madamekelly

I know that yardage usually stretches from seledge to selvedge, and does not stretch end to end. When I am cutting quilt pieces, I make a point of making sure I do not turn any of my fabric so it all stays the same orientation. When I am sewing, I make sure to seam the non-stretch edges first, then connect the rows using the more “adjustable” direction to join the rows matching the seams and letting the machine squish the stretchiness in. If I am cutting triangles, it is not so critical, but I keep my long edge facing up and down so it does not move, then I have less problem with not matching seams. My favorite pattern is TAW (trip around the world) byEleanor Burns. No seams to match at all.

Jan in VA

I pin. Everything longer than 2 inches. Just got tired of the 'misfits,' so I tame them with a pin at the beginning, one in the middle, two near the end. AND, I use my awl's point to hold the two pieces together as they near the needle at the end. It just wastes less time for me if I pin than if I have to 'unsew' one out of 5 sections.

I sew with a stitch large enough to get the tip of my Clover seam ripper into easily, usually about 3 on my mechanical Bernina 1031, and I always use my 1/4 inch foot with a sticky note pad taped next to the presser foot to give me a dramatically accurate seam.

Jan in VA

Jo Anne B.

I did not know this, Thanks Tartan!!

bearisgray

If/When I am sewing long pieces together that I am reasonably sure that I cut the same length, I pin each side into halves and then fourths - and then match and pin the sections/sides/seams together - and then I sew "section to section" - this seems to minimize the "creeping" -

I can deal with about 1/8 inch unevenness on one edge - if it's a long seam - but that does not work well on tiny blocks.

carolynjo

That is my strategy, too, BiGray.

bearisgray

I meant to say "I divide each side into halves and then fourths - - -" I usually use pins as markers - and then line up the pins.

I'm sewing bags - that start out like I'm going make pillowcases - and this method seems to be working fairly well - especially if I have one cut edge and one torn edge.

(I don't like to rip/tear - because it does "injure" the fabric - but sometimes it seems to work "well enough" for what I'm doing. I do press the torn edges to flatten them down and try to get rid of some of the ruffling that occurs.)