youngduncan

I've been piecing and quilting for many years -- more than I care to admit, I guess. I've collected quite a few scraps and some stash fabrics, too. Sad to say, I save most of my projects -- even the ones which don't quite work out the way I wanted them to. The really bad ones I often use as cleaning cloths. I don't want anything to go to waste. I guess some people might think that I have some of the most unusual dust rags and cleaning cloths around. Ha! Ha!

Don't give up. This is such a fun avocation/hobby. Keep at it and learn from each project you undertake. It really does get easier the more you go along.

mannem38

You may try and use spray starch before you cut your pieces, especially if the fabric is on the thin side. It will stabilize all stretching, if done heavily.

Maggie77802

Welcome Man threads,

My advice is to finish the top and have a beer. Don't spend the time quilting it unless you want to practice. Sometimes walking away is the best plan. WE ALL have projects we have walked away from. When I find something I did earlier in my quilting journey, I shutter and then congratulate myself for getting better. Everyone is a beginner at different times in their life. All of the advice given so far has been great, but consider this- can you tear out everything you are unhappy about? Maybe a fresh start is the ticket. You will have many other opportunities to rip stuff out. Check your 1/4 inch seam and move on!

maviskw

This is your answer to not-so-accurate cutting. Line up those seams, nest them, and PIN them. Then push, pull, use a stylus, to get the fabrics to match up at the seam. If the top piece appears too long, push it under the needle with the stylus. I take hold of the two fabrics in front of the needle and behind the needle and pull them taut, then let the feed dogs pull that fabric in as they want. And sew SLOWLY.

BettyGee

Attaining a perfect 1/4 inch is in the realm with fairies in the forest, fun to think about; but a dickens of a time attaining. I've recently found that when it calls for a 3 7/8 inch square I make a 4 inch square and apply the same to the other pieces in the project. The result has been so satisfying. I just finished a new block I've never made before and used this "logic" and the block turned out beautifully. Try to be kinder to yourself, as Tartan said do try for projects that can give you some wiggle room until you feel more comfortable. The number of books, rulers and tools I've purchased over the years to attain that elusive 1/4 inch would be better spent on fabric. Well, heck any money is better spent on fabric. You'll be fine, take it slow, there are no "quilt police" and quilting is our way of having fun so remember that and know that we have all had our disasters.

gram2five

Welcome to the Board! For your first project, this pattern has a lot of seams that need to be matched up. Don't beat yourself up too much about them not matching, it's more difficult than it looks. You said you were going to finish this yourself, so don't fret about your errors, continue on and use it as a learning experience. By the time you get it sandwiched, pinned or basted, and quilted, you will have a wealth of experience on the mechanics of quilt making. And don't be so hard on yourself!

madamekelly

Steve, a few days ago here on this board, one of the wonderful members wrote an article about cutting fabric. I have been trying to quilt for nearly thirty years without a very important piece of advice. I want to share it with you. Believe me, it has changed everything.
When you look at a piece of fabric, it comes folded in half. The crease runs the length of the fabric. If you grip each side and pull, it stretches some, but if you grip each end and pull, no stretch. If you keep all pieces cut from the same direction, and make sure you stack them in the same direction, all of the stretch will be going in the same direction. As you sew them the edge that does not stretch will be against other edges that do not stretch, and the stretchy edges will be sewed to each other. Everything will go together nice and neat. Try it. Cut four matching patches, and sew them together keeping the stretch in the same direction, you will be surprised at how well it works. I know I was. If for some reason you lose track of which way your stretch goes, just give it a tug, the straight of grain will still not stretch. Now, the embarrassing admission is I knew about "straight of grain" from sewing clothing, but never thought to be sure I paid attention to it as I pieced. (Hiding my red face with my hands...). Good luck dear and welcome to our obsession.

Here is a link to the article which will make it much clearer.

http://www.quiltingboard.com/resources/article-97.html

* Of course this only works perfect with squares or rectangles. Bias edges on other shapes will not work the same way.

carolynjo

You can make sure that you sew an accurate 1/4" seam if you take a full pack of Post-its and stick them on your 1/4" seam line to make a "dam" against which you push (lightly) your seam. If you use your 1/4" seam dam constantly, you should have all accurate seams. Good luck.

IBQUILTIN

Welcome to the board. First off, take a look at all the wonderful advice you see here, then see if you can pinpoint the problem, decide if you can or cannot live with it and go from there. Small imperfections are hidden a lot when the quilting is done, but for the most part, if you can't live with it you will have to fix it. Otherwise, just keep on going and practiwill eventually pay off. Good luck with your quilt whichever way you decide to go.

Bree123

Steve,
First off, welcome to the world of quilting & congrats on starting your first project!

You've already received tons of good advice. I only have a couple things to add to what's already been mentioned:

1) The pre-cuts you bought were Fat Quarters. The difficulty with Fat Quarters is that you only get one selvage so you cannot "square up" your fabric. Different quilt shops cut Fat Quarters in different manners (scissors, rotary cutters, tearing, or machine cut by a manufacturer) that produce different results, but I often find they are off-grain. A Fat Quarter is a 1/2 yard cut of fabric that is cut in half sideways. If you can, you would do better buying 1/4 yard cuts (or slightly more, if possible). Usually a 1/4 yard is less expensive than a Fat Quarter & it will allow you to get your fabric back on grain. When fabric is off grain, you might end up cutting on the bias which would result in some edges stretching more than others as you sew -- making some blocks longer than others. Since you already bought this fabric, as others have suggested, I would just starch the living daylights out of each of your pieces to give them as much stability as possible.
2) It will help if you sew together the pieces for each column first. Then, press the seams from the first column all toward the bottom of the column. Press the seams for the next column toward the top. And reverse again to press toward the bottom for the third column. That will help your seams nest. Pin column A to column B at each junction. If there is extra fabric (up to 1/8" or so), put a pin in the middle of that segment & keep dividing in 2 again until the two pieces lie flat because the pins have taken up the slack. Do the same thing with column B to C.
3) If you still can't get it, the suggestion to print out a paper foundation is a good one. You can print as a poster at home & tape together or go to your local print shop & have them print one on larger paper. There are plenty of great tutorials on Paper Foundation Piecing online. It's what I usually do any time I'm sewing on a bias (which you may be doing without meaning to).

Good luck & keep posting any questions you have ... but remember that none of us had a perfect first project. I keep my first bed (crib) quilt as my avatar to remind me of the progress I've made even in the relatively short time since I switched from sewing to quilting. We can't compare ourselves to master quilters who've been at this for 40+ years.