deedum

My friend just loves hers, so I brought one two years ago at the Paducah quilt show. Haven't really used it alot. It is nice however. I found that I use my little ironing board that my dh made for me, cost nothing and I love it more. Sits right beside my sewing machine.

ManiacQuilter2

As Tartan stated, there is always a bit of lost when pressing a seam to the side. That is why I prefer to slightly oversize my blocks. You have to be so careful when pressing because you can easily warp a block by moving the block around. Check out some u-tube video on pressing quilt blocks.

PaperPrincess

We talk about a 1/4" seam, but you don't measure the seam, you measure the resultant patch. Others have posted about this and here's a tutorial:
http://www.quiltingboard.com/tutoria...ce-t89997.html
If your blocks are too small either your seam is not correct, or you are pressing a tiny crease in the seam.
I have a steady betty and really like it. My cousin bought the one that covers an entire ironing board, but didn't want to use it all the time, so she cut it and gave me half. I don't use it for yardage, just for pressing blocks. Having said this, it's not going to solve the problem of your blocks being too small. It does help keep blocks square, especially those with lots of seams and/or bias seams.

Pennyhal

It's probably not that your seam allowance is inaccurate, but that the fabric that folds over the seam takes up a little bit of extra fabric. So your scant seam allowance might not be scant enough. There have been times, when I haven't been very accurate, that I've needed a 1/8" seam. When that happens, the seam can fray/tear out easily. So I run two lines of stitching on the seam allowance very close together. It can be a little more difficult to hand quilt through, but the seam won't come loose.

dunster

I agree with those who have given advice on checking the size of the block, not the size of the seam and figuring out why the block is too small. It could be due to cutting, sewing, or pressing. The Steady Betty might help you if the problem is pressing, but usually it's the sewing that causes this problem, and in that case the Steady Betty wouldn't help at all.

EasyPeezy

I have duck cloth on all my pressing boards and they work really well.
Don't think I'll be spending my money on Steady Betty. You can buy
a lot of duck cloth for the price of a SB.
Are you using steam on your blocks? If you haven't pre-washed your
fabric, could it be that your blocks are shrinking with steam?

Onebyone

I could buy a lot of everything if I didn't spend money on anything. LOL

EasyPeezy

True. My point is you can buy cheap duck cloth and cover a whole big ironing board...
or even several boards for the price of one SB with the same result. Some people
are on a budget and others aren't and some like to spend money wisely.

Annie Pearl

Thanks for all your help. I think I'll wait on the Steady Betty and concentrate on my sewing.

paoberle

Are you pressing as you go, or waiting to press when the block is finished? Not pressing as you go will not flatten seams.