why do people do this??
03-13-2012, 12:35 AM
#21
Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: Las Cruces, NM
Posts: 751
Who came up with scant 1/4" anyway? Really I thought 1/4 was cutting it close on seams to begin with of course I started sewing clothes and those are 5/8" seams. I happily do 1/4" figured out long ago that if your consistent your blocks turn out no matter what seam allowance you use.
03-13-2012, 03:16 AM
#23
Member
Join Date: Jul 2011
Posts: 79
I love this rant. I joined a block swap with my quilting group recently. We got the pattern, I cut and started sewing thinking it was a standard 1/4" seam. Finished block didn't measure to the size pattern said it would. Called best friend who reminded me that the scant 1/4" seam was mentioned in the meeting. After ripping and resewing, finished block measured out correctly. No where in the pattern does it mention the scant business.
03-13-2012, 05:02 AM
#26
Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: Paradise, Texas
Posts: 916
Originally Posted by whinnytoo
I hate 'scant', what is the point? patterns should be made to accomodate standard 1/4" seams. PERIOD
03-13-2012, 05:07 AM
#27
Power Poster
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: Citrus County, Florida
Posts: 10,849
I agree with Whinnytoo. I HATE scant 1/4" seams. I did one quilting project with the scant 1/4" and don't want to do another even with a machine where I can move my needle. ANyone have a formula for recalculating for standard 1/4. If so PLEASE share.
03-13-2012, 05:18 AM
#28
Super Member
Join Date: Jan 2009
Posts: 4,688
Generally, if you cut "outside the line" of your ruler, you can sew a regular quarter inch and the block/quilt will wind up the right size.
Scant quarter inches are a result of the difference between rotary and template cutting. When we, some of us anyway, used to cut using templates and marking the lines to cut on, we 'left the line', as carpenters say. Meaning the line stayed on the cut piece, so it was actually just a 'scant' bigger than measured.
When those slightly bigger pieces were machine stitched, the width of the line we left was enough to compensate for the thread thickness and the fold of the seam when it was pressed and the blocks came out the size they were supposed to. With the advent of rotary cutting, the cut pieces actually got smaller in comparison because there was no marked pencil line. If you use the inside of the ruler line, your pieces are even smaller.
So, try this. Using the outside of the ruler line, cut two 2" by 4" rectangles and sew the 4" sides together with a regular quarter inch seam. Set the seam (press the stitch line as sewn) and then press it the way you usually do. The width should be 3½". If it's more or less, you'll need to adjust either the cutting or the sewing...or not. As has been said, it's the consistency of your seams that matters in the end.
Scant quarter inches are a result of the difference between rotary and template cutting. When we, some of us anyway, used to cut using templates and marking the lines to cut on, we 'left the line', as carpenters say. Meaning the line stayed on the cut piece, so it was actually just a 'scant' bigger than measured.
When those slightly bigger pieces were machine stitched, the width of the line we left was enough to compensate for the thread thickness and the fold of the seam when it was pressed and the blocks came out the size they were supposed to. With the advent of rotary cutting, the cut pieces actually got smaller in comparison because there was no marked pencil line. If you use the inside of the ruler line, your pieces are even smaller.
So, try this. Using the outside of the ruler line, cut two 2" by 4" rectangles and sew the 4" sides together with a regular quarter inch seam. Set the seam (press the stitch line as sewn) and then press it the way you usually do. The width should be 3½". If it's more or less, you'll need to adjust either the cutting or the sewing...or not. As has been said, it's the consistency of your seams that matters in the end.
Last edited by ghostrider; 03-13-2012 at 05:22 AM.
03-13-2012, 05:33 AM
#29
Super Member
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Tippy-top of a ridge in WV
Posts: 6,355
Originally Posted by whinnytoo
I hate 'scant', what is the point? patterns should be made to accomodate standard 1/4" seams. PERIOD
03-13-2012, 05:34 AM
#30
Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2012
Posts: 432
i like Alex Anderson's comment, ",just use the 1/4" seam allowance on your machines foot and make all the seams with the same allowance, they will be true to each other, but use high quality thread which is finer than regular sewing thread to get a truer 1/4" seam." she is correct, great thread like King Tut (Superior Threads) does make a seam that is more a true 1/4 inch using the "quilt" 1/4" foot on my Pfaff.
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