BKinCO

First off, sorry if I was supposed to link this to my other thread about this quilt. My bad :( This is the NFL quilt I've posted about.

I am now in complete panic mode. I started piecing the quilt together and I'm at a loss.

Attached are pictures, hopefully they will help explain my dilemma.

The quilt I'm making are squares consisting of three 2 1/2x 6 1/2 inch strips sewn together. Once they are all sewn into patches they measure 6 1/4 x 6 1/2. Here's where I get confused. The patches should alternate vertical and horizontal, but now the squares are not true square. If I alternate them and sew them together, the edges are not straight due to the long sides on the vertical stripes.

Did I do something wrong, and is there a way to fix it?

First picture is a sample row of parts, second picture is a picture of the quilt I'm hoping to make.

Thank you in advance for keeping me from pulling my hair out.

Jim's Gem

I would say that if your squares are 6 1/4 x 6 1/2 that your seams in your rail blocks are slightly larger than 1/4"
One way to fix would be to unsew and then resew all your rails with a scant 1/4" seam. Use a ruler to check your seam allowances.
Another way to fix, if they really all measure the same is trim 1/4" off the larger side and make them evenly sized. In other words, square them up so that they are a perfect square.
But whatever you do, for the future check the actual seam allowance and move your needle or adjust your fabric to get the 1/4" or scant (a thread short of 1/4")

BKinCO

THANK YOU for your help. I want to make sure I get this right before I do something permanent :) The horizontal sides are 1/4 inch longer than the vertical....I assumed that was because the verticals have been sewn together, but the horizontals haven't.....I guess I'm trying to understand why they didn't come out square. I measured my needle placement and had it at 1/4 inch (or so I thought....)

So, if I measure and trim all the squares to an exact 6 1/4 inch square, everything will match up and come out right in the end?

Bottle Blonde

Another thing is to double check is your cutting measurements.....measure twice, cut once. That old advice for carpenters applies to quilters, too. :)

MistyMarie

Your quilt will be a bit smaller than the picture shows if you use the same number of blocks, so if your pattern gives you directions for the border, don't follow them. Ask for help when you get to that point if you haven't added a border to a quilt before.

Oklahoma Suzie

I also think you should check your seams.

amma

In the future, cut one practice block :wink: Then you can work out the bugs before you cut them all or sew them all a tad off :D:D:D Been there and did that :roll:

BKinCO

Thanks for all your help! I'm hoping I can salvage this project without having to start all over ..... but, oh gosh, what a relief to know I have somewhere to come to ask for advice!

Elisabrat

1) take all those seams out (sucks)or 2) square up your blocks prior to stitching them together even if it means all of them are now 6 1/4 or some inbetween number.. and 3) everyone posts here a scant 1/4 inch which means pull back 1/8th in inch or so using my machine and whola! yesterday using this sage advice my block ended up exactly like I was hoping it would.

MNQuilter

first off, let me just say tha tI love the pattern you picked for this quilt. It is going to look great! That being said, I would also guess that your seam is just a tad too big. That combined with pressing can eat up just that little bit you need. Double check your seams like the other ladies said and hopefully all the blocks aren't sewed so you don't have to unsew or cut them all down. That is what I'm having to do right now. :0(