How long did it take you to conquer 1/4" seams?
04-05-2011, 06:57 AM
#92
Junior Member
Join Date: Jan 2011
Posts: 221
Here is a list of hints to try.
1. Go back to the beginning. Are the seams accurate when cutting.
2. If you press, make sure it is an up and down motion so the fabric doesn't stretch.
3. Learn to DRAW a 1//4 inch seam before sewing them. Use a fine pointed mechanical pencil and draw arc lines and straight lines on paper. The lines must be 1/4 inch apart. This is important, as your brain must know a 1/4 inch seam.
4. Figure out where the 1/4 inch mark is on your machine/presser foot. Do this by hand rotating the fly wheel until the needle drops right onto the 1/4 inch mark on a ruler. Use the same ruler to measure, as not all rulers are the same.
5. As you sew, DON'T WATCH THE NEEDLE
5.
1. Go back to the beginning. Are the seams accurate when cutting.
2. If you press, make sure it is an up and down motion so the fabric doesn't stretch.
3. Learn to DRAW a 1//4 inch seam before sewing them. Use a fine pointed mechanical pencil and draw arc lines and straight lines on paper. The lines must be 1/4 inch apart. This is important, as your brain must know a 1/4 inch seam.
4. Figure out where the 1/4 inch mark is on your machine/presser foot. Do this by hand rotating the fly wheel until the needle drops right onto the 1/4 inch mark on a ruler. Use the same ruler to measure, as not all rulers are the same.
5. As you sew, DON'T WATCH THE NEEDLE
5.
04-05-2011, 06:59 AM
#93
Junior Member
Join Date: Jan 2011
Posts: 221
Sorry, hit the wrong key.
6. Watch where the cut edge of the patch travels under the presser foot at the exact location on the presser foot.
7. Sew slowly. This is not a race. I slowed down my machine speed and increased the accuracy.
Hope this helps.
Sandy
6. Watch where the cut edge of the patch travels under the presser foot at the exact location on the presser foot.
7. Sew slowly. This is not a race. I slowed down my machine speed and increased the accuracy.
Hope this helps.
Sandy
04-05-2011, 11:20 AM
#95
Super Member
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: SC
Posts: 2,027
Originally Posted by k9dancer
Originally Posted by quiltjoey
My mother made quilts without all the problems of a "scant" 1/4 inch. Therein lies the problem. Seams used to be pressed open. Now we are pressing them to the "dark" side. IMHO, I think that all cotton thicknesses are not created equal! When pressing seams open they are more likely to be even when using the 1/4 in seam, especially if you use a presser foot with a guide on it. When pressing to one side due to the "thickness" of the cottons and if the seam is not exactly a "scant", you have a bump over 2 layers of material when pressed. Trying to figure out the "scant" has been trying but I am getting closer, I think? I recently read of a quilt designer/maker returning to the open-pressed seams because of all the problems with the "scant". I think a "scant" is in the "eye of the beholder".....just a thought... (sorry to be lengthy)
That said, I usually press to one side unless I have a need to press seams open.
04-05-2011, 11:46 AM
#96
Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2010
Posts: 647
Originally Posted by cmilton
could you explain how you use the seam gauge to get a perfect 1/4"?
04-06-2011, 05:13 AM
#97
Senior Member
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: Fort Smith, Arkansas
Posts: 582
Originally Posted by callie
This issue was covered at our last sewing meeting here in Amarillo. First off our spokes person explained that all 1/4 inch feet are not created equally, meaning your 1/4 inch foot with metal guide may NOT be an exact 1/4 inch & if you have more than one machine, you should check each. She gave each of us an index card. The lines are exactly a 1/4 inch apart. She has us use that card and told us to put our metal piece on one line & sew. If your seam isn't exactly on the 1/4 inch line - u need to adjust your needle & sew again. Mark on the card "where" the needle is set to make a 1/4 inch seam. The same weekend at our LQS it was again explained that when we sew an exact 1/4" it may not come out to a 1/4 inch when pressed for a few reasons: 1) the thread used may be thicker. They recommended egyptian cotton 50 weight; 2) when you press (not iron) your seams on the back you set your seam, then turn over and press on the front to make sure you don't have just a tiny bit of a seam pressed on the top; and 3) Using a smaller needle (10). I too have found slowing down cutting my blocks and using a "strip" template helps - making sure I straigten fabric after each strip set cut (or if I think I may have slipped slightly), plus slowing my machine down when I sew. Don't know if this will help anyone or not, but definitley check out your 1/4" foot because they "do" vary.
04-07-2011, 11:37 AM
#98
Super Member
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: eastern Oklahoma
Posts: 1,873
hello. From a very experienced quilter. We have all been there and managed to survive to sew again. Dear you learn from mistakes. Just keep in good spirite and get real friendly with your seam ripper.
04-07-2011, 12:37 PM
#100
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: Commerce, Ga
Posts: 875
It is good to know that I have lots of company... So made notes of all the suggestions and some really nice person on the Board has offered to mentor me thru this. I will keep plugging along. The important thing is progress not perfection. Right?
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