Block problems
 

I am just getting into quilting and have made some simple blocks. However I am disappointed to find some imperfections that I am worried might cause me problems down the line. These are some examples:

http://i.imgur.com/ytgRI2g.jpg?1
It has some rippling and the dimensions are slightly off on one side

http://i.imgur.com/dnBc2qk.jpg?1
In the center the stitching doesn't line up

http://i.imgur.com/HMggKbO.jpg?1
A large ripple at the bottom

http://i.imgur.com/NIstF2r.jpg

Am I doing well enough to try more advanced blocks or should I not be having these problems? Any tips or suggestions?

Steam and busy fabrics and no one will ever see those "mistakes"! Seriously, get over it, you're doing great, I say go for it!

Pressing your blocks should help. I think they look pretty good. If you are concerned about the centers, make sure your seems nest together and try one pin to hold when sewing. Great start. Look forward to seeing quilt when you are done.

I love your fabric choices and your workmanship. I'd put those blocks in my quilt.

You can starch your fabric before cutting. That helps a good bit. Especially when working with a bias edge. There are many online videos and such to help you if those imperfections are going to drive you crazy. For example, there are many ways to make half square triangles. Some people get better results with one instead of another.

I'd say it depends... When you start you want to complete something so badly. It was suggested to me to make something 'small' for myself first ( I did a runner first) so you don't sweat too much! Or put yourself off... You might want to start with cheaper material to practice too. Anything new we try..we can't expect perfection. It takes practice. Enjoy the learning and if the join is going to annoy you, try undoing and try again. Us human beings often expect perfection first time. We are all ( mostly) learning and improving. One thing I like is the glue baste rather than pins ( each to their own) I find it holds flatter and so easier to lineup. Or try a pin right on that seam or close to it when sewing together. You will improve fast, don't worry. Your color combo is great and you are not far out! Why not keep going, join up and see how it looks. It is all good practice, beyond all - have fun.

not very bad at all-keep going and it will be beautiful

I think your blocks are great. Just wondering if your seams are even. Always the same size. That could make one side larger than the other. Figure out a place on your machine that is 1/4" and try to stay with it. A stack of sticky notes on the 1/4" line would help guide you. Keep going!!!! Ann

I agree, practice makes perfect and you're already on the road to a really pretty quilt. Anxious to see it when it's done. BTW, welcome to the board :)

If quilt inspectors come to your house and get that close, they better be the ones buying it or show them the door and don't let it hit them in the hiney on the way out.

There is no perfect quilt! Quilts aren't made by God and I'm sure he's quite proud of your block! just keep going. A good sharp rotary cutter helps and I'm still working on my 1/4 inch seam.

I look at it this way :) It was an "Artistic Design Choice" and just let it go, practice makes perfect, but even then perfection is rather overrated :p Hugs, you are doing fantastic.

I often cut down my blocks by 1/4-1/2 in to make sure it is square. Ensure you use good steam when pressing, it does keep down the "waviness" of the blocks (assuming it is a pressing issue and not a stretching issue).

The errors you are showing are so minor, I doubt very highly in a large quilt you will notice, heck even in a small one you wont notice. And if anyone does you just say "It was an Artistic Design Choice, I was going for that look" ;)

You've gotten lots of good advice above. "nesting" seams means put the blocks together so that the seam allowance of one block go in the opposite direction from the other block. Pinning does help. A lot of us "square up" our blocks each time. Press the block really well. I suggest you use a dry iron as a steam iron will possibly stretch your fabric. Remember to press not iron. then, once the block is well pressed, measure it to see if it's the right size. If it's overly big you can cut it back to the correct size. If it's too small, you need to check your seam allowance measurement. I think you are doing really well. One way to immediately see a problem is if the "dog ears" that show up in your first picture are evenly sized. Yours are - a good sign. Keep going!

Thanks for all the advice everyone! I didn't try starch when I cut the fabric but I will next time. As for squaring things up after sewing a block, good idea. I also like the Post-It suggestion.

I decided to do a test patch today with some leftover material before I start the bigger piece:

http://i.imgur.com/sY7Qp8f.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/CBhHrGt.jpg?1

Sweetie there is an old saying, You can't see spots on a galloping horse. Your blocks are just great. My Advice is don't be so hard on yourself. Set back sew and ENJOY. No quilt is perfect.

Your blocks look much better than my first blocks. But you asked if the problems you're seeing can give you trouble down the line, and the answer is yes and no. If your points don't match in the center of the block, that is a cosmetic thing and will not cause any further problems. However, if your blocks aren't the correct size, or if they won't lay flat, then that can cause problems that will be much more difficult to fix at a later stage in the quilt-making. One of the most important lessons to learn in quilting, and one that we all have trouble with, is that it's best to find and fix any problem as early as possible. So keep on questioning whether you can do better, and try to get your blocks to be completely flat and the right size. Just be sure you have fun doing it, and don't get obsessed over perfection.

it helps me to iron each block as I go. also if you alternate directions on which way you press the seams. doing great though, mine don't always line up perfect everytime. Noone has ever disliked their quilt

I'm definitely not a pro but great job so far and the ripples seem to quilt "out" from my experience!

Butt your seams together and put a pin on either side that will keep them together!

For me, I find that when trying to match points - either intersecting blocks or seams within a block - pressing seams open helps tremendously. And when pinning, I place a pin straight up/down through the seam on the top, then put that pin through the matching seam on the bottom block. Keep that pin straight and then put pins through both pieces as close to both sides of the up/down pin then remove the center (up/down) pin and sew. But your blocks look great. Practice and enjoy the process. As someone else mentioned, if it's going to make you crazy then rip 'n fix. If not, no one else is going to notice or care.

As for the points not lining up, you can always 'cheat' a bit and use green colored fabric markers to fill it in and make the point match up. I've done that on a few quilts. Unless someone knows to look for it, they will not see it. Someone said something a while back on this board about a galloping horse. It refers to how quickly people look at a quilt. Most just zip on by, not wanting to pick apart everything that's wrong. There are others who have nothing better to do than tell you every last problem that they find. We call them the quilt police. Last I knew they weren't sworn in by anyone with authority. They have nothing better to do, than point out other's short comings. They clearly have enough issues of their own. Instead they should focus on fixing themselves first, rather than shoot down others. So, if you're happy with the general outcome of your blocks. You'll do fine.

Years ago, I made a very challenging block. All the sides looked wavy/wonky, so I didn't use it in my sampler quilt. When making one for my mom out of left overs, she requested the wonky one be placed in it. I tried to discourage it. It really did look bad on the sides. Guess what? Once in a quilt and stretched out, it looked fabulous! I was so afraid of non-perfection in my quilt, that I didn't include it and it looked amazing in hers! My point? You never know how it will look when stretched out. Even if a side is just a smidge longer than it should be, you'd be amazed at how far you can stretch the joining fabric to accommodate the longer side! Good luck! I look forward to seeing your finished quilt when done.

Oh, in order to make the seams stronger, usually the seams are ironed to one side or the other, not split like in sewing clothing. Seams usually are ironed to the darker fabric side. That way when butting seams up it is easier to pin them and get the feel.

Remember no one is perfect.

I think she was asking how the blocks can be improved -

Did you square each of the HST (half square triangle) units before continuing? I've found that if each of my sub-units is as accurate as I can get them, it helps with the next step.

There are times that 'good enough' IS good enough. But if someone knows that 'better is possible' - why not encourage that?

I also know that - usually - one does get better and/or more knowledgeable with practice and experience.

How are you making the blocks that are what we call HSTs (Half Square Triangles). These are your green and roses blocks above. Are you cutting them as triangles first, then sewing? Are you putting 2 squares togetherand sewing once down the diagonal or twice (1/4 inch each side of the center diagonal)? They are the only blocks I can see you are having trouble with and that's no surprise for a beginning quilter. Tell us your technique and we can provide more help.

I am using the method where you sew 1/4 inch away on both sides of the diagonal of two squares placed together. I checked the dimensions after cutting and they seemed acceptable, aside from some shortness in the length of some squares. Are there easier methods?

A few things to make sure of. 1) the measurement of your lines of sewing. If you draw them first, make sure you don't mark hard as you can stretch the fabric - you are marking on the bias. 2) If you don't draw them, make sure you know where your 1/4 is on your machine. Make a test block and measure - are the two lines one-half inch apart? 3) This method calls for you to cut the blocks finished size plus 7/8 - that's a hard measurement to get exactly right. I prefer to cut them finished size plus one full inch, then square up as mentioned above. AND when squaring up HSTs, make sure your 45 degree line on your ruler falls exactly on the seam to ensure that the seam goes right to the corner. I can see that some of your seams don't go exactly to the corners and this could be the result of any number of things, either cutting, sewing or pressing. Keep going - we all have been where you are!

I couldn't have said it better myself. I love your blocks. A bit of spray starch and an iron will help, and like someone else said 'don't sweat the small stuff'. Even seasoned quilters make small mistakes. Thank you for sharing and welcome to the 'board. We are anxious to see more of this quilt when it is finished.

My Janome 6600 is set to sew the 1/4" seam a little less than 1/4" Make yours narrower by about two threads and you will have great seams. Even though you may be measuring correctly, pressing the seams does take up fabric and makes the seams larger. Try it on a scrap piece to see how it works. Good luck.

The only ways I can this method to work is to cut the squares 1 inch larger instead of the 7/8 inch larger than the finished size and trim down after sewing (usually it's just 'shavings' I take off)

OR to make VERY SCANT 1/4 inch seams when sewing the diagonals.

Otherwise I get skimpy units that are just a bit too small. I'd rather trim down than have undersized units.

We are always our own worst critics. This is your first quilt - with a directional print no less! - You will improve and learn lots along the way. Everyone has made suggestions for improvements and you will get better. Enjoy!
BTW - if those are the only "imperfections" you are doing wonderfully.

A quilter I know uses the following phrase about a quilt's imperfections: If you hung your quilt on the side of the barn, would a man galloping past on his horse notice the "mistake"? If not, don't fret.

they look good to me

Keep at it-you should see some of my stuff I think is acceptable.

OMG! i've been quilting for years and yours look as good as mine! Don't worry. You are doing fine!

Clearly, you have good color sense and will make an excellent quilter. do not despair.

When you are making seams cross, as in the 2nd picture, there is a simple trick. The seam allowance on the bottom seam should face towards you, the top away from you, so that the needle reaches the top seam allowance before the crossed seams. Pin there. By this method, the sewing locks the seams in the right position. A couple of years ago, my guild was doing a lot of blocks together. Several of the more experienced quilters had the exact problem you had here, but did perfectly with this trick.

stop being so picky, your blocks are fantastic, enjoy yourself

Love this!!! My first quilts were not perfect. lol. My quilts now over 20 years later are not perfect. Don't be so hard on yourself. You are doing great!

You should go to you tube and search for the " you can quilt that out" song. Sorry I don't know the real name or who it is by, but it's hilarious. A lot of "mistakes" can be hidden by the quilting process.... But don't tell who ever is quilting it I said that... I might get strung up lol

Love your color choices. You'll learn from experience what will quilt out and what needs to be fixed before you continue. Cathy Miller sings "you can quilt that out" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XzoL7ddTEnA And even though it's a funny song, listen to the words because she talks about some problems that really don't quilt out. I just realized that you posted in August. How are you doing on this project?

[/QUOTE] Cathy Miller sings "you can quilt that out" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XzoL7ddTEnA And even though it's a funny song, listen to the words because she talks about some problems that really don't quilt out. [/QUOTE]

thank you for the link!!

About your center:-
This is what I believe to be the best tip I have learned in 10 years of quilting.
Line your seams up then place a pin on either side of the seam, walk the needle across the seam before removing pins.
As long as it has been aligned properly your seam won't move.
If you've only just started quilting you are doing very well. Good luck and keep on quilting.