What Is A Scant?

When I started quilting in 1985 I was taught that I had to sew a 'scant' quarter inch seam allowance. I was told that it was a thread's width from a quarter inch. Every pattern I read used the word "scant" so I purchased a quilting foot (1/4" foot) and worked hard to get my seam allowance right. Sometimes the edge of the fabric went under or past the edge of the foot. I never could get a consistent seam allowance. Being the perfectionist that I am (only when I'm sewing!) I thought that there had to be a better way.

What is your definition?

As I travel and teach quilting, the first thing I ask my students is, "What is your definition of a 'scant' quarter inch seam allowance"? There were many answers. Some said a thread's width, some said two thread's width, some said a "smidge"! I tell them, "THOSE ARE NOT MATHEMATICAL TERMS!!!!" Then I go on to tell them about an "accurate" quarter inch seam allowance.

You are probably asking me how I came to that conclusion! I joined a local quilt guild in 1990 and saw wonderful quilts from other quilt members. Every meeting there would be an optional block. Each member that was interested could purchase the block's fabrics and directions for $1 and take them home to make it. They would bring it back the next meeting and there would be a drawing for all of the blocks that were brought back. I noticed that not all of the blocks were the same size.

I decided to start taking workshops from the national teachers that the guild would bring in. Some talked about that mysterious "scant" quarter inch. But not until I took two workshops, one from Sharyn Craig and the other from Sally Collins, did I finally figure out the best way to get an "exact" quarter inch seam allowance. Sharyn Craig's method was to use a very expensive tool called Dr. Scholl's Molefoam Foot Pads! Yes, the kind you can get from your local store. She demonstrated how to first move your needle all of the way to the right using your general sewing foot that has a wide opening (if your machine allows it), measure the "scant" 1/4" from your needle using a ruler and place the molefoam next to your sewing foot.

This worked well for me but I still wasn't satisfied. My blocks still did not measure right when they were done. I did start getting a consistent seam allowance and my seams matched but I thought I was still doing something wrong. My blocks did not always measure what they were suppose to when I finished.

Not until I took a workshop from Sally Collins did I finally start getting the end result I wanted. She is a national award winning quilter who makes miniatures. Everything about her quilts were perfect! I wanted my quilts to look like that. Her secret was using a tool called Collin's Seam Gauge (no affiliation to the name). She put her needle in the 1/4" hole and measured from that. She used her quarter inch foot and sewed a perfect quarter inch.

Now being the picky person I am, I still wasn't satisfied. I did not like using my quarter inch foot because it did not cover both feed dogs on the machine. (No it has nothing to do with dogs.) The feed dogs are the part of the machine that moves the fabric and it did not seem to feed the fabric well when they were not both covered. So, 'Aha'! I decided to combine Sharyn Craig's method of moving the needle to the right, using the Collin's Seam Gauge, AND placing the Molefoam next to the ruler. VOILA!!!! I had a perfect quarter inch. And it was a MATHEMATICAL term!

Now I could place the edges of the fabric touching the Molefoam and I could get a perfect 1/4" seam allowance from the beginning of the strip all the way to the end. I could also see where the edge of the fabric was and make adjustments if I had to. This small trick was helping me have consistent seams on all of my projects.

Now I found that there was one thing that was missing from this equation: cutting the strips. That was another area that I was struggling with. I was never sure where to place the edge of my fabric. There was that little black line, but I didn't know where to put it. I realized that the little black line was that thread's width that everyone was talking about! So I included that little skinny line when I lined up the ruler on my fabric.

I finally got the end result I wanted. If the block was suppose to finish at 12-1/2", it finished at 12-1/2"! My seams were not only consistent, but everything matched where they were suppose to. I was thrilled with the results!

Now some of you are probably saying to yourself, "I am happy with what I am doing". I know that not everyone is the perfectionist that I am when it comes to quilting. If you are happy with how your blocks come out, then by all means, continue what you are doing. There are NO quilt police to tell you you are doing it wrong. This works if you are the only one sewing on the quilt. But, if you ever do a project where a number of people are making blocks and you notice that they are different sizes, you need to show everyone how to get that EXACT quarter inch seam allowance so that they will all get the same size blocks. Your friends will all think you are a genius! Of course you will tell them, "Toby Lischko showed me how to do that!"

If you are interested in more tips and demonstrations, consider following Toby Lishko on QuiltingHub.  I also recommend clicking my blog page. Feel free to leave comments to let me know if this has helped your sewing and please share it with your quilting friends. Thank you for reading, Toby Lischko