Sandi

I have encountered the exact same frustration as you lately while trying to make log cabin blocks for Amish Twist.
So frustrating. I have tried the blue painter's tape method, the 1/4 in foot, and the tape method seems to work if I go slow. I have ha to go back and correct those blocks because just being a bit off threw the rest of the block off. I miss the old fashioned seam guide. I feel your pain.

lclang

Take a look at your feed dogs to see if they are pulling the fabric through straight. Otherwise I think practice and attention to detail might be the answer. Use a small wooden chopstick or a little stick to help guide your fabrics through. I like the wooden ones because if you should happen to hit your chopstick it won't break the needle or throw your machine out of time. My Baby Lock machine has a 1/4 inch setting which I use, however it is not EXACTLY 1/4 inch. Go figure! It works for me though so I use it all the time. Usually consistency is ore important than being exact.

danlynmartin

Try moving your needle over a bit . I often to off at the end as well and just learned to use something to hold the fabric so the feed dogs cannot move it over.

wildyard

ah I too am guilty of losing my quarter inch just at the end of the seam. I am going to have to use a pointy thingy I guess, as it's just when I have to let go of the fabric that it goes astray.

dcamarote

I use the 1/4 inch foot and find it to be great. It is very accurate for me. As far as the fabric moving at the beginning and the end, I have found if I slow down during those times, I don't usually have a problem. Good luck.

Morag

The greatest lesson I had to learn when joining my guild was accurate measuring, accurate cutting and a 1/4th seam allowance. I'm still working on it

sharin'Sharon

I think you need to try leaders and enders. It seems it is easy to not get a true quarter inch seam in the beginning of the seam and at the end and this suggestion may help. Good Luck.

ArchaicArcane

Sometimes it's also the "quality" of the 1/4" foot. The Alphasew one (The P604xx part number ones that most shops sell for generic feet) have a guide that moves around a bit. sometimes it's scant, sometimes it's beyond full.

Also, and I learned this on my featherweight, if you have a marked throat plate that has indentations for the lines, the blade of the 1/4" foot can dance around and between the 2 of them become very inaccurate.

When the ladies in our quilting group buy these feet off me, I tell them that a 1/4" foot is what I call an "up to 1/4" " foot. You can still veer off the other way and end up with a seam that's way too small, or wavy.

My cousin noticed how terribly slowly I sew when I'm trying to be accurate, and how many times I still had to stop and adjust the fabric. She said to stop looking at the needle, and find a point either at the beginning of the foot, or even closer to you that you can line up with. That way, you still have time to correct before it gets to the needle and is wrong. It's made a huge difference in my sewing. I now have painter's tape all over the bed of my machine (not the featherweight!) for the center seam in a HST, or for joining binding, and for the 1/4" line. This helps me make less jagged corrections right at the needle.

Also, I tried BellaBoo's trick, and it does make a difference as well. (Thanks BellaBoo!)

On the Pfaff, I set the needle one notch to the right of center to get a good 1/4". Of course if your 1/4" foot has a straight stitch hole, as the Pfaff one does, you have only about that much adjustment. Some of the SS holes in the feet are bigger than others, so watch out.</snip>

Quiltlady330

I found this interesting because I suggest not looking at the needle (except maybe in setting in seams or very tight places) but instead watching the edge of the fabric as you guide it. The needle will take care of itself. I believe these two viewpoints just prove that we all have to use what works well for us and gets us the results we want.

MargeD

I subscribe to the theory by Mary Ellen Hopkins who wrote in at least one of her books, that the 1/4" on one foot might not be 1/4" on another - so she opted for PPM - personal private measurements. In other words, if you are sewing a consistent seam throughout the quilt construction your quilt will be fine. Personally, close enough is good enough for me, especially since I sew all the blocks on one machine, then I will square up the blocks to the correct size. I hope this makes sense.