Weird Weather and Product Review

Honestly, we are getting some weird weather. It seems like a few weeks ago it was in the 90s. On Tuesday night it hailed, and then snowed! We might get snow at our altitude, but in early November it is pretty unheard of. And my goodness is it ever cold. Like you don't want to forget your jacket when you run out to the store or to pick up the kid at school.

Eva was feeling well enough to go to school, so that is good. She still has a bit of a sore throat but is fine otherwise. 

I am making progress with the square in a square blocks for the Family Reunion quilt. I will be glad to wrap up this project. Not much more to go. 

I have a product review for you all. I am always looking for seam guides I can attach to my sewing surface to help me keep to a scant quarter inch seam. I have tried several with good results and recently saw this advertised somewhere.

So, I didn't really care for it. I will tell you why, but if any of you use it and like it, please explain why in the comments. My problem with it was that even with the little positioning tool I was not able to line it up properly. Also, the sticky strip guide was too short for my way of thinking. It is hard to see in the photo, but there is a pale blue plastic thing with a hook you wrap around your needle when you position the sticky strip guide. I must have been doing something wrong because I could not get it anywhere near a quarter inch.

This is Lori Holt's Seams So Easy seam guide. I like this one. See how long the seam guidelines are? That's a plus. The cutesy flower petal shape serves no purpose, but that is what Lori Holt does. The cuteness factor is important to her.

This no-frills seam tape by Cluck Cluck Sew works great. It is inexpensive and you get a lot of it. I've used it and once you position it as shown in the photo above it is a great success.

Do you use a seam guide? It is especially helpful when you have to make a lot of half-square triangles and don't want to draw dozens of diagonal lines on your fabric. I use mine a lot and think it is a time saver and leads to better accuracy.

Please share your thoughts on seam guides in the comments!

 

 

Comments

[Erika]

I put my quilt ruler under my needle with the 1/4” line right where the needle comes down. I secure the ruler in place by putting my presser foot down and then take and old gift card and line it up at the edge of the ruler. I use painters tape to secure it to my machine bed. It gives me perfect seams! I also have the Cluck Cluck Sew seam tape for HSTs. I’ve tried other methods but never had accuracy or success.

[Carole]

I took a thin magic marker and drew a line. It is slowly rubbing off. I would like to engrave it! I also use a 1/4 in sewing foot and nudge the needle 2 clicks to the right. I get good measure ments doing that.

[sue s]

I use the seam tape and am finally having success. I do remove it periodically because it leaves residue on my acrylic sewing extension if left on too long. I line it up with the Precision Ruler tool, which has a hole to put the needle down to align.

[Nancy Alderman]

I love the cluck cluck sew tape! I really don’t care for any type of guide that is mounted/taped to the right of the needle as you need to remove it before doing anything other than 1/4” seams. BTW, the snow looks pretty but I hope it’s in no hurry to visit upstate NY!

[Linda B]

For the 1/4 measurement, I do best with either a build up of painters tape or one that I got somewhere that is a nice size and length. Agree that it needs to be on the long side. I am also committed to doing a test every time I change…I have a pile of three strips cut up to run the test. It is amazing to me how different it is sewing with 50 wt aurifil or 50 wt (3 ply) thread from Connecting Threads. I just want that test piece to come out at the right measurement, and nothing else has worked for me but testing! It is a pain if you are switching between 1/4 inch seams and other things…I try to keep things in batches I guess, and do have another machine set up if I need to zig zag or mend or ??

[Susan]

I use the low tech seam guide that Bonnie Hunter- I think- made popular. I cut a credit card into 1/2 inch strips and attach them with command strips or double sided tape. I use regular tape to ‘set’ it at first. Then I sew a seam, press it open and make sure that my unit measure what it should. Example, sew 2 2’ strips together. They should measure 3 1/2 “. If it doesn’t, move the strip until your piece is perfect. Then use the command strip or double stick tape to affix. It makes a very strong bond and your seams will be consistent. I do very small piecing and I find my seams amazingly perfect. Cheap and easy.

I use command strips that come in a pack. They are 3-4 inches long and just have clear plastic over each side.

[Kerry]

I use a Bonnie Hunter seam guide and then slide my Marci Baker sewing edge and press. But because my bobbin is at the top, had to cut that off and it does slide. Also used painters tape or washi tape (that doesn't stay on well) and Eleanor Burns guide. In the end I removed the guide on my quarter inch foot and that seems to work so much better as the guide wasn't perfect either! I still use the Marci Baker strips but painters tape is still equally fine when I get hold of some.

[Deb]

I use Dr. Scholl's Molefoam. I cut a strip and butt it up where my 1/4 inch is. It is thicker and gives me something to butt my fabric up against when I'm sewing.

[Fiona]

The cluck cluck sew tape is good but I also occasionally use foam tape - particularly when I am using a different seam allowance than usual, such as dressmaking. My sewing machine has metric guidelines on the plate but I always use imperial.

[Carolyn]

When I need to do half square triangles I have a piece of painter's tape on my machine to guide me. I never tried anything else!

[Vikki]

I have the 2015 Designer Mystery Block of the Month Finishing Pattern designed by Lisa Bongean of Primitive Gatherings if you are interested. Just let me know. It shows 4 rows, 3 quilt blocks in each row with a snowman and pine tree block at either the beginning or end of each row. Plus, she has designed a row of stars (large & small) for the top and bottom of the quilt. I didn't buy into the BOM, but I thought the snowman blocks were cute.
Again,just let me know and I'll mail it right out.

[Jan]

I've tried ¼" guides over the years, but have never really found 'the one'. I use blue tape on my Featherweight for ¼" seams because it has no guides on the plate. For HST's I swear by Doug Leko's Simple Folded Corner rulers. You only get one HST from the squares, but it's worth it to me because I h.a.t.e. drawing those lines & trying to keep an even ¼" on each side. Our low last night in NW Wyoming was .4°F & we've had our first big snow. Winter is here, like it or not!

[Bridget]

I just hacked thru several layers of masking tape with a razor blade to make a thick edge and then measured off from my ruler under the needle to get the spot to stick it down. It has been there and worked for several years. I rarely need a piece of tape longer than what is left on the role and I have used it all up...meaning the next time I make an edge I will have to hack up a new roll of tape. I do use The Angler by Pam Bono when I make 1/2 triangle squares...good luck finding that.

[Quilter Kathy]

That was very helpful! I will look for that tape to use with my featherweights.

[Ellen in Oregon]

After trying many 1/4" presser feet, I realized that the majority of presser feet and rulers are not accurate and do not give you an acceptable scant 1/4 inch seam. You would think that tools that are supposed to give you exact measurements would do just that - but most don't.
I finally found the perfect presser foot for my machine (or any low shank one) on Amazon. It is the Clear View 1/4" Patchwork and quilting presser foot. I love that it is clear and I can see what I am sewing. Since I started using this foot my piecing is so much better and all the pieces fit together with the accuracy I never got with other tools/techniques. It costs less than $6 and has helped me make quilts with less aggrivation. I recently purchased several (just in case it gets discontinued). J