When it's hip to be square...

I have always been interested in a lot of things that I eventually explored as hobbies. Cooking, baking, decorating, gardening and even woodworking are things I have dabbled in and I have developed a little skill in all these things - except for woodworking. 

I love to build things, but no matter how I try, I just can't seem to get the knack of squaring things up.  I also struggle with measuring twice and cutting once.  I have mastered the use of a drill - and I have no issues using a circular saw  - but the construction of a thing is best left to someone with more skill than I can muster.  Wood is not nearly as forgiving as fabric is!

As a young woman I did a lot of sewing.  Clothes for myself and my children, curtains, placemats and even cushions were things I loved to make.  Many times there were curves and easing and tugging things to make edges meet was pretty standard.  Much of the time, keeping things exact was not that important.

I soon learned however that when constructing a quilt - keeping things square is important if you want your block to fit together with all the other blocks.  At first - more often than not - none of my blocks ended up the right size - nor did they always fit together nicely.

As I became more experienced - and learned from others I adopted and adapted many techniques to ensure my lines were straight, my seams were even and everything measured out as it should.  Occasionally though, I may ease one piece into another or give a little tug to make ends meet when my measurements have been off slightly.  Yes fabric is more forgiving than wood!

Using a 1/4 inch seam guide and sewing a scant 1/4 inch made huge improvements in the size of my blocks.  Squaring off blocks - even after completing a smaller section - using squared rulers and a rotating mat also helped immensely.  Later I also found faster ways to square up half square triangles using triangle rulers. (what a time saver!)  Performing these simple steps ensures square blocks and eventually (hopefully) a square quilt.

Now, once I finish longarming (quilting) a quilt, I will remove it and trim off the excess batting and backing.  It only takes a few extra minutes and it makes it so much easier for the quilt owner who may not have the luxury of the space or equipment that I do.  The ultimate goal is to square the quilt up.

​Sometimes a quilt may not be exactly square - but I ensure that the corners are.  I do this by using my foldable right angle ruler or a large square ruler.  

Here I am using a 12-1/2 inch square ruler to square up a corner.

Tips to get that perfect finish!

• Sew a scant 1/4 inch seam when piecing.  Once your seams are pressed you lose a little fabric in the fold.
• Trim each section of your block after you have completed it to ensure it is the correct size - and square
• Keep several rulers in the size of blocks and partial blocks you are sewing.  I have a 4-1/2, 6-1/2 and 12-1/2 inch square ruler that I place over top a square to ensure it is trimmed to be square
• If a finished block is not quite square or a little wonky - place a pin in the area that is scant to remind you to make allowances later when joining your blocks
• For larger or odd sized blocks - like a 14x14 inch or even a 9 x17 inch block, use painters tape on your cutting mat to mark the outside edges and ensure you put the bottom of the block on a straight line - and trim from there. (see photo below)
• When joining blocks - nest your seams (one folds one way and one folds the other) to help points and lines stay straight
• Always measure the center of the quilt lengthways and widthwise to determine your border lengths. AND yes - always measure for your border lengths!
• Do your best to square your quilt top before sending it out to be quilted.  To do this, lay the quilt on a large flat surface and measure it corner to corner diagonally in both directions and they should measure the same.  If not start examining where there are inconsistencies or crooked spots.

In this way I can lay the ruler at the corner and trim it to make it exactly 90 degrees.  This also helps with binding the quilt nicely. 

​It's tools like rulers and a good rotary cutter along with a large cutting board that help with squaring things up - especially if the quilt is to be hung on a wall or displayed somewhere.

Fabric is forgiving, but once you start putting lots of little pieces together, pressing them and then adding more squares, triangles and rectangles - having a small inconsistency in every other block can make a huge difference in how your quilt turns out.  And that is when you realize it really is "hip to be square"!

Here I am using the flip and set ruler to make a 90 degree corner cut.

This is a flip and set corner ruler that folds easily to be put away or hung up