tallchick

I spent a few hours today polishing my skills and that 1/4 seam. I took some scraps and this is what I got. A bit flustered as to why my points did not match up but I hope in time they improve. Does practice really make perfect when it comes to these??

I also worked on the disappearing 4 patch and I was pleased with the results even if I did have to trim them down to 8 inches.

Any tips on perfecting these 2 blocks would be greatly appreciated!!!

Grace creates

Is there a point where the seems cross sort of like an x, I look for that and that's where I want the needle to hit

Prism99

In the first photo, it looks to me as if your seams are a bit too narrow. Did you do a test of your 1/4" seam? Basically sew three 2.5" strips together, iron, then measure. The finished measurement should be 6.5". If the finished width is more than that, your seam allowance is too narrow.

ManiacQuilter2

Yes, practice makes perfect but it is nice to know what you are doing wrong. If you pop into a quilt store or JAF, you might want to take a look at an article in the current Quilty magazine Mar/Apr 2014. I make my HST a bit larger then press them with starch then do a final trim cut. If they are exact, your seams were find in the D4P so they should have been fine with the pinwheel. Good Luck !!

jollyquilting

Lol After numerous points got cut off, I finally figured out that sewing on the side that shows an x gives me something for the needle to hit. Mine are looking better

gale

I've seen close-up views in magazines where points and corners didn't line up perfectly. After that I was a lot less hard on myself about matching perfectly.

toverly

I had a funny tip given to me the other day, that seemed to help when I tried it out. The glass head pins that are longer and thinner don't take as much of a bite of the fabric and seem to not let fabric shift as much. I run the pin thru the points I want to match, keep it at a right angle, pinch the fabric, pin before and after, then take out the center pin. Worked for me.

PaperPrincess

First, double check your seam. Remember, you don't actually measure the seam, you measure the resultant patch. Good instructions here:
http://www.quiltingboard.com/tutoria...ce-t89997.html

Next, when you make your HST for the pinwheels, make sure that when you trim them down/ square them up, the diagonal seam goes exactly through the corner. All your HSTs should be pressed the same way, for instance toward the print. When you place the 2 HSTs together, the seams should nestle together.
Here's a you tube video on one suggested method
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O18wxk9BZk4

Barb_MO

If you are making oversized pieces and making half sq. triangles of them, you will need to trim them. You want to remember to trim two sides, if you don't you will have point that off when you sew the units together.

NJ Quilter

The matching on the second block looks perfect to me. On the first, perhaps if your seams are correct within the segments, I might suspect your pinning for sewing the rows. I place a pin straight up/down through the center of the x on the top piece and then stab it into the same intersection on the bottom piece. Holding that pin straight up/down, I place pins as close as possible to the left & right of that in normal fashion. Repeat with each intersection. If there is no specific x at the next point, eyeball 1/4" from the edge of the pieces on both top/bottom pieces and follow the same practice with pins on either side. Do this for each place where seams intersect.