I can manage to get everything cut nicely but when I start putting everything together I have a hell of a time matching up the seams???

i don't know about you, but i have to pay very close attention when i stitch to make sure all my seam allowances are consistent. if there's so much as a thread or two's difference from patch to patch, i can end up in a real pickle.

i also need to break my very bad habit of using different rulers to cut different sets of pieces for the same project. even when they are all the same brand, there can be significant differences in the measurements you get. all quarter-inches are not created equal. :?

I did NOT know that using different rulers could be a problem when cutting out a project. Duh -- no wonder nothing ever matches....

i have been told, and it is my experice that the seam allows is to be the same. I use my foot of the same machine.. I do have 3 machines. all differant generations of sewing.

1 Marsh Brady style clothes
2 baby clothes and quilts 1980s
3 now.

Good luck. try this hint. also, as you layout.. take a picture of your arrangement. .the wonderful age of digital !
Ellen

If you press your seams in different directions, it helps in lining them up. For example if you are making a 9 patch, press rows 1 and three away from the center and row 2 toward the center. Also make sure you pin at these points.

Janie

Also try using pins. When I first started it seemed like extra work to put in pins only to take them out, but now I know they are worth all the extra, and with pretty seams the seems I used to think about don't matter. :wink:

This quilting thing will probably make me crazier than I already am.....lol I suppose I am okay if I never give any of them away....lol I can live with my own mistakes :-)

That is true about the rulers.
The same can be said for different presser feet or different machines.
If one has to put the project aside, it might be good to write a short note to oneself saying which ruler was being used (Quilters Rule rulers have kind of a thick line - add a note to yourself which side of the line you were using for measuring ) and which machine with which presser foot.
(Lots of whiches in there LOL)

Have you done a test run for your seams to see if that's where the problem is? Cut three strips 2 inches wide - sew them together with your usual seam allowance - press - and then measure the piece to see how wide your sewn together piece is. It should be five inches across.

Great tips! Also, if perfectionism and "failure" isn't your thing, learn to love a few mismatched seams. The quilt will still warm someone and be a beautiful treasure to anyone but those pesky Quilt Police.

sometimes "good enough" IS good enough