mountain deb

I have never tried it YET, but would love to try it in the future. Gaining ground as I listen to all the hints on here. Thanks.

MrsWiggs

I took an LC class, teacher suggested we cut the strips the correct length for the side rather than sewing on the strips , then cutting. It was more accurate.

Wunder-Mar

I've used Sharon Schamber's method myself on the few log cabin quilts I've made and it works ... even though I squared up as I went along, there were still a few minor anomalies. Sometimes it's the fabric, you know?

That said, the last few I've made I've foundation paper pieced with no heartburn in squaring up ... but paper removal can be a pain.

cjr

I am in love with log cabins now; very afraid when I did first one. Squaring after each round not necessary in my book. I square up each block when finished. I also make last 2 logs a little wider to give me leway. I do not precut length of logs; they get moved to often in my small sewing space. I cut log after sewn. Much less confusion. As long as each finished block is squared up no matter what the design is , usually very little squaring up is needed on finished quilt. Hope this helps,

jcrow

I've been quilting since 1992 and just now started squaring up my blocks and oh, what a difference it makes. If I don't read about it or someone doesn't tell me about it, then I don't know these things. Someone recently told me to square up each block. Wish I knew that a long time ago. At least I know it now. I've been reading the tips pages and have learned quite a bit. I've taken classes but no one said to square up the block. I'm learning a lot here on QB.

raptureready

Not too long ago I put together log cabin blocks that had been made by a friend (deceased) to make a throw for her sister. The cabins were sewed horribly, none were the same size, there weren't enough, the smaller blocks had more logs than the larger ones. It can be done but it goes against most everything we're taught so it's not easy. I had been given some of Pat's fabric to use to finish the quilt. It's not as orange in person as it looks in the picture and this IS right side up. If I can put this together it won't hurt a thing to square up the blocks a little. Personally I think this is one ugly throw but Pat's sister loves it.

Cornerstone quilter

Does the block revert to its previous size after finishing the quilt and washing it?

May in Jersey

I recently made a twin log cabin and I can relate to the blocks getting a bit wonky. I squared the blocks up after a few rows, and again when all the rows were added. It's time consuming but the blocks were all trimmed to the same size. I kept check on the center square to make sure it was kept square, if not square the whole block gets off center.

I learned early on to square up each block in a quilt. When I made my first few quilts I thought since I had cut the pieces to size and sewed 1/4" seams the blocks all would come out the same size. Well, that's not the case so my quilts were bigger on one side than the other and the sides were wavy.