Will I ever get better at matching seams?
#1
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: Mississippi
Posts: 23
Will I ever get better at matching seams?
Hi everyone! I'm a beginner but I've been trying to quilt for the last 6 months. Will I ever get better at matching seams? I watch a lot of tutorials and they just speed on through rows and everything looks great. Even if I go super slow my seams don't ever seem to match. Is this just something I'll get with practice?
#4
Power Poster
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: Ontario, Canada
Posts: 41,539
Seams lining up starts with accurate cutting. If your pieces are out even 1/16 th, it does add up over several pieces and before you know it, your seam is out 1/4 inch. It helps to pin your intersections and if you need to ease in extra fullness, put the bigger square next to the feed dogs when sewing the pieces together. The feed dogs will use up a little extra fabric. Some people like to match up the seams and put a tiny drop of Elmer's washable school glue to hold the pieces together. Use a dry iron to temporarily fuse the pieces together with the glue.
#5
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: Mississippi
Posts: 23
Yes, I'm currently working on a charm square quilt. It's supposed to be simple. I'm sewing all of my squares in rows with a 1/4" seam allowance. I even started measuring each square after I sew one on to make a row and see that it is exactly 4.75 inches. My problem is when I sew my rows together. It keeps getting off. Also I am pressing to the dark side, so my seams will nest. The first few are fine, but by the end of the row they are not nesting.
#6
Power Poster
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: Western Wisconsin
Posts: 12,930
Sewing machines differ in how accurately they sew two layers together. Mine is pretty good, but I have also sewn on machines that definitely feed the bottom layer faster. With this type of machine, holding your top strip higher helps. Otherwise, using a walking foot helps.
When I want really accurate matching of seams, I glue baste with Elmer's washable school glue before sewing. Works better than pins for me.
When I want really accurate matching of seams, I glue baste with Elmer's washable school glue before sewing. Works better than pins for me.
#9
Super Member
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: Asheville, previously Lake Vermilion, Tarpon Springs, Duluth, St Paul, Soudan
Posts: 1,651
After ten+ years of quilting and over 50 of sewing, my seams still would not march perfectly without pinning. At first, I thought that "when I got good" they would just fit like a glove. But even a thread or too off will keep that from happening. Don't feel as if pinning is some admission of failure.
#10
Power Poster
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: Mableton, GA
Posts: 11,335
My latest trick is a drop of Elmer's school glue at the intersections. I tried this with my 9 year old granddaughter and she had matching seams, because of the miracle of the school glue. Of course if the pieces are way off, this won't work, but, I cut the squares so they were pretty close.
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post