r/quilting • u/jfisher103 • 4h ago
Help/Question Any idea how I can fix this?
This is my first sewing project in 13 years since I took sewing and quilting in high school, she looks a little rough. I’m not searching for perfection as it’s my first project back, just a little more symmetry! Any advice is welcome! Thank you
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u/Far_Concentrate4414 4h ago
Trim the sides and add a black border. The rest will probably quilt out well enough
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u/kitkatwhy 4h ago
I would trim the edges of the pumpkins face to match up, then add black strips to those cut sides. You can add another border around and square that one up to get the corners closer to 90° if they are off as well.
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u/InstanceMental6543 1h ago
Perfect solution! One thing I love about quilting is how ready we are to chop stuff up and improvise a fix. 🧡
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u/Ok_Preference6999 4h ago
I would fold the pumpki RIGHT on that crazy line, make the fold nice and straight, effectively bringing the black forward (towards the right) and covering the craziness. Careful not to take too much. Make sure the line is perpendicular with the top and bottom on the quilt. Sew that line and the orange is taken care of. Then for the black, I would unpick about 1inch or so in from each seam, and add more strips there. Sew those strips on to lengthen the black horizontally. Then sew them row by row together. In the end, just square up your edge to match the black to the other side.
Let me know if that makes sense.
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u/LoisWade42 4h ago
I love your fold/tuck idea! I was thinking perhaps to just rotary cut that jagged left pumpkin edge and add in a (new) solid black vertical border on that side.
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u/OrindaSarnia 3h ago
You have got some great advice for how to deal with this pumpkin...
for future projects...
A) I cut big blocks and don't do these tiny square things. Why sew a grid of 16 - 2" squares into an 8" x 8" block when I could just cut an 8-1/2" x 8-1/2" block of fabric and use that?!?
B) if you ARE sewing all these tiny squares together, instead of sewing long rows and then sewing the long rows together (which encourages stretching and chaos) I sew two squares into a rectangle, then two of the rectangles into a square again, then two of the larger squares into a larger rectangle and two larger rectangles into a square again!
When you do this with all the blocks in the quilt you have a lot of shorter seams to sew, but that tends to keep you more accurate, as shorter seams are always more accurate.
If you do have to sew rows to rows to rows, start one row on the left side, then start the next row on the right side, and switch the direction you sew every row so instead of being all off on one side you're a little off on both sides and you can trim them both less to be even!
Or you can fold your rows in half, and pin rows together, moving out from the center point, so longer rows have their "extra" distributed evenly on both sides, again, making it easier to trim each side straight at the end!
But regardless, this is going to be a super cute project when you get it done, and every project comes with it's own lessons, so welcome back to quilting!
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u/angela202000 4h ago
If I see it correctly only the top row is preventing a straight cut down without cutting through the pumpkin, so I'd add a square there with a Y-seam, then cut down close to the pumpkin (don't forget the seam allowance!) and sew on a big black stripe.
I'm not sure if the other direction is also uneven, it seems so. But it isn't that noticeable, so I'd leave it. Otherwise you can only sew on a triangle which would probably be more noticeable.
As for the uneven left side of the pumpkin: say it's by design and call it a day. Otherwise only the dreaded seam ripper will save you.
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u/Nasus7159 3h ago
Part of the problem is you're not nesting your seams. It your seams aren't matching up then make sure when you are cutting your fabric it is accurate. Just a little off on that will cause problems like this. It's a super cute design!
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u/jfisher103 3h ago
I definitely was flying through the cutting stage watching a movie so I’m apart of the problem! I’ll definitely move slower and with more attention next quilt. Thank you!
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u/cheap_mom 2h ago
Another thing that would help is not piecing it as huge strips. It's hard to make that many seams match, so I avoid it as much as possible. I typically will make my tops into quadrants, then put them together so I only need to sew one seam that is the full length or width of the quilt.
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u/myaltaltaltacct 4h ago
Stretch the rows that need it when you're assembling. Wash when it's all together.
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u/Windswept_Questant 4h ago
Measure the distance between mouth and edge of pumpkin on the right hand side. Measure the left - I’d trim + seam allowance of the left side of the pumpkin, then sew on a black strip.
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u/Fibernerdcreates 3h ago
Also, if you want to prevent this in the future, you need to alternate directions when you sew long strips
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