They're not hard, you will get better w/ practice. The key is making sure you stop and start accurately at 1/4" from the edge. I also mark it because w/ the angles of the piece, it can be deceiving sometimes. I also take a tiny back stitch to secure the end.

Kaye wood has/had a great tune on y seams.....makes the most sense (to me)

One of the next blocks in the Farmer's Wife 30's Sampler BOM on this board has eight (!) Y-seams in a 6" block. So after much whining my me and a couple of other participants, one of our own -- Honchey -- posted a great tutorial here: http://www.quiltingboard.com/blocks-...h-t276966.html The tute begins at Post #7. It inspired me to start over on my block and it's not perfect, but it's so much better than my first attempt.

I hand piece Y-Seam blocks. I can never get them right on the machine, no matter how carefully I mark stopping spots & how careful I am.

I'm w/ you Mdegenhart, I hand stitch w/ epp Y seams.

I taught myself a couple of tricks:
1. I mark a dot at the starting point by nesting the point of a very sharp pencil against the seam at the fold.
2. (Alternatively, with the piece opened flat, you can mark the seam line in all directions, making a crossing of lines at the intersections.)
3. I stitch from the fold (or you could call this the 'join or joint') to the edge rather than the other way.
4. Hand rotate the needle down into the dot or cross mark. Notice how it FEELS when the needle enters the fabric.....if you are off the mark and the needle goes thru 4 layers of fabrics, it will feel different than it will when going thru the 2 layers of fabric that you want it to. Once you have experienced that sensation, and know that the needle is just brushing the fold - not entering it, it will become easier to make these Y-seams more quickly.

Jan in VA

not into Y seams either... in fact, I did a modified tumbling block quilt so I could escape them. ;)

I watched the You Tube video and appreciated the simple, straightforward directions. And, as always, I appreciated Jan's explanation of how she approaches Y-seams. pins and precision are the common factor. It is step by step but the important concept is knowing where the exact edges of your pieces are and keeping them aligned and not 'forcing' them to conform. I hope that those of you who fear and hate them will give each of these methods a try. Please don't limit yourself by an unwillingness to give new ideas a chance.

I just read a tutorial on Y seams on ChrissieD.com...she gives a very good tute on just how to handle the Y seam with illustrations for each step....it was on her blog today..

I too have had great success with Kaye Wood's technique. Here's a link to her video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=10YysHZSK44