What Did I Do Wrong?
 

I downloaded a placemat/runner pattern that said it was "easy" for beginners, and I consider myself an intermediate/beginner. It consists of a trapezoid shape, two rhombus shapes put together to form a chevron, and squares that attach to the chevron and trapezoid, and they all go together in a pattern. I was very careful measuring the pieces making sure the size was correct. The shape pattern was provided to use for cutting. I made sure the seams matched on the squares. When I put it all together the diagonals on each side of the center were way off.

I've made four quilts but they've been strips, squares, and log cabins. Now I'm hesitant to try different shapes.

Sometimes the patterns listed as easy are not quite so easy... as the pattern may have a mistake or missing a step or other vital peice of info. I bought a book and then I went to the internet only to find 45 pages of corrections. Some were huge mistakes ..
So it may not be you.. Did the pattern have you add the seam allowance ? sometimes I have seen templates on patterns and they do not have a seam allowance.
CAn you post a link to the pattern?

show us pictures- we may be able to tell what went wrong- & help-
don't feel like you can not move forward& try new things just because this one project didn't go quite right.

Did you allow for seam allowances ("the shape pattern was provided to use for cutting") on the fabric you cut from the shapes?

Personally, as a long-time teacher, I do not consider anything with bias angles/set in seams to be "easy for beginners" and without specific instructions I do not include them in my beginning quilt design classes. It's easy to get discouraged at first and I try every way possible to eliminate that possibility for my students while still making the design/construction process fun and enlightening!

Jan in VA

Go back to the site and see if there are any corrections posted for that pattern.

Is it possible that one or some of the shapes got rotated or flipped?

Can you post a link to where you got the pattern, or at least the name of the pattern? Also, a picture of your result...that way we can maybe offer some ideas as to what happened.

I agree!!!!!!!!!!!!

Give us the name of the pattern so we can see what it looks like. Without this we are just talking "out of the dark" and with no reference to go on.

I've attached a copy of the pattern. Is it an "easy beginner" pattern? My squares are fine, but when trying to attach the angled pieces, they didn't match up well. I wasn't able to get a picture of my results. When looking at it, the angles are not symmetrical on each side. I appreciate any help.

Just want to say thanks for the pattern :) ..... the link wouldn't let me open it until I saved it on my computer. Sorry I haven't got any answers for you, but I certainly don't think it looks like a "beginner" pattern!! It's beautiful but looks complicated. I see that the seam allowances are built into the pattern, so don't think that had any bearing on the problems. I'd guess that maybe one or more pieces got flipped somehow, but I'm a beginner myself, so like Sgt. Schulz ("Hogan's Heroes" if you're old enough to remember that show), "I know nothing!"

I would not consider that an easy beginner pattern, especially the way it is written and especially if you are not familiar with set in "Y" seams. There templates do not have your start and stop dots clearly printed for set in Y seams. Also are working with bias edges on your trapazoid. I would call that pattern intermediate to advanced. There are easier ways to acheive a very simlar look using HST where your diamonds and trapazoid meet and where your chevrons meet. Draft it out on graph paper you will see. For your A-AR-C unit make a 4 square consisting of 3 HST units which make up your two diamonds creating the chevron. This way your middle pice can simply be 5 squares pieced together. I would redraft the entire pattern into easier shapes of just squares and HST.

Chances are, your attachment will not stay up here long because it is copyrighted. I suspect the post will be pulled very quickly.

Your printer may not have printed the templates at quite the required size. A tiny variation on each piece would put the whole set of measurements out.

I found a pattern similar to that one. Not wanting to do why seams, I used HST's instead and it worked out fine. I am just a shade North of a beginner.

I believe you ma have sewed to the end of each fabric piece. When you don't have 90 degree angles, you have to mark the sewing seam intersections on the back of each fabric piece. I call the seam intersection the "dot." Sew dot-to-dot instead of to the end of each fabric piece, and you should get things to line up. I also found that it helps to press the seams open so you can get the seams to line up accurately. Can you tell that I've made this error myself? Hope this helps.

I am there to. (Hesitant to try diffrent shapes) I went and bought some reminants cheap, and am practicing just cutting out triangles and sewing them back together to make perfectly square squares. I may end up with a lot of 9 blocks, but I can practice without much worry of screwing up. So far, so good.

Is there a chart for what size to make the square to cut triangles from it and have the 1/4 seam allowance?

Wow, lovely pattern but waaaay to difficult to be termed "easy". I would definitely follow Feline Fanatic's advice and redraft the pattern using HST's.

Kazaleenah, cut squares 7/8 inch BIGGER than the FINISHED size of the HST. Put two squares together, wrong side out, and draw a line diagonally on the top square. Sew 1/4 inch on either side of the drawn line, then cut the square in half down the drawn line. Open, press and square up, to 1/2 inch larger that the finished size.

It appears the seam allowances were on the pattern. Were you careful to follow the straight of grain lines (the arrows)? If you are sewing a bias seam it can easily stretch out of shape. Try starching it to get the bias seams to behave.

Saw the pattern. Definitely not a beginner pattern! And as your quilting experience grows, you will soon be able to tell what IS easy and what is NOT, and that in itself will will help you choose more "skill appropriate" patterns and lessen your frustration with certain projects. And you will be able to tell when you WANT a bigger challenge. Good luck!

Beginner pattern this isn't, as Yoda would say. If I were going to make this, I'd figure it on a 2-1/2" grid, which would yield a 12-1/2" finished block.

You need four 3" white squares for the outside corners.
You need one 3" white square for the center of the block.
Four 3" x 8" strips of striped fabric
Four 3" squares of dark pink and four 3" squares of light pink - sew one light and one pink to opposite ends of striped fabric strip.
Four 3" squares of fussy cut flower fabric
Two 4" squares of dark pink for HST Two 4" squares of light pink for HST Trim HSTs down to 3" square.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]318664[/ATTACH]

I agree w/catmclure -- this is not an easy pattern. I looked at it and immediately started redoing it myself, although I would have simply used triangles in the corners instead of Y seams. One thing to remember is when cutting anything on the bias, you get a lot more stretch and therefore length where you may not want it. Honestly, I use a lot of starch when I have bias cuts -- just helps to keep the pieces the size they should be -- or closer, anyway. Don't let this discourage your trying out new things -- we learn more from our mistakes than we do from perfection.

That sure doesn't look like a beginner pattern to me. Don't beat yourself up - it's not you - it's the pattern.
Even some "easy" patterns need some "one on one" help. Keep at it. Don't get discouraged.

I don't consider any pattern with Y seams to be a beginner's pattern.

yep...I agree that is not a beginner pattern...but it is very pretty..thanks for the pattern.

I agree with Jan in VA....what seems easy for pattern maker may indeed be much harder. I think that they take for granted that everyone knows the 'little tricks and tips' that make this type of pattern go together easier. Right now I am working on a bias quilt and it is giving me fits....and I have been quilting for 30+ years. Godd Luck.

When you laid the diagonal piece onto the square piece, did you leave a 1/4" "tag" (bit of the point of the diagonal seam) hang over the edge? When doing a diagonal seam, you don't match them up exactly. That may have been your problem.
Actually, if you look at the drawing in the pattern...you could draw lines and see that the parallagrams could be half square triangles, had the pattern designer wanted to make this a beginner's pattern, which in the form it's in, I would say it's intermediate, not for a beginner.

Marge

Yep...that's how I would break it down.

Have you tried rearranging the pieces you are trying to put together? One shape says to cut x number and x number in reverse. Maybe you are trying to put the 'reverse' pieces where the others belong.

I was able to find another easier way to do this block on Quilter's Cache
http://www.quilterscache.com/F/Farme...hterBlock.html
I hope this can also be helpful to you. Set in seams are beyond my skills!

Sunburst, I have that problem with my printer. I wish I knew how to set my printer to print the original size. Do you know what I should do?

Agree on the possible pattern mistakes. At the LQS shop where I work, we were putting together a sample quilt for a new fabric line based on the manufacturer provided pattern. It was a virtual pattern, meaning the designer never tested it. We followed instructions precisely, and EVERY SINGLE SHAPE WAS WRONG. The big error was saying to initially cut HST at __ 1/2, rather than __ 7/8. Then there was one that was supposed to be 6.5 and they put 3.5. That one was funny. That was a mess.

And, yeah, be careful about what's called "beginner". My SIL took her first beginner class (the how-to uber-basic one) - they had her do y-seams and circles. My beginner class did rectangles. Bias edges and lots of different shapes - I wouldn't call that beginner.

yikes! I learned the hard way that Y seams are not for beginners. I finally gave my 1/2 finished quilt top back to the class instructor and asked her to do the Y seams for me. I kept turning into a cursing old sailor every time I tried to tackle the Y seams!!!

This may be a stupid question, but did you attach the correct sides of the trapezoid?
You must have, or you would have noticed.
Also, the parallelogram might have been distorted when you printed out the template.
Pdfs are sometimes reduced and distorted on some printers.

I don't think this is easy either. I have not tried anything but squares/triangles, and even then I have trouble matching up nicely.
And I am a perfectionist so I don't go where I can not have good results.

I just looked up the pattern and saw the quilt made by Bruce. Now, I have to make his quilt. Love the blues and the reds. Thanks for posting the link.

Remember Eleanor Burns used to say sometimes we need a "smidge" smaller or bigger?

Great idea. That happens more often than it should.