"Extra" seam allowance?
 

Hi, as an on-again-off-again lurker this is the first place I thought to ask
when I had a question. :)

My son's toddler quilt was my second quilt and though it had no triangles,
only squares and rectangles, it had *lots* of seams and pieces. Now that he's
about to turn three he's really grown attached to the quilt and has started to
drag it around the house with him. That just tickles me pink. But, a couple
of the seams that came out a little short in seam allowance when I was piecing
the top have opened. I tacked them with fusible web for now and I'm more
careful about washing and drying it - washing on cold/gentle and hanging to
dry now instead of tumble drying. I expect it will eventually be worn out but
I'm trying to prolong it!

So here's the question that long-winded story is leading up to. My daughter
is now 10 months old and I'm starting on her toddler quilt (her newborn quilt
can be seen he
http://www.quilterscache.com/images1...tarflowerA.jpg). I'm using the
Butterfly paper piecing pattern from Quilter's Cache. Now that I've done
three practice butterflies I'm ready to start the whole quilt. What I'm
wondering though, is since I'm paper piecing and the seams are marked on the
paper, I can trim the fabric so the allowance is more than 1/4" if I want to
since the paper acts as my guide and the block size won't really change. Is
there any reason, other than a little more bulk, to NOT make the allowances a
little bigger, say, 3/8"? I was thinking it might make it a little more
durable since I expect the quilt to take a lot of abuse, and I can be a little
more relaxed about washing it.

Opinions please? :) Thanks!

Meghan

I always do 3/8ths seam allowances, just can't live with that skimpy little
quarter inch!

Becky

"Meghan" wrote in message
...
Hi, as an on-again-off-again lurker this is the first place I thought to
ask
when I had a question. :)

My son's toddler quilt was my second quilt and though it had no triangles,
only squares and rectangles, it had *lots* of seams and pieces. Now that
he's
about to turn three he's really grown attached to the quilt and has
started to
drag it around the house with him. That just tickles me pink. But, a
couple
of the seams that came out a little short in seam allowance when I was
piecing
the top have opened. I tacked them with fusible web for now and I'm more
careful about washing and drying it - washing on cold/gentle and hanging
to
dry now instead of tumble drying. I expect it will eventually be worn out
but
I'm trying to prolong it!

So here's the question that long-winded story is leading up to. My
daughter
is now 10 months old and I'm starting on her toddler quilt (her newborn
quilt
can be seen he
http://www.quilterscache.com/images1...tarflowerA.jpg). I'm using
the
Butterfly paper piecing pattern from Quilter's Cache. Now that I've done
three practice butterflies I'm ready to start the whole quilt. What I'm
wondering though, is since I'm paper piecing and the seams are marked on
the
paper, I can trim the fabric so the allowance is more than 1/4" if I want
to
since the paper acts as my guide and the block size won't really change.
Is
there any reason, other than a little more bulk, to NOT make the
allowances a
little bigger, say, 3/8"? I was thinking it might make it a little more
durable since I expect the quilt to take a lot of abuse, and I can be a
little
more relaxed about washing it.

Opinions please? :) Thanks!

Meghan

If you still wanted to do a 1/4" seam allowance, you could shorten your
stitch length which would add more durability.
Megan

"Meghan" wrote in message
...
Hi, as an on-again-off-again lurker this is the first place I thought to
ask
when I had a question. :)

My son's toddler quilt was my second quilt and though it had no triangles,
only squares and rectangles, it had *lots* of seams and pieces. Now that
he's
about to turn three he's really grown attached to the quilt and has
started to
drag it around the house with him. That just tickles me pink. But, a
couple
of the seams that came out a little short in seam allowance when I was
piecing
the top have opened. I tacked them with fusible web for now and I'm more
careful about washing and drying it - washing on cold/gentle and hanging
to
dry now instead of tumble drying. I expect it will eventually be worn out
but
I'm trying to prolong it!

So here's the question that long-winded story is leading up to. My
daughter
is now 10 months old and I'm starting on her toddler quilt (her newborn
quilt
can be seen he
http://www.quilterscache.com/images1...tarflowerA.jpg). I'm using
the
Butterfly paper piecing pattern from Quilter's Cache. Now that I've done
three practice butterflies I'm ready to start the whole quilt. What I'm
wondering though, is since I'm paper piecing and the seams are marked on
the
paper, I can trim the fabric so the allowance is more than 1/4" if I want
to
since the paper acts as my guide and the block size won't really change.
Is
there any reason, other than a little more bulk, to NOT make the
allowances a
little bigger, say, 3/8"? I was thinking it might make it a little more
durable since I expect the quilt to take a lot of abuse, and I can be a
little
more relaxed about washing it.

Opinions please? :) Thanks!

Meghan

Also, you can use a shorter stitch length + backtack which may be a bit
sturdier. When choosing fabric, pick the ones that are tightly woven rather
than loose as in "homespun".
As to son's beloved quilt, why don't you put some appliqués on the
"turning loose" areas. Let him help you choose the bugs or bears or whatever
his little heart wants. That way it will still be his cherished quilt and
even better. Polly

Diana Curtis wrote:
One of the first quilts I ever made had 1/2 " seam allowances.. I hadnt read
the rules yet... I dont see why you cant do what you plan.
Diana

I'd prefer to use slightly larger seam allowances, especially for scrappy quilt
tops that have a bit of a mix of fabric types (cotton and poly-cotton). I also
started making clothes for myself before I got into quilting (which is where my
stash comes from!).

--
Melinda
http://cust.idl.com.au/athol

You can make seams any width you want -it's your quilt! The reason for 1/4"
is partly bulk -all the little seams add up to quite a bit of fabric, which
makes a full-size quilt quite a bit heavier than a single piece of cloth
would be. The extra weight might not matter so much in a small quilt. And if
you're hand quilting, you don't want to sew through more layers than
necessary. So the "scant quarter inch" has sort of evolved as the smallest
possible likely-to-be-stable seam. And as you pointed out, it was the
smaller seams that started to give way. The best solution/prevention is more
quilting!
Roberta in D

"Meghan" wrote in message
...
Hi, as an on-again-off-again lurker this is the first place I thought to
ask
when I had a question. :)

My son's toddler quilt was my second quilt and though it had no triangles,
only squares and rectangles, it had *lots* of seams and pieces. Now that
he's
about to turn three he's really grown attached to the quilt and has
started to
drag it around the house with him. That just tickles me pink. But, a
couple
of the seams that came out a little short in seam allowance when I was
piecing
the top have opened. I tacked them with fusible web for now and I'm more
careful about washing and drying it - washing on cold/gentle and hanging
to
dry now instead of tumble drying. I expect it will eventually be worn out
but
I'm trying to prolong it!

So here's the question that long-winded story is leading up to. My
daughter
is now 10 months old and I'm starting on her toddler quilt (her newborn
quilt
can be seen he
http://www.quilterscache.com/images1...tarflowerA.jpg). I'm using
the
Butterfly paper piecing pattern from Quilter's Cache. Now that I've done
three practice butterflies I'm ready to start the whole quilt. What I'm
wondering though, is since I'm paper piecing and the seams are marked on
the
paper, I can trim the fabric so the allowance is more than 1/4" if I want
to
since the paper acts as my guide and the block size won't really change.
Is
there any reason, other than a little more bulk, to NOT make the
allowances a
little bigger, say, 3/8"? I was thinking it might make it a little more
durable since I expect the quilt to take a lot of abuse, and I can be a
little
more relaxed about washing it.

Opinions please? :) Thanks!

Meghan

On Wed, 16 Jul 2003 21:52:08 -0500, "Polly Esther"
wrote:

Also, you can use a shorter stitch length + backtack which may be a bit
sturdier. When choosing fabric, pick the ones that are tightly woven rather
than loose as in "homespun".

Thanks, I did change the stitch length after this suggestion!

As to son's beloved quilt, why don't you put some appliqués on the
"turning loose" areas. Let him help you choose the bugs or bears or whatever
his little heart wants. That way it will still be his cherished quilt and
even better. Polly

I've been thinking of this, I'm just not sure what to applique. The seams
have come undone between the blocks and sashing so they're in odd places, and
the design of the quilt doesn't really lend itself to applique, but I'll
figure something out. I even thought of trying to match the fabrics in a
patch so you can't tell from a distance. ;)

Meghan