Calling all quilters (I'm looking at you ElleBee!)

unaveragejane

I'm making a wall quilt for DS2's room by the Kati Cupcake Bella pattern. I've gotten all my 4x4 squares done and sewn the strips between the squares so I have 6 full rows. Now I'm sewing the strips that go between the rows, and I'm having a hard time getting the squares and strips to line up in one continuous line. I was pretty meticulous with cutting and sewing everything so far, and all the pieces have been pressed, so I think the problem may be that the long strip is stretching a little bit here and there. At the starting edge of the blocks and strip, the pieces will line up, but by the end, they are quite noticeably off (at least to me). Any suggestions as to how to fix this? If I pin the life out of it and go really slowly, will that help?

ElleBeeDub

Yes, pinning and going slow can help. While doing that, make sure you're using each corner as a mini-goal (does that make sense?). If I'm sewing something that really needs to line up, I'll generally go through and pin the most important "these stripes need to line up" type places, then I add pins in between as well if necessary.

Another thing that might help would be a walking foot (if you're not already using one). It helps the top fabric move with your bottom fabric as your feed dogs pull it along. 

Does any of that help? 

ElleBeeDub

Oh! And remember that you're going to notice things like this way more than anyone else. At the end of the day, it doesn't need to be perfect to be lovely

bumpuser5078523

Yep, I read quitters also.

I don't quilt, but I sew. One tip to add, make sure you aren't pulling on the fabric when you sew. Sometimes I find myself pulling the top layer when I line it up with the bottom as I sew it. If you pin, you might not have this issue. I rarely pin because I'm lazy.

unaveragejane

ElleBeeDub said:

Yes, pinning and going slow can help. While doing that, make sure you're using each corner as a mini-goal (does that make sense?). If I'm sewing something that really needs to line up, I'll generally go through and pin the most important "these stripes need to line up" type places, then I add pins in between as well if necessary.

Another thing that might help would be a walking foot (if you're not already using one). It helps the top fabric move with your bottom fabric as your feed dogs pull it along. 

Does any of that help? 

Yes, this all helps a lot! I have a walking foot but have never used it, so I'll be sure to grab that and more pins. I need to start working on it at naps instead of night time, too. I realized I sewed one of the strips on face-down b/c I was tired and not paying attention. I have never quilted for precision before...it's always just been something to do to use up scraps. I'm a little antsy about making sure this turns out well, especially since it will be on the wall and I will be staring at it a lot. :-/

unaveragejane

@mrscjmb9410 @charmingthemoon @doeie04 Y'all are funny. What did you think I was quitting? CDing? Cigarettes? Cross-dressing?

TJ1979

@unaveragejane‌ I didn't realize those were things you needed to quit. Spreadsheet @SecretAgentKate‌!!

runningyogimama

mrscjmb9410 said:

OMG. I seriously read the title as 'Calling all quitters' and thinking WTF? Why would Jane be quitting CD? and why would Ellebeedub quit? 

Holy reading fail.

Anyway, good luck with your quilt, @unaveragejane.

Haha, I read quitters, too!

unaveragejane

TJ1979 said:

@unaveragejane‌ I didn't realize those were things you needed to quit. Spreadsheet @SecretAgentKate‌!!

That's just the C's. If I went thru the rest of the alphabet, you'd either kick me out or crown me queen.