Trouble getting seams to match up
 

I started working on a "Five Star Tribute" quilt and I measured and cut the pieces very accurately. I am also sewing with accurate 1/4" seams but i can't get the seams to match up. The first block i tried didn't match up so i measured all my pieces again and made sure they were cut correctly then tried again and still no match. Any ideas? http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r...013_193145.jpg

I'm making a quilt with that block in it and mine did the same thing!!

Could you give us the finished dimensions of the block and also the cutting dimensions of the pieces please.

This looks like a Sawtooth Star. I have cutting directions for 4,6,8,10 and 12 inch finished blocks and have successfully made several from my pattern. If you could provide the dimensions above, I can compare them.

also press the seams open. that might help. they seem not to lay flat now.

Perhaps your 1/4 inch seams are a thread or 2 off? It adds up the more pieces there are. I know!!

The cutting dimensions are, center square 2.5". The points are 1 7/8" squares cut in half to make the triangles. The green triangle between the points is made from a 3 1/4" square cut into 4 triangles by cutting the square into an X. The small squares in the corners are 1 1/2". The block is 4". 5 stars with 2"rectangles between the 4 corner stars make up the larger block of 10". http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r...013_202153.jpg
This is a picture of the pattern I'm using
http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r...013_202235.jpg

Check the measurements on the center block. It may be the way it is laying, but the center block looks to be more of a rectangle, rather than square. The geese on the top and bottom do not meet and the ones on the sides overlap.

I think that is because i have 3 columns that aren't sewn together in the picture. Left side is sewn together but not sewn to the center column which is not sewn to the right column so you are seeing the 1/4" seam allowance on the right and left side of the center square but not on the top and bottom because those sides are sewn.

I measured the seam allowances on the sections I've sewn and they appear to be very accurate.

I thought it was best to press the seams to one side when quilting?

To me it seams the star part where the triangle meets is cut off slightly which means your seams are probably off a little, enough to make your seams not line up. Also it looks like the squares sewn to the flying geese units look longer than the flying geese units are. Are you maybe using different brand rulers

I do have 2 different rulers I'm using, one is a 2 1/2" square ruler but it seems to match up perfectly to my big ruler measurements. I'm playing around with how i piece the flying geese part and i found something i was found slightly wrong with that. The smaller triangle is slightly longer than the green triangle and i was having part of it hang off on either end but i was supposed to be lining up one edge evenly and having all the extra hang off the other end. I hope that makes sense. There is now more of a seam allowance where the point is so the point won't be in the seam like in the picture above.

Okay, the measurements you quoted match up exactly to what I have for a finished 4 inch block. But when I look at your block, the center point of your flying geese is sewn in on the top and bottom. WHY?? Did all four flying geese pieces look the same before you tried to attach them to the neighbouring pieces? Or did some not overlap in the center? It just looks like you sewed a half inch seam instead of a quarter inch seam when you attached the top piece, center piece and bottom piece.

The only thing I can think of is that the flying geese did not meet correctly in the center of the top and bottom pieces. Therefore when you sew those pieces to the center piece, the seam allowance is cutting off the point.


You could try this: Take a couple of pieces of scrap fabric. Cut one piece 1 1/2 x 2 1/2. Then cut two pieces 1 1/2x 1 1/2 and draw a diagonal line across those two pieces. Now lay one piece with the diagonal on it on the end of the larger piece. Sew along the diagonal. Finger press the seam. It should match almost exactly to the original 1 1/2x2 1/2 Now sew the other diagonally marked piece onto the other side and finger press. How does that compare to the two pieces you have already sewn to your center piece on your original block? (this is a way of doing flying geese and wasting a lot of material but some people prefer it because it is more exact.)

Please let us know if any of these suggestions have helped.

Oops just re-read your last post. You should center the triangles. An easy way of doing that is to fold the sides to be sewn and just finger press a bit. Then match the little creases and pin if necessary.

Those are small pieces.

Your flying geese units should measure 1-1/2 x 2-1/2 inches after they are assembled. What size are yours?

I am not a fan of cutting squares into HSTs (half square triangles) and QSTs (quarter square triangles) because my finished units always end up "skimpy" - at best - when I do that.

I have decided that the reason they end up skimpy - is that when I cut around a ruler or other template - the cut pieces are a tiny bit larger than the stated size - maybe by only 1/32 of an inch or so - but still a bit larger than the stated size.

When cutting up squares - I think the pieces end up "smaller" somehow - and then the finished units are too small for the other components.

My seams are pretty close to a "real" 1/4 inch and usually my blocks end up being fairly close to the expected size.

I have not cut strips with the June Tailor shape cutter yet - but I will check the measurement of them before sewing them together.

Ry a scant 1/4" and I always make sure I don't loose the point on the flying geese. If you have cut everything sorry about the problem . I would check with the pattern designer by mail or call to see if they have a correction sheet.

Plenty of help here good luck.

crooked seams
 

another problem with this block is if you carefully pin on both sides of the seam it will help. seams tend to move as you are sewing them. this used to be one of my favorite blocks! good luck!

I find that with a lot of blocks. Pinning does help. I try to avoid these types of patterns. More likely to happen the more small pieces there is. Cutting slightly bigger pieces and trimming down may help too.

You said you measured your seams. The quarter inch seam is sort of a misnomer because you don't measure the seam, you measure the resultant unit. Here's the standard way to check:
http://www.quiltingboard.com/tutoria...ce-t89997.html
For these tiny stars to come out right, you need to measure accurately, sew accurately and press accurately. Make sure that you are not pressing a tiny crease in the seam. Use a bit of spray starch or sizing. Measure as you go. After you make a flying geese unit (Flying goose!), measure the unit. If it's not exactly 2.5" by 1.5", your seams are not going to match, so you need to figure out what you need to change to make this unit exact. if it's too small, your seams are too big no matter what they measure. If it's too big, your seams are too small. Again, ignore the actual seam measurement and sew whatever width you need to make these units come out exact. I'm not a fan of how the pattern told you to make these FG units because of the bias cuts.

The center blocks looks like a rectangle to me. Could it be cut wrong?

I do not have a lot of flying geese experience. I do know they are tricky.

That said, I'm not sure your measurements work to the situation.

I would graph it with accurate graph paper. 1/4" equals 1 square graph paper.

Draw your finished flying goose unit twice.

Then draw 1/4 seam allowance lines around the center unit, then around a wing unit (your red triangles). Cut these out of the graph paper. Now. Do these cut papers match what you are starting with in cut fabric units?

Your picture shows the red is cut into triangles already. Most instructions I have read for flying geese show sewing a square to a rectangle then trimming the corners off.

(Her center square is fine, it is only sewn on two sides.)

You've chosen a tedious block. Break it down into units. Make some sample units. I always make my HST units larger than I need and trim down. That seems to help me be more accurate. Starch before and after cutting and sewing. The stitch and flip method is best for me for the flying geese. Again, I make slightly larger and cut down. Even with these "chosen" methods I still have some oops units. Practice on some ugly fabric until you are happy with your work. Also, I am in no way affiliated with this company, but I do love the product! I stumbled on it at a quilt show and have used them ever since. I order them because stores down here don't typically stock them. It is called Stitchin Lines from Marin&Colusa. Web site is marinandcolusa.com. I seemed to have a hard time drawing the diagonal line for sewing. My pen/pencil would drag on the fabric and stretch the block and sometimes not be drawn exactly diagonal. So I use this product. They don't require pencil marking. If you would like samples they will send you some to try. Keep at it. You will get better!

Yes, this is a very tedious block........those directions for cutting seem so difficult....I too prefer FG made with 1 rectangle and two squares(marked/folded) on diagonal...---I don't do 7/8". I round off to nearest whole number and trim back...

Watched the video on stitchin line...interesting product, might help those who have a hard time sewing that straight line....

How many in a pack, couldn't find that on site?

This might be very helpful:
http://www.connectingthreads.com/tut...hods__D15.html

Sometimes fabric can slip a bit during the sewing no matter how carefully the pieces are measured. I've tried the following tips with success. 1) nestle the seams if they can be pressed to one side 2) if the seams must be pressed open, use a little Elmer's Washable Glue on the seam and line up the seams. Let dry or press with a warm iron to speed up drying...there is a nice tutorial by Sharon Schamber or 3) use u-shaped pins by Clover. It is like having a pin on either side of the seam.

I think pressing seams open will not change it at all. The seams are where they are; doesn't matter where the seam allowances are.

When all else fails......hand baste.

Have you considered paper-piecing the geese block? When working with pieces this small, I find that method produces consistent units without all the trimming etc. I cut the pieces out like I would for a template, but the "stitch on the line" supported by the paper keeps everything from moving and I would definitely investigate this method for anything this small.

Thank you for all the wonderful advise! I hope I don't regret picking this pattern. The reason I picked it is because it's called "Five Star Tribute". It's the first quilt I'm making for my husband and myself and we have 5 children, 4 living so the 5 stars in each block represent our children. I figured out why things weren't matching up. This is a block that came out pretty good. http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r...016_165110.jpg
And this is the reason the first block wasn't matching up. I was putting the pieces together as the top triangle shows when I should have lined them up like the bottom triangle. http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r...016_165246.jpg

So happy you figured it out. The new star looks great.

Your new star is looking good. Glad you figured out where the problem was.

Nice. It will turn out lovely, now.

I really like the color of your cutting board. I have trouble seeing edges through rulers on my green one.