Lining up seams
03-15-2014, 05:20 AM
#51
Super Member
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Ohio, the land of 4 seasons. sometimes all in the same week!
Posts: 2,487
have you tried sticking a straight pin thru the top seam into the bottom seam, checking to be certain they line up, sew, remove the pin at the last second and continue sewing? the pin goes directly thru the seams. this has done wonders for me. I learned it here on the board and it was a fantastic tip!
03-15-2014, 05:24 AM
#52
Super Member
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: Pittsburg, Kansas
Posts: 1,691
I was having a lot of trouble with this, and got a good answer from someone here, so here goes: Line the seams up, then make a big 'x' with basting thread to hold it until sewn. Works for me! Good luck.
Mariah
Mariah
03-15-2014, 06:47 AM
#54
Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: mcalester ok
Posts: 454
Originally Posted by JanineH
I use Elmer's washable glue stick. I just dab a little on one piece seam and match the other seam to it then pinch them together. I'm a pinner so I also put in a pin but you shouldn't have to. They match perfectly.
Have fun with your quilting is my motto.
03-15-2014, 07:44 AM
#55
Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: Rancho Cordova, CA
Posts: 451
I get so much satisfaction when seams meld perfectly that I'm going to try for that every time!
One thing not mentioned so far is to try a different foot. I was getting mismatched seams every time with my original foot so I got a walking foot, but that made it harder to keep an even seam allowance. Then I tried a different 1/4" foot, and that has helped the most, both for even allowances and matched seams; it doesn't push the top fabric more than the bottom, which my first foot did, so pinned junctions now match way more often than not, whether pressed open or to one side.
One thing not mentioned so far is to try a different foot. I was getting mismatched seams every time with my original foot so I got a walking foot, but that made it harder to keep an even seam allowance. Then I tried a different 1/4" foot, and that has helped the most, both for even allowances and matched seams; it doesn't push the top fabric more than the bottom, which my first foot did, so pinned junctions now match way more often than not, whether pressed open or to one side.
03-15-2014, 08:20 AM
#56
Senior Member
Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: SW TN
Posts: 592
Originally Posted by DebraK
the neat thing about not pressing your seams open is that you can nest the seams against each other. That way works best for me. I've heard that some people use Elmer's glue, but I haven't tried that method.
03-15-2014, 04:03 PM
#59
Super Member
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: Here and there
Posts: 1,669
Originally Posted by dunster
I think the first secret is not to be a perfectionist. 
03-16-2014, 05:47 AM
#60
Junior Member
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Eastern Kansas
Posts: 118
I took quilt classes 30 years ago and the instructor said to press the seams open. To align the seams when connecting blocks was to stick a pin in the first square right at the quarter inch from the edge then into the 2nd block. (Do not pin it in just stick it through the 2 blocks) Keep the pin straight up an down. With a 2nd pin, pin the 2 blocks together, but place the pin just in front of the 1st pin, You will use a 3rd pin which is used to pin a short distance after the 1st pin. As you sew, sew right up to the first pin, stop, take out the 1st pin, sew up to the 2nd pin and so on. This system has never failed me. I still use it today. Good Luck
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