They say a rail fence block is the easiest to do............ well it wasn't for me. I've done a whole lot better creating my own designs and sewing them up so I think I will stick to that from now on. I will however complete the three different sets I've cut to make rail fence quilt/lap blankets.

I had no problem cutting the strips, sewing the strips or cutting those sewed strips.

It was not a big deal placing it properly but another matter sewing it to match on line. It took me at least 3 tries to do this dang thing and only because I got smart and centered and started sewing in the center instead of at the top.

I'm still not pleased with it but closest I could get it to line up.

See attached........ I have to trim around it so that is not the best until I do trim it.

:) Must admit I did a rail fence for my son, don't know if it was the 3 colour thing or all that matching, but I didn't enjoy it as much as I have others. Persevere, it will look beautiful when you're done. Love your choice of fabric, the spiderweb fabric is particularly nice and who could not love those orange and greens.

It looks good.

It looks fine.

Looks good to me.

My first (and only) rail fence is not assembled. I was working on it late after a long day of work and I was cutting apart the strips and cut them to the finished size -- so one dimension is 8" and one is 8 1/2". Sigh -- I take the blocks out and try to see how I could trim them to make it work, but then I put them away for a while (sigh).

Love your choice of colors.

I see what you are talking about on the matching. But i have had good luck in Fixing those type of misses. I just take out the stitches for 1/2 to 3/4 " on each side of that intersection and then stretch just a little to get it to line up perfectly. If it isn't moving, dampen it a little and stretch it and pin. then resew that area

love the fabrics please a photo when done--i tend to go off the 1/4 inch at the end of the seam[in a rush to get to the next piece]finding this out saved me some grief unsewing--just measure your 1/4 see if you find a pattern

I love your choice of colors. Cute block.

I really do think your block looks good, and I like your fabric choices. I tried a rail fence once as well, and I didn't like it either. I hated it so much, that I just put it aside and never finished it. My strips kept curving and getting wonky on me. I hope you can finish yours.

Great colors, I hope you can persevere, it will make a lovely quilt.

Love the colour combination. Hang in there.

Quilting is all about piecing and it's all about that perfect 1/4" seam.Pin beginning top and bottom and you will always match.We all try to improve our skills and don't let that easy rail fence make you use the HATE word again.....

Did you press the seems of the first and second row in different directions? That should help making them snuggle nicely up.

Yes I did. That was one of the first things I learned about sending it in different directions.

Oh I will persevere! I'm not a quitter. Maybe I was just tired from having cut, ironed and sewed so much this week.

I'm a new sewer let alone a new quilter.

I have no choice but to persevere. I have enough strips cut and sewed in rows of three to make at least three different rail fence quilt tops.

Hopefully by the time I do all of these I will be wondering why I thought it was a time of "hating" something a few months back. :lol: :lol:

To be honest I've never understood why anyone wants to take perfectly good fabric and cut it up into little pieces only to sew it again. Kinda like why anyone would take a little white ball, hit it, and chase after it as they do in golf.

I decided to find out what the fascination is all about regaring pieceing hence here I am.

I've always loved a challange and I have never given up or quit at something I try.

Every reason I had to take this block a part a few times just to get it to line up. I'm just not a quitter.

If I can take a computer apart and put it back together and it still working I surely can learn to take cut pieces of fabric and make it look half way decent and better as I learn the techniques to doing this.

looks great i like your colors

It looks good to me. I've made a few rail fences and turn to them for something quick and easy. Isn't it interesting how each of us has different preferences and some things are easier for some and what I find challenging is so easy for others? I've been quilting for 7 years and still struggle with the 1/4 inch seam.

I think it looks fine. You are being too hard on yourself. That tiny little bit that the line is off won't even be noticed after it is quilted and washed. :)

I found early in my quilting career that accurate cutting is the key to getting seams to match. In the old days when I used templates, my seams rarely matched up. Now that I rotary cut just about everything, I don't seem to have that problem.

Another secret I will pass along is that not all fabrics sew the same. Some will creep a little bit. Have you noticed when you get to the end of the seam one fabric suddenly extends further than the other layer? That's called creeping. The next time you sew that fabric, put that fabric on the bottom when you sew the two strips together. The feed dog will prevent the bottom layer from creeping. Also, some fabrics have more stretch than others. That will affect the piecing too.

And keep in mind that you are a human, not a machine and it's ok that your seams don't match perfectly. If they're way off, something's wrong and needs to be fixed. But to be off a little bit, it's ok. Many times quilting can correct or hide our many mistakes.

If anyone says anything about it, just simply smile and say "thank you for noticing, I planned it that way".