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  1. #1
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    Here’s a stupid question...

    I admire the people who can whip out a down quilt with only 15-16 hours of work. Seriously, I’ve been working on a new 40* set for my last two days off work, and I’m just now cutting the baffles. I’m normally a pretty lazy measurer, which ended up costing me another set of fabric last time. This time, I’ve taken great pains to be careful, and still ended up with an extra inch after id marked out the baffle lines. I’ve tried tape, clips, etc., and a chalk marker seems to agree with me best.

    Anyway, I’ll get to the point. I have a really hard time following seam allowances - it might be the word ‘allowance’ that I have an aversion to. How necessary IS it to fold the baffle material over on itself while sewing? I realize this is supposed to prevent unraveling and make it stronger, but is the raveling thing really a big risk, since it’s not exposed?

    I feel like I *should,* especially since I’ve got $100 worth of fabric sitting in front of me. I was just curious about how many people actually do this. It would sure save some time and headache. My brain still hurts from the measuring!

  2. #2
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    Also, does the strength issue still apply if I’m not using mesh? I will be using noseeum for SOME of the baffles, but I’m trying to use as much of the extra Argon 49 I have as possible. It’s lighter, but it’ll be the first time I’ve used something other than noseeum for the baffles.

    *Edit: I quit working on the quilts for the day when I started to feel baffle rage coming on, and I think I’ve made a decision. I ended up having enough of the Argon for all of the baffles except for 3, which will be done in the noseeum. For the noseeum baffles, I’m going to take the “better safe than sorry” route and fold the outer edges. For the Argon baffles, I fail to see point.

    It would be much easier to achieve a 1/4” seam when you can start with a straight edge. For some reason, I’m just straight line challenged. Seriously, I was employing 5 measuring devices and still couldn’t achieve a straight line. On the bright side, stopping for the day prevented me from forgetting that I’d planned on adding draft tubes to the UQ. Crisis averted.
    Last edited by AmberG; 05-05-2021 at 07:49.

  3. #3
    Senior Member OneClick's Avatar
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    For cutting straight I've used a metal yard stick and fresh razor blade. Of course you have to keep moving the yard stick every time. If you don't want to do that, you can get a $4 piece of 10' drip edge flashing at home depot. Sounds overkill, but weighting it down and cutting with no opportunity for the material to move is kinda nice.

  4. #4
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    Yeah, I’ve been using a yardstick, but I know some of it is probably going from one end to the other with the yardstick. I tell myself every time to go to Home Depot and get something long, and then I forget until the next time. So far so good, though. I’ve got everything measured and cut, and I have half of the baffles sewn on one shell of the TQ. Just keeping my fingers crossed that everything lines up right. It seems to right now.

  5. #5
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    It ended up being easier to fold and sew the baffles than I thought, so I’m going ahead with that method. I remember just looking at those 2” strips and how I was going to get a good 1/4” seam on them. After some more googling, it seems there are two schools of thought: those that sew through two layers and those who don’t. I don’t really feel it’s necessary, but I really don’t want to screw up a good quilt. So, *just in case.*

  6. #6
    Senior Member P-Dub's Avatar
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    Good on ya! A rotary cutter might help cut straight lines -- I've really liked mine.

    If you haven't yet, check out Jellyfish's videos on sewing our difficult slippery fabrics!

  7. #7
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    Yeah, I’ve thought about a rotary cutter. It’s really the measuring I need to wrangle, though. It might just be my OCD. I usually get to the point, at least once during every project, where I just don’t want to look at it anymore. Had that moment the other day.

    I love Jellyfish’s videos! I literally wouldn’t have been able to make my bug net hammock without them. I used “shirt pins” instead of vest pins. Lol

  8. #8
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    AmberG, so sorry if it was my comments over on the argon 49 thread that got you so worked up. I’m a total novice so I was just looking for your experience. That said, I can only sew a seam so so which means I am usually happy enough (with a few choice words during the process) with a rotary cutter and a yard stick for the top and bottom fabric. But cutting all those baffles! My wife would surely move out snd my dog would disown me. That’s why I buy the pre cut nosseum. The 1.5” wide stuff leaves plenty for seam allowance on 40 degree quilt. And... i don’t worry about the pre-cut fraying so don’t bother rolling the seam (but I do back stitch every so often just in case something were to pull out)

    Gonna have to check out jelly fish. Can’t wait to see everything I’ve been doing wrong


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

  9. #9
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    No, it certainly wasn’t you! I think I actually posted over there first, then just got fed up after two days of trying and failing to mark a straight line. You’re speaking to your novice accomplice, here. I absolutely hated sewing and only bought a $100 sewing machine because I couldn’t afford to buy a $450-$500 quilt set, a $100 hammock, etc. Without these forums and internet tutorials, I’d be lost. Still am, most of the time.

    I did learn a neat trick about cutting baffles, which saved me from having to buy them precut. I found the article on Instructables, but I believe it’s here in the forums somewhere too. I’ve been rolling the baffle material into a tube, or folding it up, and snip off the very end that’s uneven. Then keep cutting the baffle width you need from the tube. I hope that makes sense. Mine haven’t ever been OCD straight, but they’ve been straight enough to work well.

    And yes, Jellyfish is a pro. And she explains things very well. Her videos are almost a must for DIY’ers!

  10. #10
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    In fact, Delen, your comment on the other thread made my day! It’s always flattering when someone else is interested in what you’re doing!

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