susanwilley

I am starting a block that has 1 1/2 wide strips that are 5 1/2 long. I am sewing the strips together in fives. So, that means if I sew them together correctly they should finish at 5' squares...right?? And, when I sew the squares together they should match up edge to edge? Well, I just can't figure out where I'm going wrong. My squares are turning out to be longer than wide and I can't sew them together edge to edge. I am trying to sew them together so that one square has the strips vertically against another strip that is horizontal and they do not match up edge to edge. Does anyone know what I am doing wrong?

fatquarters

I think maybe your seams are too fat, try sewing them with a scant 1/4"

Feathers-N-Fur

Your seam allowance is too wide. You can either unstitching everything and correct your seam allowance, or I would just cot them down to be the same length as whatever your width is. It sounds like you are doing a rail fence, which should be no problem to modify this way. Good luck.

Mdegenhart

It would be easier if you were strip piecing longer pieces & then cutting the long sewn-together strips into squares. Does that make sense?

susanwilley

Thank you ladies. You have given me some things to look at. I think I will cut them down to fit. Mdegenhart, that does make sense and I am going to try that next.
Thanks so much for your help! I knew this would be the place to get some answers!

Tartan

If your strips are 5 and 1/2 long, they will still be that length when finished. The total block probably should be 5 and 1/2 square so that when sewn together all the blocks are 5 inches in the top.

Jeanne S

After you sew the five strips together using a 1/4" seam allowance you should have a square that measures 5 1/2 " on all sides. Then when sewn next to other blocks they should measure 5" square finished. If your seam allowance is accurate at 1/4" inch and you still don't get the right size the only other thing I can think of is to double check to see if your pieces were cut accurately. If you have not already cut all your pieces, you might find it easier to do as Mdegenhart suggests and sew your 5 WOF strips together then crosscut them into 5 1/2" segments.

JanetM

If you sew with an accurate 1/4" seam your 5 strips will finish at 5 1/2" which mens your blocks will be 5 1/2" square.

Jan in VA

When you have finished sewing your strips into a block, it will measure 5 & 1/2" square.
When you have finished sewing your block into a quilt, it will "finish" at 5" square.

If your seams are pretty accurately 1/4", you're good to go.

Jan in VA

dunster

If you're well into the project, then do as others have said and square up those blocks at something less than 5.5" so that they will go together. But if you're just getting started, now would be an excellent time to perfect your scant 1/4", because it will become truly important in so many patterns where just cutting blocks to size won't be a viable solution.