Yes – there’s a lot of stopping and starting when you’re piecing. I’d rather be stopping and starting to position fabric and line up seams, than sew like crazy and then have to rip out. The width of the seam allowance at the end of the seam is consistent with the width of the seam allowance in the middle
Check out the sample below. See what happened at the end? It’s not a scant ¼” seam allowance and this can cause some major inaccuracy issues, especially if it happens a lot.
None of the seams in the pictures below were pinned or measured in anyway and you can see how beautiful the intersections are. I know where my scant ¼” seam allowance is by using my Quilter’s ¼” Piecing Foot P, I pin on the fly, using the quilter’s awl and I take control of my seams and match things up as I go. This process saves a lot of time and yet I get pretty accurate results.
The width at the end of the seam allowance is NOT consistent with the width in the middle
Why does this happen? Most times, it occurs because we take our hands off of our pieces as the seam nears the end. We’re in that much of a hurry to grab the next pieces and the sewing machine takes control and let’s the pieces do whatever. This frequently occurs if there’s a diagonal seam on the reverse side (which there is). The bulk of that seam, will push the fabric to the left or right and you end up with this inaccuracy.
Twirled seams that are pressed flat
Intersection is absolutely flat with the twirled seam
Perfect intersection
I do twirl my seams on the reverse side (it’s an old habit that I can’t shake, but I like the way it looks on the front) and reduces bulk in the seam allowances particularly with diagonal seams. In a post on QUILTsocial, I touch on how to reduce bulk in the seam allowances.
I love surprises and each time I discovered something on the Designer EPIC, well it was exciting. There are some absolutely amazing design features on the Husqvarna Viking Designer EPIC. I hope you enjoyed reading about those features and the little tips on achieving those scant ¼” seams. I’ve got a tutorial on making the perfect Quarter Square Triangle. Read on.
It’s very important that you stay in control of those pieces and “man handle” them with your quilter’s awl until the absolute end of your seam. Stop sewing and then pick up your next piece.
QUILTsocial
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