to square or not to square
05-02-2010, 07:55 AM
#41
Junior Member
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Texas
Posts: 195
I square up as I go. When doing HST, I cut squares of fabric 4 1/4" for a finished 3" HST. Place the 2 squares right sides together and draw a line for corner to corner. Sew 1/4 in on each side of the line and cut on the drawn line. Then square up. I wastes a little fabric but sure cuts down on the frustration when the blocks are sewn together. I did Dear Jane a few years ago. I put hash marks on the pattern pieces that would be on the outter edges of the block. On those sides I added an additional 1/4" (insurance) and trimmed the finished block to 6 1/2. Sure helped me get accurate blocks. Being careful not to stretch the pieces also helps.
05-02-2010, 06:46 PM
#43
Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: Northern Kentucky
Posts: 521
I square everything! It is amazing how much quicker and nicer it goes together. I am one of those "perfect" quilters who wear tear out until the seams and corners match perfectly. Squaring makes it pretty easy.
05-02-2010, 07:51 PM
#44
Super Member
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: Some where in way out West Texas
Posts: 3,041
That makes two of us. My mother would get so upset with me when I was young and I would continue to rip out seams, because they were not to my satisfaction. She would always say just put it down and come back later, but I could never do that. My quilting group seems to have a problem with this too. They tell me it is close enough and they would rip it out for it, well I just have to have it right in my way of thinking. I made a king size quilt for my Dad when I really first got into quilting and had no instructions from anyone at the time 20 or more years ago. I did not know at the time I needed to begin machine quilting from the center, and being the dummy I was, I just started at one edge and kept going. Well........, I ended up taking all of the quilting out and started over because it began to fold up on me. Believe me that one quilt taught me a well earned lesson on machine quilting. I have since done the same thing because it just didn't satisfy me, but not because I started in the wrong place.But I square up as I go, and often I still rip seams before I get the block ready to square up. My seam ripper and I are like identical twins we are so closely knitted together. lol Where in Ky.? I lived in Campbellsville, for about 6 mo. then on to Scottsville. I graduated from HS. in Scottsville, lived there for two yrs. Have a niece and family who live in Scottsville., 68 miles from Nashville. Gerbie
05-03-2010, 06:13 AM
#46
Super Member
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Crystal River Florida
Posts: 9,785
Originally Posted by MadQuilter
The more time you invest in prep work, the better your final product will be. If you square them now, the assembly will go much smoother. Trust me on this - it's a lesson I learned the hard way.
Ditter
05-03-2010, 01:51 PM
#47
Banned
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: Forest Grove,OR
Posts: 6,400
I have a really hard time squaring up, when it says to square to 3,4,5,6 ect...there are no rulers this size. sorry for the dumb statement but it is true, I need to see someone doing this for me to understand. God bless. Penny
05-03-2010, 05:50 PM
#48
Junior Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: Hinsdale NH
Posts: 212
On my next quilt I'm going to try cutting all my pieces just a little bigger and squaring as I go. These last 2 quilts (my first 2 still working on the second) have been very difficult because when I am done making my blocks they vary in size between 12 and 12 1/4 inches. So I lose a lot of points and overall I'm probably the only one that notices them but I do notice. Would love to make a block that didn't have to be trimmed, it would also make the sashing and corner squares and borders etc. go a lot smoother.
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