What's the trick?

[Lori63]

What's the trick to getting diagonal seams to match? I'm working on the X and O quilt from Jenny's tutorial and can't seem to get the seams to line up exactly. I think I have them lined up, but when I open it up they are off by just a little. Now to be honest it hasn't bothered me enough to rip out the seam and try again, but I figure there has to be a trick to get them to match. I don't have any problem getting straight seams to match, just those darn diagonal ones.

Anyone have any ideas?

Thanks

[Nidan_07]

Re: What's the trick?

Hey Lorie,
Are your seems pressed open or have you got them pressed to the dark side. It may be a little bit of a pain, but perhaps it may be worth trying the opposite way to whichever way you have them pressed. I have had this problem at times, and have tried this which did make a difference for me.
May or may not work, but may be worth a try on a few blocks to see how it goes.

[Lori63]

Re: What's the trick?

Lenore,

I've got them pressed to the opposite sides, that helps a little, and I pin to make sure they are lined up, but they still end up a little off. About half the time they look good, but I can't figure out why some of them don't

[Nidan_07]

Re: What's the trick?

If you have them pressed to opposite sides, the other thing I would try is to feed them into the machine so that the feed dogs are helping nest the seems together better. Does that make any sense?

[Hulamoon]

Re: What's the trick?

I have a cheater idea. Use a little basting glue.

[Nidan_07]

Re: What's the trick?

I have a cheater idea. Use a little basting glue.

That is a great idea!! I will certainly be keeping this one on hand in the future. Thanks muchly for the tip.

I hope it works for Lori, too.

[Lori63]

Re: What's the trick?

What kind of basting glue do you use? I have a lapel stick. Would that work?

[Hulamoon]

Re: What's the trick?

I use this one, but got it at my shop. It comes out in teeny tiny drops. I basted binding and it works great.

https://www.amazon.com/Crafters-Companion-Glue-Baste-2-Ounce/dp/B002FHXUAI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1488673224&sr=8-1&keywords=basting+glue

[auntiemern]

Re: What's the trick?

Lori, when you are pinning together make sure you are going straight through from one sew line to the next. (or from the top to the bottom)That works for me, and I have don't several X's & O's quilts.

[Lori63]

Re: What's the trick?

Lorie,

I may have to try it, thanks for the tip.

Lenore,

I'm not sure what you mean by feeding them so the feed dogs help nest them. I'll keep trying!

[Nidan_07]

Re: What's the trick?

Lori,
M* sells Roxanne Basting glue with the very fine applicator.
Sorry I wasn't very clear with what I was trying to say about the feed dogs.
What Marilyn was saying makes sense, too.

I used to unpick and re do until I was within a thread of perfect.
When I did a couple of Jenny's classes down here and spoke with her about this, she actually grabbed my arm and walked me over to her quilts on the wall and pointed out to me that there are not perfect. The finished is better than perfect mantra really is getting through to me.

All the very best with it!! I hope it all works out for you.

[shirleyknot]

Re: What's the trick?

Diagonal seams need to cross exactly at the seam line. I usually put a pin in the very center of the seam and use the pin to match them at the quarter inch.

[DeniseSm]

Re: What's the trick?

Lorie,

Lenore,

I'm not sure what you mean by feeding them so the feed dogs help nest them. I'll keep trying!

If your seams are pressed to one side you can get the feed dogs to work for you (not against you) by having the seam on the top be pointing away from you. The seam on the piece of fabric at the bottom should be pointing towards you. In this way the slight rotatory action of the feed dogs will push the seams together. If your seams are pointed in the opposite direction the feed dogs will naturally force the seams slightly apart.

Another trick is to switch from using pins to using wonder clips. There is no distortion from inserting a pin. Generic wonder clips work fine.

[JCY]

Re: What's the trick?

Did you square all your blocks to the same size? Sometimes pressing (not ironing) with some starch helps.

[auntiemern]

Re: What's the trick?

Lorie,

I may have to try it, thanks for the tip.

Lenore,

I'm not sure what you mean by feeding them so the feed dogs help nest them. I'll keep trying!

The bottom one would be facing away from the feed dogs, and causes just a little extra pull to get them to nest a little better.