The Quilter’s Forgiveness Zone: The ¼ inch seam!
When I started sewing, I made primarily clothing. My first projects were a shirt and skirt in 7th grade Home Economics (Home Ec) class. (Sadly, the US school curriculums no longer offer these classes). Then, as with today’s clothing patterns, they utilize a 5/8 inch seam for garment construction. In those early days, I made A LOT of clothing! First for my parents and brothers, then eventually for my own family. During this time, I also made many crafts, which recommended a ½ inch seam.
In the 90s, I discovered quilting through a quilting magazine in a bookstore. This was about five years before I attended my first quilt guild. I can’t remember where I heard the ¼-inch seam was the preferred seam allowance for quilting, and I attempted to implement it immediately. I was greatly intimidated by such a narrow seam (after years of sewing a 5/8 inch seam) and found myself unknowingly slipping into a more comfortable 3/8 inch seam.
That 3/8-inch seam eventually presented a problem, especially when trying to match seams and corners in various blocks. When I discovered the 3/8-inch seam was too wide, I was frustrated yet not surprised. Some wise person many years ago obviously experimented to identify the best seam allowances for various projects. I learned by trial and error—lots of error!
With this new knowledge, I felt confident I could comfortably shave 1/8 inch off my 3/8-inch seam allowance. That didn’t seem like too much! For those early years, I visually estimated that precious ¼ inches with a 5/8-inch sewing foot. The stitch plate and the feed dogs helped me eye that narrow seam with fair accuracy.
Then, one day, I discovered the ¼-inch sewing foot! What a day that was! I remembered the saying, “The greatest invention since sliced bread.” I celebrated this new foot with joy and several yards of perfect ¼ inch seams. No more intimidation!
This also expanded my interest in exploring more complex shapes like triangles and circles. I had experimented with these shapes (and more complex blocks), yet I found the patterns, and my math did not cooperate. NOW, I was ready, willing, and eager to explore more. What fun that became!
Many quilts and years later, I discovered the narrow seam was a great buffer for fixing seam mistakes and block creation. I call it the “forgiveness zone”, which my sewing students found amusing. The forgiveness zone is easily manipulated with seam ripping, re-stitching, “easing” (a sewing term essentially stretching the fabric), and repositioning fabric or blocks. Sometimes, a 1/8-inch seam is also the solution for completing a complex (or annoying) block! *Be wary of using the 1/8 inch seam, as these seams are more likely to fray over time and use.*
A few interesting features of the ¼ inch sewing foot that I love: the foot has 1/8 inch hash marks on the front, back, left, and right of the needle. These are tremendously helpful when accuracy is needed for complex blocks, start and stop positions within a Y seam, and lining up the “dog ears” when sewing triangles and other pointy pieces.
After many miles of sewing an ¼ inch seam, I am reasonably accurate – as are most quilters – with eyeing that seam, even when using other sewing feet. As you experiment with sewing clothing, crafts, or quilts, notice how each seam influences the result. All seams allow a certain degree of forgiveness. With quilting, an ¼ inch seam
This fixes a lot of problems. Amazing, isn’t it?