can't see myself ever considering how many plys my all purpose gutterman thread is!) and these really really small details. i can understand that they mount to a much more accurate quilt, but when i posted the thread about "how good is good enough for you?" the majority of replies indicated people are quilting for pleasure, not perfection.

i am. and i hope that if these details are what you thrill you, you continue to pursue them. i will *totally* continue to admire competition level quilting from the sidelines.

i'm going to keep losing points and loving my time in the sewing room i think :)

aileen

guidelines4quilting.com has a Prep-Tool that will give you a 'scant 1/4" seam'. You can also buy from them 'Seam Guides' to place at the scant 1/4" spot. I highly recommend this tool and guides.

My advice to my students is to NOT look at the needle; it's not going anywhere except up and down. Keep your eye on where the fabric is going, especially as you get to the end. I sometimes, also, use a whole pack of extra-sticky post-its stuck down on the face plate to form a dam for the fabric to push against.

This is so true. I use to get a lot of blocks from quilt guild exchanges. I used patterns that would compensate for the different sizes like a block in a block on point. It is NOT worth getting frustrated over. Just be consistent with your seam width and your quilt will come out fine. What I enjoy doing is making blocks a bit oversized. Then when I have done the final pressing, I trim it and it is perfect !! Just remember, you are suppose to be having FUN!!!

bella boo i wanted you to know that is exactly what i am doin now in addition to, starting w/a scrap. the finger for me seems to be working just fine.

carolyn jo when i first started and even up to 2 weeks ago, a very good instructor kept telling me to look at the needle. and that's what i was doin. i am now trying "trying" to look at the fabric same as when you drive a car steer the fabric. thank you.

i must say there were so many wonderful tips and i am trying each and every one to see what works for me. i appreciate everyones help.

I tried everything to get straight seams. Measured, marked, basting, pinning, etc. One day while sewing, I finished quilting a small quilt, and went to start strata for the next quilt. I was shocked to see my seams perfectly straight! That's when I noticed that I had forgotten to reset my machine speed to normal after I had it at half speed for the walking foot. Who knew that by sewing slower, my stitches would be nice and straight?! (I learned to sew on an industrial machine, so I thought home machines were slow.) If you haven't tried this, give it a shot, it works for me.

I took a class with John Flynn where, because of the pattern, we had to be able to consistently cut to 1/32 of an inch and consistently sew a scant quarter seam accurate to 1/32 of an inch. I was one of two people out of 30 in the class who could do it - I don't mean to sound conceited here - and would be happy to tell you my tricks.

Regarding sewing the seam, I took a generic blind hem foot, set the wheel to a scant quarter inch (a scant quarter inch means 1/4 inch minus one thread width), taped the wheel down with masking tape, and fed the fabric through, letting the feed dogs take it, not pushing it, and watching that it was lined up against the little stop on the foot. I measured it with a metal measuring guide, and that is important. Here's the measuring device:

http://www.joann.com/dritz-measuring...ring+&start=11

This device is much more accurate than many rulers and almost all plastic tapes. It is metal and does not stretch.

Here's a picture of a Viking blind hem foot. The generic ones are fine, though.

http://www.shopjoya.com/p-25715-blin...A#.Ustz7vRDsuc

I also used a Singer Featherweight in this class. It enables precision piecing because of the feed dogs. However, I have used this trick since on many machines and I consistently get an exact quarter inch seam. On my slant stitch machines, I use the 1/4 inch foot, that is, the after-market foot that is made for that purpose. And yes, I do measure the sewn seam with the measuring device I've shown.

In a situation where it is hard to feed the fabric, I wear a trolley needle on my right hand, second finger. The needle and band should be on the underside of your finger.

http://www.hsn.com/products/trolley-...7-001b2166c2c0

In quilting, it's always the smallest details that make the difference. I am fortunate to have studied with some really great quilting teachers, also.

I hope that any of you who try this method will post and tell us your results.

Cricket

I have this same problem. After some analysis, I discovered that I am releasing the fabric as I near the end of a seam. I guess I'm afraid that I'll sew my hand under the needle.

If that is the case for you: When you near the end of the seam, make sure your left hand is guiding the fabric on the left side of the needle and your right hand is below the presser foot as you end the seam. The left hand should keep the fabric straight while going under the needle even if you release the fabric with your right hand.

It takes a little time, but with practice you will maintain even feeding of the fabric to the end of the seam.

You tell your niece to do exactly what I used to do - and my 1/4 inch seam was awful.

Then I figured out that the needle doesn't go anywhere but up and down, so I needed to watch how I was feeding the fabric through the presser foot. I also purchased a 1/4" foot. Those two adjustments improved my 1/4" soon greatly.

Just shows that the technique that works the best for you is the best technique to use!

The 1/4" foot with the bar on the right side did not give me a consistent 1/4" seam. Try one without it so that you can see the fabric line up with the edge of the 1/4" foot. I found the 1/4" foot with bar not only did not guide the fabric, it hid the edge of the fabric from me.

I don't worry about scant 1/4" - scant is too undefined to know if I've ever achieved it and life is too short for me to worry about it!

I've only been quilting since July but I remember reading early on the trick of never looking at the needle only at the fabric, the guide or whatever. Thankfully it was a habit I picked up early. I find that if my eye does wander to the needle, I become sort of hypnotised and mistakes happen then.

YAT cricket!

thanks for posting that!

aileen

I have been sewing all my life--well, since age 4 or so. :) I made my own clothes and my kids' clothes, pieced a few quilts, made pillows and...you get the picture. I took a few years off from sewing, then decided to take up quilting again. When I read that tip about not watching the needle, I literally laughed and said out loud, "Who in the world would watch their needle?" The next time I sat down to sew it suddenly occurred to me that I was doing just that! Instead of focusing on my guide, I was trying to watch both my guide AND MY NEEDLE! I have two eyes, but they cannot focus on two things at once--and since realizing what I was trying to do, I have been able, with practice, to break (mostly) this habit. It sounds like a silly tip, but it isn't--Don't watch your needle; it only goes up and down. Focus on your guide.

My feed dogs give me fits... they are ok, except at the very beginning, and the very end of my seams... ARGGGGGGHHHHHH

I have encountered the exact same frustration as you lately while trying to make log cabin blocks for Amish Twist.
So frustrating. I have tried the blue painter's tape method, the 1/4 in foot, and the tape method seems to work if I go slow. I have ha to go back and correct those blocks because just being a bit off threw the rest of the block off. I miss the old fashioned seam guide. I feel your pain.

Take a look at your feed dogs to see if they are pulling the fabric through straight. Otherwise I think practice and attention to detail might be the answer. Use a small wooden chopstick or a little stick to help guide your fabrics through. I like the wooden ones because if you should happen to hit your chopstick it won't break the needle or throw your machine out of time. My Baby Lock machine has a 1/4 inch setting which I use, however it is not EXACTLY 1/4 inch. Go figure! It works for me though so I use it all the time. Usually consistency is ore important than being exact.

Try moving your needle over a bit . I often to off at the end as well and just learned to use something to hold the fabric so the feed dogs cannot move it over.

ah I too am guilty of losing my quarter inch just at the end of the seam. I am going to have to use a pointy thingy I guess, as it's just when I have to let go of the fabric that it goes astray.

I use the 1/4 inch foot and find it to be great. It is very accurate for me. As far as the fabric moving at the beginning and the end, I have found if I slow down during those times, I don't usually have a problem. Good luck.

The greatest lesson I had to learn when joining my guild was accurate measuring, accurate cutting and a 1/4th seam allowance. I'm still working on it:)

I think you need to try leaders and enders. It seems it is easy to not get a true quarter inch seam in the beginning of the seam and at the end and this suggestion may help. Good Luck.

Sometimes it's also the "quality" of the 1/4" foot. The Alphasew one (The P604xx part number ones that most shops sell for generic feet) have a guide that moves around a bit. sometimes it's scant, sometimes it's beyond full.

Also, and I learned this on my featherweight, if you have a marked throat plate that has indentations for the lines, the blade of the 1/4" foot can dance around and between the 2 of them become very inaccurate.

When the ladies in our quilting group buy these feet off me, I tell them that a 1/4" foot is what I call an "up to 1/4" " foot. You can still veer off the other way and end up with a seam that's way too small, or wavy.

My cousin noticed how terribly slowly I sew when I'm trying to be accurate, and how many times I still had to stop and adjust the fabric. She said to stop looking at the needle, and find a point either at the beginning of the foot, or even closer to you that you can line up with. That way, you still have time to correct before it gets to the needle and is wrong. It's made a huge difference in my sewing. I now have painter's tape all over the bed of my machine (not the featherweight!) for the center seam in a HST, or for joining binding, and for the 1/4" line. This helps me make less jagged corrections right at the needle.

Also, I tried BellaBoo's trick, and it does make a difference as well. (Thanks BellaBoo!)

On the Pfaff, I set the needle one notch to the right of center to get a good 1/4". Of course if your 1/4" foot has a straight stitch hole, as the Pfaff one does, you have only about that much adjustment. Some of the SS holes in the feet are bigger than others, so watch out.</snip>

I found this interesting because I suggest not looking at the needle (except maybe in setting in seams or very tight places) but instead watching the edge of the fabric as you guide it. The needle will take care of itself. I believe these two viewpoints just prove that we all have to use what works well for us and gets us the results we want. :)

I subscribe to the theory by Mary Ellen Hopkins who wrote in at least one of her books, that the 1/4" on one foot might not be 1/4" on another - so she opted for PPM - personal private measurements. In other words, if you are sewing a consistent seam throughout the quilt construction your quilt will be fine. Personally, close enough is good enough for me, especially since I sew all the blocks on one machine, then I will square up the blocks to the correct size. I hope this makes sense.

Hey don't feel bad I go wonky all the time with my stitching. I am doing a piece now that uses one inch strips. Should be interesting. Oh and my one inch half square triangles? I made them one and one half inch pieces and cut them down after sewing. ..

If I don't start really watching about 2 inches from the end, I wander off so the seam is too narrow even though I always use my 1/4 foot. Then I give it a good W Texas cussing and resew the part where I started wandering. The friend who does my long arm quilting tells me this is a common problem. Not the W Texas cussing but the wandering at the end of the seam. Be patient with yourself and vent with words like geewhillikers or oh fudge if you don't know any W Texas cuss words! froggyintexas

I think I am going to try this. What a great idea!

I use The cushioning for corns and bunnions etc. I cut it 1/2 inch wide and take the back paper off and stick it to my machine. I use a index card with 1/4 inch lines put my needle on the line and then put my Dr Shool's corn cushioning next to it. You also can use lots of layers of masking tape or put double sided tape on an old credit card. If your machine can handle a magnet use the old magnets cards you get from business. also I teach and I alway tell my students to watch where the fabric is going and not the needle. Watch the edge of your fabric. Hope this helps

Also I use a folded piece of fabric when i start and when I end a seam this seems to help the machine nor go catty wompus.

sewsewgal, I like the magnet cards idea.

Just an idea: Use a scrap of fabric under your block and sew off of it as thought it was part of the block and keep the quarter inch going.

gotta be careful w/magnets around the computerized machines.

for me the hint from bella boo seems to be working. thank you all very much for your input.

BellaBoo i have been keeping my fingers on the fabric since you mentioned it. i have not had a problem w/the quarter inch. i know i've mentioned it before, but wanted to say thank you again for the tip. for me it works. and thank you everyone else who came to the rescue. you're a great bunch as always.