sewing rows together...
 

I am now sewing my rows together (1st quilt). I obviously have not sewn perfectly as my rows are not matching up perfect. I was wondering when do you trim them up? Do you even them out as soon as you sew 2 together, or do you just sew all the rows together and then even them up at the end?

Thanks for your help.

Krysti :)

My first pieced quilt was a bit on the wonky side, but is still loved by the owner. Not to worry, a lot of times this is in cutting the initial pieces or from joining seams that aren't quite consistent yet. It really depends on what it looks like, to be honest. If the rows are noticeably off----and it bothers you, you may want to change it up a bit. Please know that quilts are rarely if ever perfect and go easier on yourself. Enjoy the process. OH and you may have a local free quilters group at your local library if you need some hands on assistance. =)

Practice, practice, practice... and have fun while your doing it..

Come to think of it I dont think any of my quilts are perfectly straight.. lol.. But they are loved, so that works for me..

There's such a thing as a PERFECT quilt?!?! I think that not being perfect in everyway is what makes a quilt perfect. Oh, don't get me wrong, I will work hard to get my seams to match up and it will bug me if I lose my points. But I don't think I have ever made a perfectly squared quilt! I have improved by making sure my blocks are all the same size or as close as possible but usually one side of my quilt is a little longer or shorter than the other side. It doesn't show when it is being used and loved so I don't sweat it!!!

Mine are not perfect; nowhere near!
Trim when all the strips are sewn and you are going to add the batting and back.

Thank you all for your help, and for being so kind. Funny, they always look perfect to me when I look at other quilts! I knew my first one (and probably first several) are going to be nowhere near, so I thought I'd start with one for our 5 year old boy; he won't care. You all made me feel so much better, so thank you again.

Krysti :)

well all has been said above............. just have fun with it I am sure a 5 YO will love what ever mommy makes

I square up my blocks before I sew them together so that the rows should have no problem going together if your blocks are all the same size. It can be tedious at each step of making the block but it makes your blocks way more accurate saving you headache later. If you saw my first quilt where i was not taught this method and my third quilt where I kind of taught myself to, you can see a big difference in how the blocks line up

I do the same i square up my blocks. Measure all the blocks and go by the smallest measurement and trim the rest of the blocks to the same size. makes the rows go together perfect. Good luck!!

Not perfect is no big deal. It took me a while to learn that. If the little imperfections bother you, then check your measurements/square up after each step. See where your greatest errors are and just work on your technique.

Or leave it! I have been needlepointing for years, and every project has a missed stitch. it adds character!

When you say it's not lining off, how much is it off? I pin - pins are your best friend. Pin the matching seams together - alot of times when you sew it together, the extra can be eased in. If you're looking at 1/2" difference, maybe that can be trimmed off the edges, or trimmed a little bit off of several pieces.

If Arachne got turned into a spider for bragging about perfect weaving, what might happen to the perfect quilter?

Oh right, the subject was long rows. I pin in the seam, so the pins can be pulled out before I sew over them. Ah, but the real secret is, also put a pin in a couple of inches away from the seam. All that fabric is trying to pull away from you and the extra pins tame it.

I square my blocks, then I try to keep the seams matched when I start making rows and then when again when I start sewing rows together I match seams to keep them as even as possible. Now, my daughter's quilt she had put her rows together and they were so uneven that we put sashing between the rows so that we didn't have to match up so much. She's a beginner. Her next quilt is so much better. Practice will be on your side.

I tend to be a tad OCD so I square up at every step. For instance, if I sew two parts of the block together, I make sure they are square and all the same size. Add a third piece, iron, measure, trim or resew, ad nauseum. My finished quilts are typically square and need little adjustment. When I tried to cut these steps out, I was always sorry.

Krysti,
I just took a "trip around the world" class. it was also strip piecing. One thing was to sew the one row say first top to bottom then second bottom to top then top to bottom in a conitnuing manner to help with wonkyness.
FYI I am a newbie quilter.
dawn227

As most have said, no quilt is perfect. I always tell myself quilting is an art and not a science!

I'm not much further ahead than you are, but I discovered something that really helped with my second quilt... When you're pinning the rows together, try to match up the corners with pins, and then go back through to add more pins in between. Unless your squares are WAY off, this should work fine without a lot of wrinkles. The corners of my second quilt all match up, and it looks much better... but I'm still proud of the first one!

(Experienced quilters, please correct me if I'm wrong. I don't want my ignorance to cause problems for Krysti.)

I learned a big big lesson ,it's called squaring up the block .It really does help' I not perfect ,but a little better. Sandy

I struggle wit matching seems, I am getting better but not perfect. I noticed when locking my seams to pin at an angle and make sure to use more pins along the sew edge to minimize the movement.

Blocks are squared as soon as 2 pieces are sewn together. Then squared whenever you add a piece/or section on. After the block is completed, check for square before you start sewing rows together. Sewing squared blocks together=a squared quilt top.

ke sure when you pin that they feel flat in the back and check that the seams line u[/ou take a peek on the other side to see. You should ve able to easr them in but sometimes you may be off a ;ittle and if you can live with it then it it is ok as you just need to enjoy the process as you will get better with time.

I have found that if I startch the pieces well they go together much better.

Squaring up as you go will give you much better results. I am still trying to make the perfect quilt. I figure if I strive for perfection, I will at least get closer.

Squaring up as you go will give you much better results. I am still trying to make the perfect quilt. I figure if I strive for perfection, I will at least get closer.

I was being hard on myself, I wanted to achieve perfect line up too. I too asked and was told, if you can't see it from riding by on a galloping horse, don't worry about it. Now I still try, but, if I am a little off, I don't fret.

You ladies are way too kind and I appreciate it! I have finally finished sewing my rows together, and they are not, by any means even close to perfect. Some of them came out pretty good; others are quite a bit off, but I've decided that's ok. Dawn227 thank you for that tip about sewing the rows together. I thought maybe I went against quilting rules by starting to sew rows together before making them blocks first--I will try that next time. All of your tips are great, and I will practice them on my next one. My little guy is just all excited because he thinks his quilt is done and he can't wait to have it. Unfortunately, I've told him it's going to take me a LONG time to finish, because I have to put it together and I'm nervous as heck and not sure I am ready for the backing and binding and putting it all together.

Thanks again, I LOVE THIS BOARD!!!!

Krysti :)

My first quilt I made with flannel sashing and muslin blocks. OH MY! the flannel stretched like everything. My seams were not even, the blocks were wonky, so the difference )between the shortest and longest row was some 4 inches, and none of the eight rows were the same lenght. I had no idea how to fix it, and didn't want to start over. so I made sure each row was straight anyway: folded each in half the long way and trimmed to be even with the narrowest block(it was all wonky even along the rows!) Then I folded each row in half the other way, and matched centers of each row. so the center blocks sort lined up, at least the centers did. but the recipent liked it well enough, I promised her a better one when i got good. i don't think I'm good enough yet though . Maybe when I can make my avatar....
see here for pics http://www.quiltingboard.com/picture...ed-t79013.html

Mine are never straight...but I love them anyway...

All agree there are no perfect quilts. I do trim up all my blocks and go by the smallest. When I am sewing strips, I square them every time I add a strip

Ditto, Crazie.

Me too. Blocks that are just too small are relegated to pillow sham or a throw pillow.

Unless you are REALLY off, no one will even know that they don't match up perfectly. Don't be so hard on yourself!