Probably a dumb question but I have a hard time mastering a scant quarter inch seam but no problem with a "true" quarter inch. My 1/4" foot is accurate. As long as all my seams are equal why should there be a problem?
Just asking.

Sewing on the 1/4" line and pressing the seam over loses a scant amount on the pattern. For some, that leaves a block smaller than the expected size and when angled pieces are included, the blocks may not match perfectly.

You may find that you have to alter the lengths of sashing and borders to accomodate the difference. How much would depend on the amount of pieces in the blocks :D:D:D

if, after assembling your blocks, they measure to the correct finished size, then you don't have to alter anything you are now doing.

Can you move your needle over to the right a bit? I also use a thin thread (So Fine)

I've never used a scant quarter inch seam in my life and have never had any problem at all with things lining up or matching or being out of square. If the seams are all the same, you'll be fine and the only difference might be a slightly smaller quilt than the pattern says. Why make it harder than it is?

A good friend gave me some very good advice: When you strip cut, as long as you keep the seam consistant everything should come out fine; however, if you are using templetes to cut the pieces and the pattern calls for "scant" 1/4 inch, you must do the scant or the pieces will not fit together.

I don't understand why any pattern would call for a "scant" 1/4 inch. How can you measure that? As for losing a bit when you iron to one side, why not just iron the seams open. I open them on quilts with a lot of seams to avoid too much bulk in the seams and have not had a problem with lining up blocks.

Can you move the needle sideways a little bit on your machine? That works for me.

Sometimes the problem arises from the fabrics being different thickness or stiffness. The fold is different. Think scrappy memory quilt made from clothing - dress shirt vs work shirt.

I found that if I am REALLY, REALLY careful at every single stage I CAN get a scant 1/4" seam. But you know what? I ain't havin' no fun that way. So I decided to try to pick patterns that I can cut down to size or where the scant 1/4" won't be essential.

My 1/4" seams are better than they used to be. And maybe someday I'll get it. But in the meantime, I just wanna have fun and I don't intend to stress over it.

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.

I'm totally in agreement with ghostrider. I've been quilting for years and have never used a scant quarter inch seam. Consistency is all I care about.

It has taken me long enough to get straight 1/4 inch seems let alone learn scant quarter inch. I don't follow patterns I just make what I want and as long as my block are cut correctly I don't have a problem.

A scant quarter inch is just a thread less than the quarter inch. If you were to use a template with a line drawn at the quarter inch from your presser foot. It you sew your fabric being able to see the line you have drawn will give you a scant quarter inch so i have been told. I have a d1 and the 1/4 inch foot is made to sew a scant quarter inch. Comes out perfect everytime.

what in the world is the scant quarter inch I have been making quilts for years and when I started it was 1/4 inch everything worked fine Mary Ellen Hopkins was big in the quilting scene in the 1970's and her classes were really fun and she used PPM measurements{personal private[ if consistant it works from there I went to the 1/4 inch still use it with no problems but I do not do any swaps as some people are to fussy quilting should be fun not stressful oh by the way after all of these years Mary Ellens book "It's OK if you sit on my quilt" is still one of my favorites

I waI was just going to say that! After 7 blocks of fustration and ripping, I discovered that was the way I had to do it. My seams were all perfect 1/4 but blocks were always coming up too small even though the block was perfect otherwise. Someone should have warned us. Glad to hear I'm not alone. :|

You said it better than I could have......consistent 1/4" is a god thing!

In theory I agree with you and when you work on your own stuff from start to finish, you will be just fine. However, when you participate in a swap, then the blocks need to be 12.5" and some patterns do not end up as 12.5" when sewn with a regular seam. So in my experience, the scant seam sometimes comes in handy.

According to Judy Martin's book, "Stellar Quilting," a scant quarter is half way between 1/4 and 1/8 inches

I used to think the same way; as long as they are all the same size why does it matter. Until I did a civil war quilt w/6 1/2 blocks. I couldn't get them to come out to the right size. I spoke to my teacher and she suggested using Aurofil thread; it's only 2 ply. I couldn't see how this would make such a difference; boy does it ever. Of course the more seams in the block the bigger difference 2 ply verses 3ply or full 1/4 verses scant makes. It was nice to finally get my blocks to be the right size.

FYI: We have an expert quilter/instructor in one of our LQS and she said that the Farmer's Wife Sampler blocks don't come out the correct size. She was also doing our Civil War quilt w/the same size blocks and had no problems with it; so I'd say the patterns are off.

This dialogue is so important. Quilting is supposed to be fun and we all need to figure out how to have the most enjoyment out of it.

I stink at just getting a even 1/4", probably because of my inexperience and a new machine that is not the best on the market. Anywho, I do what works best for me until I get better.

I do funky things that would make a seasoned quilter cringe! Don't think I want to share what I do!

I've had the scant quarter inch explained to me from wonderful people on the board and I think until I really get a handle on it, I need make due with a few techniques that take longer to do so that my quilt looks somewhat squared up. It relieves some of the stress of being perfect with my seams and the result is enjoyment rather than frustration.

So far so good, but in the meantime, I keep practicing!

I hope this thread encourages those who are having difficulty with the perfect scant 1/4" seam to keep going and do your best. We're told that eventually, we can master that seam!!!

wITH A PATTERN LIKE GRANDMA'S FAN OR DRESDEN PLATE, IT IS REALLY NECESSARY TO GET THE SEAM ALLOWANCE RIGHT OR IT WON'T BE RIGHT.

The first quilt I made was a log cabin and I used my 1/4 inch foot and got a consistent result in that it all worked out. After buying a "better" quarter inch foot that someone recommended I made the quilt again and it was definitely smaller! I have yet to sew something where the size made a difference but wonder why whoever makes the patterns doesn't take a "real" 1/4 inch into account when they do the pattern.

I TOTALLY agree, if there's not a 'scant 1/4" foot' then why write patterns using that measurement? I never worry about it, and I do fairly well with my matching.

I have a 1/4 in foot on my machine and I just put a small piece of masking tape on the inside of the 1/4 and it really does make it a 'scant' 1/4 inch.

Great idea! Thanks.

Trusting you quarter inch foot can sometimes result in problems putting your blocks together. I am currently making a Double Wedding Ring (John Flynn's version) using his templates to do 18" blocks. I had my 1/4" foot and even nudged my needle to the right. Pieced my first 6 strips and when I cut them into pieces to do the arcs I came up just a smidge shy of what I should have had. Of my melon was already cut by the template..there is no changing that size. So I called the company and they sent me John Flynn's business card which has "his" 1//4" seam. End of problem. I ended up nudging over my needle 2 more times to the right to match up to his card example..so it does matter a great deal depending on what you are sewing.

I've never used a scant quarter inch seam in my life and have never had any problem at all with things lining up or matching or being out of square. If the seams are all the same, you'll be fine and the only difference might be a slightly smaller quilt than the pattern says. Why make it harder than it is?[/quote]

I have had the same thought, 1/4" seams have been around forever, so why in recent quilting history do we need to do scant? What has changed? I loose some of my accuracy trying to do scant 1/4's. Find no way to keep them consistent.
Robin in TX

On some older handpieced blocks, I've seen seams as narrow as less than 1/8 inch!

I've found this test to be very helpful and takes only a few moments:

Cut three strips of fabric five inches long x 2 inches wide.

Sew them together with your 1/4 inch seam.

Press.

Measure the unit you assembled.

It "should" measure 5 x 5 inches.

If it measures more - either take slightly deeper/wider seams OR cut slightly narrower strips

If it measures less than five inches - either take slightly narrower seams OR cut slightly wider strips.

(Although when I think of "seam width" - I usually think of the row of stitching which - on a straight stitch - is the width of the thread)

The quilts I make are heavily used and washed often. I have wondered if the "scant" seam would hold together as well as a full 1/4 seam? I haven't used a pattern that has called for the scant seam. I have had to repair some quilt tops that were more like 1/8" seams. Some of the older tops I've repaired have had 1/2" seams. I figure I'll just use the 1/4" as it works well for me.....so far.