qwkslver

If that was mine I would probably recut the squares a little smaller to get rid of the serger sewing (rather than pick it out) and sew it on a regular machine with 1/4 seams and probably use some kind of stabilizer under the stretchy, perhaps tear away stabilizer with a little spray glue or Elmers to hold it temporarily (?). You will figure it out and it will be nice. Quilting is a learning experience. Meaning what I do one way isn't necessarily how I do it the next. I figure out easier ways as I go along. Good luck and show us when you get finished!

Maureen NJ

I have not sewn with minky but if I were you, I would consider cutting the squares apart and squaring them up by making them smaller. I would then sew with the 1/4" seam with the walking foot. And I would replace the minky with a pink cotton. I would add a border if I needed it bigger. I know I saw a discussion on here about sewing with minky. I would look under advanced search. Maybe you could use minky for the backing. Welcome to the board. You will learn so much here.

deedum

Your doing alright. a one year old won't mind if it is wonky anyway. It doesn't have to be perfect. I was remind today of "if your doing the best you can do, accept it and other will love it regardless". We are way to harder on ourselves than we need to be, myself included. I love my serger too, but it is a different animal sewing minkee on a serger than a regular machine. I would stick to your regular machine on this. It is all good. It will come together and you will learn from it. I am still learning

DonnaPBradshaw

When you sew seams together with a serger you will have a hard time making the seam even everytime, at least that's what I've experienced. I know you mentioned that you love sewing with your serger, but there is a price to pay for it.

pumpkinpatchquilter

Oh this is going to be an adorable an soft quilt!!

I understand you are newer to quilting than garment sewing - do you chain piece? This was a new concept to me when I moved into quilting. Quilting is a very different realm of sewing (as already stated) with its own set of guidelines. These are likely not matching up because first, you may not be sewing at an accurate 1/4" seam using your serger...and second...most sergers trim away excess so if you make a "whoops!" there's no getting that fabric trimmed away back!

Probably the biggest difference between quilting and other kinds of sewing is the math. Unless you're entering shows you don't have to be absolutely machine perfect...only as perfect as YOU want to be...however, you do need to be at least relatively accurate or you'll have the issues you're having now - things don't line up.

The best thing you can do to start is - use your 1/4" foot (or measure 1/4" from your needle to a point on your needle plate and mark it) - be consistent. Chain piecine will really help with speed - and that serger, while we love it for other kinds of sewing, I would suggest to set it aside for quilting. I have been quilting for ten years and have created a business out of my passion - I STILL make mistakes and need the flexibility of being able to open up those seams.

Another thing - have you heard of "nesting" seams when you match up your blocks? Try pressing seams in oppose direcitons, the when you match up two seams for perfect points, nestle the "hump" of each opposite side against the other (with right sides of fabric together). If you google "nesting seams quilting" you will get some pictures to really help you understand what I mean.

You have moved from the East Coast to the West Coast in the world of sewing!! My Mother is a very skilled garment sewer - but comes to me still for questions regarding quilts! You will do wonderfully very quickly because you already have the skillset and you are just applying it differently. Good luck!

cagedbirdsinging

The squares are cut at 6 inches and I allowed for a 1/2" seam since I pieced with a serger. I know that isn't the traditional seam allowance for quilting, but I'm not a rule follower, as you can see! I don't want the blocks smaller, so I'm not inclined to cut and re-piece the columns. The solutions I'm looking at now involve how to work with what I've got. Since this is my very first quilt, I'm resigned to the fact that it will never be amazing, but I do want to do my best.

I Googled quilt sashing and it looks like that is between all the blocks? Regardless, I don't live by the fabric store that I got all of the fabric from, so I'm fresh out of the stuff aside from the extra blocks I cut. I'm going to use those to continue the pattern down to the next row that starts and ends with the brown since I'm losing some length now with the off-setting.

The suggestion to start with the regular machine and then serge is attractive to me and something I never would have thought of. Thanks for that!

As to the comments about how the baby will like it... I sure hope so. Her favorite blankets at the moment are all minky, which is why I chose that for the backing and brought a few squares of it to the top for repetition. She loves her texture.

This is the adorable recipient, by the way!

Judi in Ohio

I'm a quilter who has a bff that makes baby quilts. Now, why did I say this like that? I have offered to help her put her baby blankets together, but she wants none of it. She sees no purpose in matching seams and thinks I must be nuts to cut perfectly good fabric into little pieces. She has these wopper jawed blocks and doesn't mind a bit (Would drive me crazy!). That being said, did you check if your blocks were square? Quilting is way different than clothes sewing, you cut things differently, and things must be squared up. You could have used the minkee on the back and given her her fav texture that way. However it turns out, she will love it, so don't fret so much. It's all just a learning process.

Chasezzz

Agree with all the suggestions...best not to try to match seams. BUT, if you do decide to try to match seams on this or your next project , you should iron seams opposite directions for each column and "nest" them. "Nesting" means that when you place the two columns right sides together one seam faces up and the other down so with your fingers you can make them come together perfectly at the intersection. Then pin at each such intersection and sew. Your seam also will be flat at these intersections. Thought as a first-time quilter you might not know this...if you already do, please disregard! Also, in general sewing you often iron seams open; in quilting generally it is better to iron to one side or the other, as it creates a stronger seam when quilted.

GingerK

Beautiful recipient! She definitely does not look like the Quilt Police (nasty horrible people who nit-pick about what is RIGHT and what is oh so WRONG with your quilt just because you didn't do it the way THEY would have. We don't like them on this board!!)

You have been given a lot of ideas and useful advice on this thread. The only thing I will add is: Next time (and there will be a next time, now that the quilting bug has bitten), perhaps you could back the quilt with minky and applique some big minky flowers on the front. Same idea, lots less hassle.

cjsews

That is one cute baby. She will love it for the colors and softness of the minky. Just finish it as is and use poly batting. I would just tie this one and it will look just fine. You would not believe what my first quilt looks like. My husband still prefers to use it on the bed. It is a far cry from what I am able to create now. Chalk this one up to a learning experience and enjoy that beautiful smile on the baby.