Oh, these partial seams!
 

Hi all,

Do partial seams get easier with practice, I hope? Pieced a block for the first time using them and really did not enjoy this process. The block looks a bit wonky. I'm going to try again today.

Good Luck! I tried it once, and quit with my practice piece.

Feel your pain. I have not actually done any partial seams, but I have 2 patterns on my to-do list that both require the partial seams, but every time I pull it out, I get intimidated, and put it away again. Obviously in can be done, but the question is: will *I* get it done? I think that the quilt(s) will be amazing, if I ever get over that stumbling block. I will say this, though: I have done many quilts that I was afraid of trying, but kept working at it until I got it right.

They do get easier with practice. That is certain. However, I really don't enjoy doing them and as there are so many patterns out there, I just don't do them anymore.

Don't leave a 1/4" unsewn. I leave 1/2" or more and it is so much easier. I learned that in a class at Paducah quilt show. Forgot the name of the instructor but remember it was a pricey class. I ended up not liking the pattern but learning how to do the partial seams with no hassle was worth it.

I leave about 1/2" or a little more too. It is a little more fussy than designs that don't have partial seams, but it is worth the effort.

Thanks, everyone! I will try one more block, and see if I want to do 29 more of these blocks for this quilt. If I don't enjoy it, I picked out another pattern that I can use these cut pieces for.

How very true!

I learned partial seams in class by Krista Moser making her Entangled Skies quilt. She has a great tutorial in her website and a YouTube video. Not my favorite technique but would do again.

I learned how to do partial seams after one of the blocks sewn into a pieced top was, oh, so obviously turned wrong. It had to be corrected. When I started removing the block, I just knew I had to have some space to resew it. I left about 1 ~ 1.5 inches on each corner and had no problem rotating the block and resewing it back in and it was square. Several blocks I have sewn had to have partial seams done, and even though the pattern instructions said leave only about 1/2", I left up to 2" and was a lot happier with the ease of getting everything together. I did do a backstitch when I stopped on the partial seam. That kept the seam tighter and easier to finish sewing together,