117becca

you're getting a ruffly edge because the sides of the triangles are cut on the bias and they stretch. Everytime you sew and take out, you are inadvertently stretching those sides. Starching and pressing the piece before sewing could help w/ that.

In the meantime, sew w/ the larger piece on the bottom (baggy bottoms on the bottom) and some of that extra will be eased in and it will look fine.

KLO

One of the other things that I did when putting my triangles together for this design was to line up any design that was in the "points" of the triangles so that they matched when sewn. You have some "lines" at your points and I would have put one triangle on top of the other then pinned or glued to match those lines along the edge you will be sewing. They should then line up with each other when you open the triangles up after sewing. Remember to line those "design lines" up at 1/4" in from the edge since that is where you will be sewing the triangles. Cutting those triangles so that any horizontial lines are in exactly the same spot on the ruler you use is very important also. If they are not all the same, they will not give you that great design swirling around in the centers. Good luck with your next go at this. Once you "get it", you will be able to sew these together with no problem.

edited: I hope some of what I wrote makes sense but sometimes it turns out to sound like gibberish because I know what I want to say but it may not sound clear to another person who is reading it. Sorry if that what this is!!!

ube quilting

Hi Marion, have you ever tried using SCHOOL GLUE to baste the seams together before you sew them? Use just the smidgiest of smidgens of glue to just hold them in place so the feed dogs won't pull the lower fabric through faster than the top piece.

Also you can try using a leader and sew from the center out. Those small points can be tricky but I think the glue is the best bet to hold them in the right place as you sew.

Love these runners you are creating!
peace

loisf

I don't know if anyone else has this problem, but I noticed that when I cut triangles for hexagons, if I use a template that has the apex of the triangle cut off, I end up with excess fabric in the center of the hexagon. So I always cut the triangles with a sharp point at the top. This minimizes the pucker for me. When you use a ruler that has a flat top, there is more fabric at the top to bunch up.

Bree123

Hmmmm... when I do that I end up with a gaping hole in the center.

DOTTYMO

I hint I read the other day but have not tried. Sew to within a 1/4" of the centre on the first set of seams press as an open seam or rotate all seams in same direction before you sew across the last full length of centre. Press centre with thumb to flatten. I have seen ladies with a hammer flattening centre. If still bunch try carefully taking out some thickness with scissors. If not lined up put appliqué on a flat centre.
Hope these ideas help. Undoing the seams you may have stretched them by now so check size etc before resewing. Good luck.

MarionsQuilts

I read the blog that feline fanatic posted and am going to try that this weekend ... there were some helpful hints that I'm hoping will work.

As for the two that I have already done ... non-quilters will not notice the middle (I've shown them to a bunch of people at work, and not ONE person noticed LOL) ... so as long as I give them to a non-quilter, they will be appreciated!

mom-6

On the first kaleidoscope top I did I had quite a few problems with stretching, puckers, etc. the next one worked much better. I think it was an experience thing for me. When I really concentrated on both accurate cutting and consistent seam width I was able to get it to look like it was supposed to.
I love the look of these quilts and have plans to do several more eventually.

gammaginny

Feline fanatic, do you have a full photo of this quilt. It is absolutely delightful. Love it.
GAMMAGINNY

feline fanatic

It is posted here:

http://www.quiltingboard.com/picture...t-t258728.html