Quilting a Quarter Inch at a Time

One of the biggest hurdles for a begining quilter is sewing an exact Quarter inch. Many sewing machine companies make a Quarter Inch presser foot, which will help you get your best 1/4 inch seam. If your machine was advertised as a machine for quilters, it probably came with the Quarter inch foot. If your's didn't, try your local sewing machine store or repair shop. Also, the internet is a great place to search.

From 2008-10

BASICALLY! It is much easier to keep an accurate 1/4 inch seam when you sew watching your fabric move under the edge of the presser foot, and much more difficult to keep the edge of the fabric along the lines on your needle plate. Because the quarter inch mark on the throat plate/needle plate is usually just inside the edge of the right feed dog.

If you don't have a Quarter Inch foot and/or can't get one, you really should check and make sure that the lines on your machine are accurate.

Get your smallest rotary ruler because it will be easier to manuever, but you can use the larger one if needed.

@ Take your rotary ruler slide it between your presser foot and your feed dogs. Line up the right most quarter inch line on your ruler under your needle, turn the sewing machine hand wheel and drop your needle down exactly on the quarter inch line. Make sure that your ruler is square under your needle, and then lower your presser foot. Take a piece of painter's tape and put it on your machine where the right edge of the rotary ruler is. Now you have a line to sew along for your 1/4 inch seam.

From 11-4

From 11-4

@ I've seen/heard it suggested to use a pile of post-it notes to make an edge for your fabric to run along. If this works for you, great. But as noted above the quarter inch line is usually inside the edge of the feed dog. So, if you lowered your presser foot, it would land on the post-it notes and could impede the impact of the feed dogs on that side. So be sure and test out this suggestion before actually sewing your project using it.

Now test it out. Take 2 - 2 inch strips about 6 inches long and sew them together using your new quarter inch line. Press it and then measure it. The 2 strips pressed open should measure 3 1/2 inches wide. If your strips are narrower than that, then your tape needs to be moved in a smidgen. If they are wider, then it needs to be moved out a smidgen. Keep tweaking until you get it just right! BASICALLY! It will pay off in the end.

From 11-4

Does your machine eat your project?

So you're all ready to start stitching, and you take those first few stitches or a few more and you realize you're fabric isn't going anywhere? Instead it looks like your machine got hungry and started eating your beautiful quilting fabric? I HATE that!! The machine I learned to sew on would do that, if I forgot to hold on to the thread tails. Guess What? I used to forget all the time~!

So here are a few tips to keep your machine from eating your quilt project.

@ A SHARP new needle on your machine. If you have a dull or burred needle it might be having a hard time getting through your fabric, and thus be pushing it into your machine. At which your machine is saying, "Yum, Yum more fabric!"

@ Leader and Enders - These are pieces of scrap fabric that you fold in half or thirds and stitch over it before your project, stitch off it a few stitches and then start your project under the presser foot. When you come to the end of stitching your project, stitch off a few stitches and then put another piece of folded scrap fabric under the presser foot. Stitch across the scrap, then clip the threads between your project and the Ender. It now becomes the Leader for your next stitching run. Why do these help? Well, you don't need to worry about the thread tails any more!! Also, they have raised the presser foot up off the feed dogs and make enough room for your project to slide nicely under the presser foot and the feed dogs can grab your project nicely and pull it through your machine.

From To be Filed

From To be Filed

From To be Filed

@ Change your Needle Plate. The needle plate is what covers the bobbin area under your project, it is around the feed dogs and has a hole in it where the needle goes through. On most machines that do zig-zag, the hole that the needle goes through is a horizontal slot. This slot allows the needle to go from side to side and create the zig-zag stitch and now days a thousand other fancy stitches. This slot creates space for your fabric to get sucked down into the bobbin area. To help prevent the needle from pushing your fabric down into the needle plate you can change the zig-zag needle plate to a straight-stitch needle plate. This needle plate has just a small round hole for the needle to go through and so there is less room for your fabric to get stuffed down into your machine in the beginning stitches. BEWARE!! Be sure to change back to your zig-zag plate before you try to do anything but a straight stitch! That's what the little red sticker is supposed to remind you of!

From 2008-10

From 2008-10

Now check out what Bonnie does with her Leaders and Enders!!!