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Hey all!
I have cut and started putting together a little first run for me…my question is what is the easiest way to hold together your squares for sewing. it seems no matter how I do it they are off in corners meeting up…I'm a little stumped here in the frozen tundra this Monday afternoon!
Thanks for the help
Camila
I'm not quite sure what you are asking. Are you having trouble when you sew squares together? First they need to be the same size and then you could use pins to hold them. Also, try to sew as straight as possible. If this doesn't answer your question, try again.
yep that's what I am asking…LOL
I do the first together and they do fine and the further I go they get a little off and the points of the corners.
I thought they might be moving some as I sew but they are laying flat and square together so I'm not sure what is happening but I Just keep trying.I figure sooner or later it will come to me what is going on.
Thanks
camila
If you are trying to match up the seams between rows I always pin, I will sometimes pin when sewing squares together so there is no slippage of the fabric when I sew, keeps the corners even.hope this helps.
thanks Cathy!!!
Camila
I always pin also. It might be a pain, but if I want seams or corners to match up, I have to pin. It's better than ripping and sewing over and believe me, I have done plenty of that too!
I was watching Fons and Porter this past Saturday and the guest (can't remember her name) says that she always pieces with her walking foot and it helps keep the fabric from shifting. You might try that and see if it helps.
If I'm using different fabric lines, I will put the stretchy one on the bottom.
Vonnie..this might be my problem I have one fabric that is kind of stretchy and the others are not so I think I was just putting to much of a grip on it as it was being sewn.
thanks All I so appreciate all your help!
Camila
Mine have been "off" on every quilt I've made. (I'm tackling #13 now.) But they do get better and better each time. I'm not sure there is an exact answer to solve the problem. More likely, I think I am getting more precise in cutting, better at keeping a consistent 1/4" seam allowance, better at easing in excess fabric when necessary, etc.
By the way, I don't pin a thing. I'm lazy that way. It takes so much time and I get the same results whether I pin or don't pin. I'm sure it's a personal preference. But I'm really getting good at matching points without pinning. Like everything else, it just takes time and practice.
Making sure you keep a consistent 1/4" seam, good cutting, and pinning help, but nesting your seams is a really good way to help your seams match up. Basically, press your seams on row one one direction, and row two the opposite direction, and your seams will nest together. You can feel them nesting when you have it right, and I like to pin right into the seam. Most of the times it works really well. Practice will help too.
Matching up will be the death of me (or at least until I can afford a top of the range machine with built-in dual feed which is unlikely!).
(I don't want to seem as though I'm hijacking your thread, Camila, but this 'matching up' is my biggest problem too. I hope that anyone commenting will benefit both of us.)
I started in July using a new domestic Singer with a lap quilt, followed by a queen size with flannel backing (I must have been insane but it worked reasonably well), 8 placemats and matching table runner, another lap quilt and minutes ago I finished a king single-sized quilt.
The latter started with 5 inch squares and had sashing and posts in between the squares. I measured, sewed (I used a walking foot for all the piecing), pressed, seam ripped, measured sew etc. I put more effort into this than my previous work. When the top was finally finished everything appeared straight and in line - I was very proud and felt I was finally getting the hang of it.
I carefully put the three layers together (cotton batting), made sure the pinning hadn't caused any ripples and if they did I re-pinned.
Then came the quilting which left me feeling down after all the previous work. I straight line quilted a 1/4 of an inch on the side of all the seams with the walking foot. Everything was going fine for the first 2/3rds or so despite wrestling the quilt through the standard throat when I noticed the occasional small pucker starting to appear just before I reached a seam. I then also noticed that the seam lines and shape of the squares and posts had very slightly altered.
My guess is the fabric started to stretch and perhaps the walking foot was wearing out (does this happen in such a short time?). I'm so disappointed because of the concerted effort I put into this quilt.
Anyway, the quilt is in the washing machine at the moment because it's a gift for my MIL whose having an operation on Thursday (one of the reasons I'm a bit down - I wanted this quilt to be the best). I hate this part because I have nightmares of my work falling about in the washing/drying process although it's never happened.
How do you experienced quilters maintain the 'matching up' right through until the end? Unless the secret depends on an expensive sewing machine made for piecing/quilting, I just don't see what else I could do to come close to the near-perfect quilt.
You do not need a top of the line machine to quilt, nor do you need a walking foot for piecing. I use a 1/4" piecing foot, because it helps me maintain that 1/4" seam. I press (not iron) carefully, and when quilting, I always start in the center and work my way to the edges to help ease out any puckering that might occur during the quilting process. That is one reason why you always want to cut your backing and batting about 5 inches or so larger than your quilt front when doing the quilting the sandwich as the pieces can and do shift during this process. If your seams are shifting, this could be do to the fabric you chose (is it a stretchy fabric? are you using the bias or straight of grain? etc.), maybe your seams are not consistent, or maybe your cutting wasn't as straight as you thought, or not nesting your seams. If you have bunching at your intersections, try looking up swirl seams on you tube and you'll find some tutorials on how to swirl your seams so they all nest together and lie flatter, making the quilting part so much easier. A friend clued me in on that when I was working on a quilt with lots of half square triangles all converging and I was having a devil of a time getting my points to come together perfectly and lie flat too.
I'd like to suggest you all check out the free mini class over on Crafty.com called Piece, Patch, Quilt. This is an excellent beginner's class on quilting, with all the fundamentals of quilting. Even for those who are not totally newbies, it is a good refresher. I took the class thinking it was something else, but it does have some really good basics that might help you all with that matching problem. It goes from picking fabrics, cutting, piecing, pressing, sandwiching, and then straight line quilting and then simple binding.
Good luck guys.
I pin seams between rows and an occasional pin on a longer piece. Short pieces I never pin. I have IDT on my machine so that helps a ton in keeping things in line. try not to pull or push the fabric through the machine let the machine do the work , that may help with stretching.
Thanks all
going to check out Crafty.com …I guess it's like Anna says the more you do the better it will get!
Camila
can't seem to find Crafty.com does anyone have a link that they can share? thanks
Hi Camila - here's a link to all the free quilting classes at Craftsy: See Craftsy's FREE Quilting Mini-Classes Right Here!Quote:
Originally Posted by Camila
Thank You Vonnie!
Camila
Thanks everyone for your replies.Quote:
Originally Posted by Iris Girl
Re the quote above : does that apply when quilting too? Are the dogs strong enough to pull the whole weight of the quilt? If I let the machine do the pulling at this point it sometimes seems to me the stitching keeps happening in the one place.
If you are using purchased charms or cake layers...they often come not all the same size..off by 1/8" or so.Why, we dont' know! If you pre wash (which I do for this exact reason) they will shrink. I just washed some cake layers intending to cut them into 4, 5" squares. I got some that measured only 9,1/2 inches after the pre wash so they wouldn't cut into 4, 5"ers. Others in the same pre wash didn't shrink at all. So if I had not prewashed, the ones that shrank..would have shrank after the quilt was done. Some like that puckered look, other including me, don't.
If there is ANY stretch to the fabric...handle it gently. But on the other hand, use the stretch to your advantage. I always start by matching the two corners, then if there is any "give", I can even distribute it and a tad bit of stretch as I sew and the pieces go together just fine.
Even seam allowance, exact 1/4" all the time. The small the length you are sewing, the more exact it has to be. You can accomodate and work around a seam that is a tad bit crooked if the seam is 10+ inches long, but on a 5" seam length...not much there to forgive anything.
Press (not iron, as ironing will cause some stretch) before you cut the pieces. Then press and starch after you have cut them. That keeps the threads more secure while you sew.
Good luck and hope it works out!