Time to rip...

I know, I know - I just said on my last post that I double check everything - and I do! I did make a test segment for this border. My piece looked just like the illustration in the directions - so I thought it was right and off I went - sewing. But, something in the back of my head was bugging me. Just to double check, I took a few of the finished segments and sewed those together. Looks ok, right? I thought so too until I realized that the side seam allowances would have to be 1/8" in order not to chop off the points.

OK, you should know by now - I hardly ever use my seam ripper. If I sew a block wrong - I leave it. BUT, I don't like to chop my points off and I don't like to use such a skimpy seam allowance that you just know the seam is going to pop the first time someone sits on your quilt. So, what am I to do? Usually, I would recut new fabric to avoid ripping. But, I don't have enough colored fabric to recut. So, I have to rip to selvage the fabrics. Fortunately, I do have more of the cream background - phew! Tomorrow I will try to cut a few different sizes and see what works best to give me a side seam allowance of 1/4". I am thinking another 1/8" should do it.

Right now from the point of the square to the edge it is a very scant 1/4". You iron the cream toward the colored squares so the point has a slight bump due to all the layers of fabric behind there. So, when sewing - your needle will go a tiny bit off to the side due to the bulk which is going to give you a finished seam of 1/8". Or you can sew through the hump and cut off the point. Sigh.

I wish I had figured this out before I sewed a triangle to 66 squares, pressed and then started to sew triangles to the other side of the squares. Anyway, that was my sewing time tonight after Little Boy went to bed. Rats!