MollieSue

I'm making the Warm Wishes baby quilt, pattern from http://quiltmaker.com/patterns/patt4/ that I read about here. It states main square should be 6" x 6", two strips 2" wide, the middle strip 3" wide. When I sewed the three strips together it was 5.5", instead of 6". My husband thinks I was to add seam allowances to it? Does anyone know what I"m doing wrong? I'm hoping it's not to add seam allowances as I already have all my strips cut and sewn. Leave it to me to have issues with the one quilt everyone says is the easiest! lol!!!
Thank you! :-) :-)
Diana

thimblebug6000

I've made a few from this pattern & it has worked fine. According to your notes, you say cut 2", 3"and 2" = once sewn together this unit would be 1¾"+2½"+1¾" this totals 6", right? maybe you are using too "wide" of a ¼" seam allowance?

MollieSue

Hi Thimblebug, mine equalled 5.5". My seams look (to me) to be 1/4", but apparently they must not be. lol!! I'm just cutting down my 6" squares to 5.5", so far it looks like it'll work out.
Thank you!

twistedstitcher

I've made quite a few of these and never had a problem either. You aren't supposed to add seam allowances. Check your 1/4" seam and also check that you cut the strips the correct width before sewing them together.

MollieSue

I know (hope) my strips are the right size as I just bought this new thingy to cut them with tonight - Shape Cut Slotted Ruler, by June Tailor. This thing is really neat! But I have never had a problem with my allowances before. I got two rows done, sewn together in rows, looks good except for the last square, it's off almost 1/2"! I gave up on it for tonight. I'm making it for my grandson's birthday, which is the beginning of May. Good thing I have plenty of time to get it figured out! lol!!

HMK

This is one of my favourite patterns and never given me any problems. Have you remeasured everything at lots of different spots to see if that will pinpoint the trouble area. Maybe post a photo and see if that gives us an idea. Being off by 1/2 is a lot - there's got to be a reason we aren't seeing. You've already cut your squares down - I've always worked with the 6" squares and things worked fine - this is a puzzle. I know you said your seams appear to be 1/4" but have you actually measured them and the same with the strips. You have that fancy ruler thingy to cut the strips but did you actually measure them with another ruler to check for accuracy? A lady at our guild has that same ruler/cutter slot thing and she did make a goof when doing a demo. Just thinking out loud here, you know.

pocoellie

I came up with 5.5". The 2" would be 1 1/2 x 2=3 + the 3 would be 2 1/2, I don't know how they come up with 6. Sorry, can't help you there.

Rox17

That would only be true if you were taking 1/2 inch seams. You are only sewing on one side of the outside strips which would be -1/4". The center strip would be - 1/2" since you are sewing on both sides of it. No matter how you figure it you should end up with a 6 inch square.

key4unc

Whenever I make this pattern, I always sew my 3 strips first. Then whatever width they end up being, I cut the blocks and sub-cut the pieced strip to that same size.

grammy Dwynn

When I use the June Taylor slotted ruler, I usually sew a 'SCANT' 1/4" seam.

If you cut a 2" strip with your regular ruler and then one with JT, you might find that they are off just a little. IMHO . . . ask me how I came to this conclusion. I do tend to cut my strips (reg ruler) probably on the thicker side of 2".

Also (more thinking out loud) sometime we have to make adjustments on our 1/4" seams because of the fabrics. Have you noticed that some 'seem' to be thicker then others.

Between the rulers, the fabric, and our sewing, and machines, it is always best to check the 1/4" seams.

I could be wrong, but some food for thought.