3 tips for getting familiar with inches
You would like to start quilting, but you are a bit scared of inches and yards since you are living in a world full of centimeters and meters?
Or, you are super familiar with the imperial system, but your favourite fabric store is selling the fabrics only by the meter? I got you covered as well. I created a quilting conversion chart that makes it super easy for you to get the right amount of fabrics for your next sewing project.
So here are my 3 tips how to master inches:
Tip number 1:
and at the same time the most important one: please, DO NOT (I repeat, do not) try to start recalculating the whole pattern from inches to centimeters. Trust me, it‘s not gonna work and it will drive you crazy. You will spend a lot of time sitting in front of the pattern with your calculater. Time, you actually wanna spend enjoying to quilt. Figuring out the math behind a pattern is the job of the pattern designer. She or he spends a lot of time on it, to make sure that the pieces will come together nicely and correct.
Tip number 2:
get yourself a good cutting mat with both systems (inch and cm) on it. As far as I know, most cutting mats have that. When you start your quilting project, well, just flip your mat, and there is your inch cutting system. Take a closer look at an inch and get familiar with it. 1 inch can be devided into two 1/2 inches. A 1/2 of an inch can be devided into two 1/4 of an inch. And a 1/4 of an inch can be devided into two 1/8 of an inch. That’s it! Quite simple, isn’t it!
For cutting the fabrics I usually use my regular cutting ruler in cm, since all subunits of an inch are marked on the cutting mat. However, I do recommend getting yourself at least one ruler with an inch system. Especially when it comes to trimming your quilting blocks, an inch-ruler makes your life a lot easier. I have a 6 to 12 inch ruler, and I basically do all the trimming with it.
Tip number 3:
The seam allowance! Almost all quilt patterns work with a seam allowance of a 1/4 of an inch, which is 0,6 cm. You might have a different seam allowance like 0,75 or 0,8 cm. So, how are you gonna work with that? Well, you have two options. You can either get yourself a special quilting sewing foot for your sewing machine. By using that foot you have exactly a 1/4 of an inch seam allowance. Or, you change the needle position of your sewing needle. That is actually what I do. For that, take a piece of paper and draw a line. Pretend that line is the edge of your fabric and sew with your regular sewing foot and measure your regular seam allowance. Then, change the needle position untill you have a seam allowance of 0,6 cm. Write that position on a post-it and put it on your sewing machine. That’s it.
Before you start your quilting project make sure to change the needle position!
Below is a quilting conversion chart which will help you in case your fabric store sells fabrics by the meter. Save or pin that chart and you will always get the fabric you need!
Have fun quilting - Sonja