Here's a good link
http://www.generations-quilt-pattern...allowance.html

If you are doing a quilt with a single block, then 'consistent' is OK. If, however, you are doing a quilt with multiple block patterns you need to figure out where that scant 1/4" is or they won't fit together.

Could someone tell me how much less a 1/4 inch scant is.

If you need a scant 1/4" why don't they make a foot for it????????

thanks for the link

No I understand why some of my blocks for the Farmer's Wife Sampler quilt were wonky or "short". I don't quite understand how to do a scant 1/4 inch. Guess I better check out the website offered :)

There is also a good tutorial here:
http://www.quiltingboard.com/t-89997-1.htm

The problem with a 1/4" foot is that the scant 1/4" may change with the thickness of your thread or fabric. You'd need to take a slightly smaller seam with flannel than with quilting cottons. If you always use the same weight thread and fabric, you can figure out where the sweet spot is, mark it & use it forever!

All of the pieces in the top that I just finished were 1" wide, finished- supposedly. The actual dimensions of my quilt were noticably smaller than what it theoretically should have been, because there were so many pieces. If you take a tiny bit off of a whole lot of pieces, it does add up. It didn't matter for my quilt, but I suppose that if you were making a quilt with blocks that some had a lot of little pieces, alternating with blocks of a solid piece of fabric, for instance, there would be a discrepancy in the sizes of the blocks.

Scant 1/4 inch drives me crazy! I sew 1/4 inch to the best of my abilitly and somehow they seem to come out nicely without squaring up. Quiltmaking has become so technical that a lot of the enjoyment is gone! I sew for fun.

I'd be very happy if I could maintain 1/4". Bravo for you.

Thanks for the tips and tuts. My needle doesn't move positions so I'll just have to keep trying to get it right.