Why a scant 1/4 seam?
 

Our quilt club had someone come in this weekend and teach us how to do a bargello. We did a table topper from one of Eileen Wrights books and the directions said to do a scant 1/4 seam. I know that you need to do this on some blocks to make them come out to the right size, but why on a bargello? If you did a true quarter wouldn't it still come out the same?

I got one of her bargello books with the tablerunner in it. It is excellent at telling the reader everything possible so you will be successful. I think Bargello quilts with all the pieces has to have precision. I love the book a lot. The Bargello Tablerunner has some very small pieces in it, also.

In most cases I think consistency is far more important. If you are following a specific pattern with incredibly precise cutting directions I think it's probably critical. Otherwise I think consistency is far more important and relevant.

I have done a bargello with regular quarter inch. It is just strip piecing and lining up strips so not sure why you would need a scant 1/4 inch

In my mind, the "scant" quarter inch is about one thread less than an " actual" quarter inch.

I think the reason the instructions say " scant" is so that the seam is no more than a quater inch.

For some of us that used to sew garments that called for a 5/8 inch seam allowance, it was a major adjustment to sew that skimpy 1/4 inch seam.

Maybe I am missing something here, but I thought a scant quarter inch seam was to make up for the thickness of the thread so that the piece or block would be the right size. The seam should be sized so that the piece or block is the exact size of the pattern after it is pressed.

This is correct. Although we talk about the seam measurement, you don't measure the seam, you measure the resultant patch.

As PaperPieces stated, the finish is the important part. Using a scant 1/4" seam allows for the thread and fold so your block/ item turns out the size its supposed to be. Especially important with blocks/quilts that have many, many seams ( like bargello). With a pattern like a bargello having even an extra 16 th of an inch adds ( subtracts) a whole inch in finished size in 16 strips/seams. Those little bits add up.

I have done numerous bargellos from Eileen's two books and I don't recall any required scant 1/4" seam. She does have some skinny unfinished seam down to 1" but it is only when you try to do 3/4" width strip that it is best to stitch those seams a little skinny. I also press my seams away from the thinnest strip to avoid any bulk problem with my seams. I have changed patterns and no long cut any bargello strip less than an 1" wide. It is just not worth working with that narrow of a strip. Usually I have seen that a skinny 1/4" suggested with very tiny miniature blocks. Here is Eileen's table runner pattern from her first book that I made for a friend. I also made one in Xmas fabrics for another friend.