tranum

My clothes shrink hanging in the closet too. 😂 LOL

KalamaQuilts

you "don't" measure the seam allowance. You measure the blocks, stitched together, edge to edge after pressing.

I have dozens of 9 patch blocks I've made over the years on different machines, getting the exact 1/4" down. It can be different for all of us, some sew with the edge of the patch just under the foot, some like to see a thread of fabric beyond the foot.

Cut 1.5" strips, sew three together; pressed, do they measure 3.5" across? Exactly?
Then cut another three patch off those strips, and sew it to the perfect one you just stitched. Is it 2.5" wide? Exactly?
Now do it again so you have a 9 patch. Is it 3.5" square? Exactly?

I know where I like to see my fabric under the foot, so I mess with the needle right adjustment. Until It's Exact It is well worth the effort!!! good luck, you can do it!

MaryKa

I made a quilt once and when Momma said "it looks funny"; Grandma came over and looked at, then put it in the trash, saying "MaryKa won't never be any good at doing quilts. She can't get the squares to be squares!" Momma reminded her that it was my first pattern quilt. I sewed it together anyhow and it was very warm But I found out I had cut half of the block 1/4 inch larger and the other half 1/2 inch smaller. Momma just took all the pieces and sewed them together and made a beautiful crazy quilt. Then she told me never to tell Grandma that it was the bad cut pieces.

When Momma passed I just put all her fabric in her room and shut the door. I did not quilt for 3 years. Now I'm back to full steam with a semi slow engine. I'm taking more time doing less quilts but I think even Grandma would approve of my quilts coming together properly--most of the time.

I have one that I'm taking apart as I found I had messed up on a few blocks. Of course they are the blocks in the center of the quilt top. I couldn't have messed them up on the side OH NO it had to be in the Center of the California King that I will finish for my big Brother--sometime. :}

Sew_Be_It

Light bulb moment: The reason the last row in the airplane blocks is so finicky is because the pattern is written for using 10" layer cakes - not yardage, so there is no extra. Saving some cutting time to use layer cakes, in this pattern anyways, means there is no room at all for being a hair off, especially with the pinked edges. Always something new to learn.

Sew_Be_It

What a great story! Loved "she can't get the squares to be square" - when it's not sugar-coated, the lesson sticks with you, for sure.

QuiltnLady1

Sew Be It, I had a nightmare using the commercial 10" batik squares for a pattern. I was supposed to get a number of sub cuts with no waste but the last one was always off. I wrote the company and they indicated that the block sizes could be off because they were hand cut. Now I measure them using a square ruler to see what the real measurement is. (I rarely use precuts because I have to wash the fabric but that is another story).

Mary Ellen Hopkins frequently said that we all have our own personal measurements and if our blocks were not all the same size to measure the smallest one and trim the rest - that works as long as you are not going to show the quilt. Had to follow that advice when I made too many blocks too late at night - sigh.

Onebyone

If you fabric isn't prewashed and you sprayed and pressed the block it probably shrunk just a smidge, enough to be off. fabric never shrinks in width only in length and that will cause all types of what did I do moments.

newbee3

If you do all the blocks the same way it should not make a big difference. Just be consistent it should work out fine.

Quiltwoman44

I hate pinked edges!! I try hard not to get near those. Good luck.

LI_diva

I hate to answer a question with a question, but when cutting, are you supposed to put the line of the ruler inside or outside the cut line?

I suspect that’s why I have a problem with some of my blocks being a smidge off, and maybe that’s what you’re experiencing too. If I’m cutting, say, a 2 1/2 inch square, I don’t know whether I’m supposed to put that 2 1/2 inch line just inside or just outside the fabric.

In a simple block, it doesn’t make a difference, but when there are hundreds of little pieces, I can be off by quite a bit.