AccuQuilt accuracy
Tuesday, March 23, 2010 at 1:56PM I’m working on my “Lacey Lou” quilt and I’ve cut the quilt out with my Studio cutter… man that’s fast! But… I thought it would be more accurate than me, not less! I admit, I dislike cutting very much so that was my primary reason for deciding to splurge on the AccuQuilt, but I also thought the accuracy would be dead on.
It’s not! The strip cutters are perfect, but the blocks? They easily vary by a 1/16th of an inch. That’s a lot for piecing. I called AccuQuilt and they said 1/16th of an inch was acceptable. I have a 3 1/2 inch block that is both 1/16th of an inch shy of being 3 1/2 inches, but two of the corners “wing” out a bit. I’ve requested a replacement.
Sadly, I didn’t notice it until I’d cut out all the blocks for the quilt, and started sewing them together, and realized they were off. So, in for a penny, in for a pound. If you’re going to cut using the AccuQuilt, make sure you cut your entire quilt with it, or you’re going to have some mismatched sizes.
But that means I need some more dies… LOL
To save all my blocks, I’m going to cut (fortunately, these have a border around each block) my block border fabrics a bit larger and then square them to size, otherwise they’re all going to be too small.
I also sewed an entire row of blocks the wrong direction…. riiiiippp…. riiippppp…. riiiiipppppp! Bleh!
Reader Comments (13)
Stand firm on your replacement, CJ, as 1/16th is NOT acceptable. Quilting relies on accuracy. For the cost of the product I certainly would expect total accuracy. BTW, I liked the quilt in Jim's office. That afgan looked cozy, too.
hilary
Man oh man, CJ. I would expect TOTAL accuracy - from something that has LAZOR cut dies???
I'm sorry - maybe I'm too hardcore. I can accept "problems" when it's user wrong, but not when it's machine wrong...........and for them to say that it is acceptable...NO WAY !
Okay, I'll be quiet now before I say things that aren't acceptable on someone's blog.
Ripping out is the pits. Keep your spirits up. Can't wait to see what you are doing.
when something cost as much as that does I would expect it to be accurate also - we all know that 1/16" off can screw up a whole quilt when you start putting the pieces together! I had thought with the way it is advertised that it would be an exceptional piece of equipment - I hope the replacement that they send is correct and if it isn't they are probably all off.
Karen
http://karensquilting.com/blog/
Man, I would be steaming! You should have asked them if they wanted their surgeon to be off a bit! I have to tell you that when I went back to the surgeon after my knee replacement, I told him that I gave him a grade of C in closure. I have this nice straight scar for about 7" & then it takes off to the left & then back to the center. We had a good laugh about it, but certainly not going to be wearing any shorts for the rest of my life...straight or curvy. (LOL)
Beckie
LOL! I'd expect 100% from something that has "Accu" in its name! What a frustrating discovery. Cutting is one of my least favorite parts and I was seriously considering investing the money in one of these. Acceptable inaccuracy? In quilting?!?! LOL! Never mind! :)
I expect accuracy with it being touted as a product to allow for accurate cutting. I would also find 1/16th inch "wiggle room" unacceptable. I can't believe they said that. Sorry you are ripping out. That's a drag, but it will be worth it in the end! Stephanie
Wow, that is really unfortunate. 1/16 of an inch is a very big thing if you are doing a block with more than one seam!!!! It would throw off every block I could imagine sewing! Hopefully the replacement unit will be more accurate. Otherwise, they need to go back to the drawing board on their dies.
Am I weird? I love cutting. LOL!!!
I agree with Cindy, just don't tell her that. ;)
Nope, not acceptable at all. User error is understandable as we are human. But the machine and die not being perfect- no way! And after all that, you need to give them more money by buying more dies??? Think twice! I'm sooooo bummed for you! From all previous accounts I thought it would be a perfect timesaving tool! Sigh... Polly
Sadly, I found wonky die cut charm squares after most of the sewing was done. Fortunately, it was only a table runner, so there was less ripping out. Mine were purchased.
If I make a mistake cutting I get aggrivated but such is life, but when I pay hard earned money on a product that claims accuaracy and it isn't I get mad.
There is no way I would take 1/16" as being acceptable. Acceptable to who?
Say it ain't so! I have been hemming and hawing on buying the studio or the go. It sounds like your fabric stretched since it is short on two sides and winged. I think I saw a helpful video on you tube about proper placement etc, sorry I can't remember the exact name. Have you tried angling the die, or laying a piece of paper on top of the fabric to stop slippage and stretching, tips. I have altos which I really like. The plastic bar can shift a bit out at the end so I have to be careful, but it is well within 1/16 th's of inch and completely accurate if I hold it down correctly, but it doesn't crank out the strips like accuquilt, darn. Hope you get a good technique going! Would less layers of fabric maybe work too.