Ruffled Roses 4-patch on point border too short!

[Rita C.]

Can anyone help me with this. I did everything right. My quilt top was 45" exactly, I cut accurately, I used a 1/4" foot on my machine, I sewed accurately and I ironed as I went, accurately but they have ended up 42". I have 18 four patches on both short borders. What have I missed? Rita.

[Margo C.]

Can anyone help me with this. I did everything right. My quilt top was 45" exactly, I cut accurately, I used a 1/4" foot on my machine, I sewed accurately and I ironed as I went, accurately but they have ended up 42". I have 18 four patches on both short borders. What have I missed? Rita.

Rita, what is the WIDTH of your pieced 4-patch borders? If it is anything less than 3" wide (unfinished size) you seam allowances are more than 1/4".

Even if you used a 1/4" foot, it may not be exactly the right width. You might want to try this test to see if your seam allowance is a little off: http://daily-blog/103-good-advice/14...-seam-accuracy

The width of your seam allowance really isn't the important thing...it's what's left that really matters!

If your border measures less than 3", you can probably just add an additional 4-patch unit to each strip to get the right length, and make up the differences with the floater that you add next to get back on track with your finished size.

Be sure to check your seam allowance before you start the basket blocks, because it will just get more noticeable with all those seams!

[Rita C.]

Thanks Margo. I checked my 1/4" foot before I started and it was right. The 4-patch border has ended up at 42". Maybe I can just put another 4-patch in to bring it up to 45". Rita.

[Rita C.]

Margo, I just checked the width of my border and it is slightly less than 3". I did the test again with the three pieces of fabric at 1 1/2" and discovered that my foot was out by about 1/16"! Thanks for the link to the test. Now I know what the problem was and I can adjusted my foot. But rather than unpick two sides of the border I think that I will try adding another four-patch as it is out by 3" anyway. Thanks for your help. Rita.

[Margo C.]

So glad you got it figured out Rita! Knowing that will make the rest of the quilt go together more easily!

Enjoy the process!

[Margo C.]

I've experienced fobbles like this myself, and was interested to recently learn that in measuring the seam allowance (to set or double-check foot accuracy) that one opens the sewn piece up, presses, and measures the distance from sewn seam to edge. It is not always sufficient just to measure, on the closed piece of fabric, from stitching to edge. Thankfully, I am now even more accurate. Tips like this are why I LOVE forums LOL!

It sounds like you have a workable fix, Rita; that's the important thing. Good luck!