Being Precise Matters

The members of a quilting group I belong to each volunteered to make a couple blocks to be used in a quilt we're making for someone. We're all making the same block pattern. We each have the directions and they're good, thorough directions. I made the same block some years back for a block exchange with a different group of quilters.

I also volunteered to piece the blocks together for this quilt.

Last Sunday, I got out the blocks and measured and trimmed them. Most were okay but a few weren't, so I put them aside for later. Later came knocking on my door tonight.

Really, it was a little like the Goldilocks story. A couple of the blocks were too small. So small in fact that after taking them apart to see what I could do to fix them, I finally decided I had to abandon all hope. It just wasn't worth the time and there was little that could be done to salvage them.

Four or five of the blocks were too big. Those, of course, I had a better chance of fixing, so that's what I spent the evening doing: Taking apart, trimming, and re-sewing.

And it's the weirdest thing. One part of the larger block consists of a smaller 9-patch block made of plain squares and half square triangles. When I took the blocks apart to trim them, I quickly realized the 9-patch pieces had been cut irregularly and not to any real measurement. As a quilter, I can't imagine "guess-timating" the size I'd need to cut such small pieces. But, yet, I can't figure out what method the quilter was using to get the right sized pieces if it wasn't simply by guess work.

The longer I quilt, the better I get at piecing, and I think a big part of my improvement has come about through the realization that being very, very precise in cutting and stitching makes a huge difference. As I reconstructed quilt blocks tonight, I remembered that some of you have left comments over the past several months, telling me you're fairly new to quilting, so I thought maybe this would be a good opportunity for me to pass on what's probably the most important thing I've learned about quilting: Be precise and consistent in measuring, cutting, and stitching.

As an exercise to test yourself and/or practice with if you're interested, next time you have to make 25 of the same block, measure each one and compare it to the others. Measure between seams to see if you're consistent there too. If you're not, try again and figure out exactly where to line up the edge of your fabric on your sewing machine--either on the plate or by using the edge of your foot as a guide--so you end up with a consistent 1/4" seam allowance.

I'm going to try to remember to get some photos of blocks as I'm piecing them so I can demonstrate some of the things I've found that help with block accuracy. And I know it will be a bit of basic Quilting 101 for many of you, but I think it's important to pass our knowledge on to new quilters, so please bear with me. In fact, if I post some basic quilting tips and directions and you have anything to add, please leave comments with your tips too.

When it comes to quilting, what do you struggle most with? And how long have you been quilting?