Diagonal Seam Tape

I wanted to share with my fellow sewists, quilters, etc. a really nice, really cheap, and easy-to-use sewing helper to make those pesky diagonal seams and quarter-inch seams a tad easier to make more consistently.  The magic item is from Cluck Cluck Sew and it is Diagonal Seam Tape.

It comes in a 10-yard roll so if you only have one sewing machine, it will last you as long as you plan to sew with that machine.  If you have more than one, you might eventually need to buy two rolls.

I would imagine that you might be able to find it at your LQS but you can certainly find it online.  Amazon has it listed, but I would advise you to NOT, for once, buy it from their sellers as it is way more expensive than from other online suppliers.  Missouri Star Quilt Company has it for $7.25 + shipping unless you are adding it to an order that will give you free shipping.  Bonnie Hunter has it in her Quitlville shop for $6.99 + shipping.  I would tell you to look at your LQS first to support your local shops.

This is Diagonal Seam Tape. You can see the little roll that you get, but it has 10 yards of tape which is plenty.  And you can see how it is used on your machine.  The middle red line starts by being directly in front of the needle (just do not put it on top of the feed dogs, just a little in front of them.) and then you carefully lay the tape so the red line runs straight from the needle out on your sewing bed or sewing bed and extension table.  The two dark lines are 1/4 inch from the middle/needle, so using those lines, you can make sure that you are feeding your fabric for a more consistent seam up to your needle.

A closer look along the tape to the needle.  This is my Singer Quantum machine with a top, drop-in bobbin.  As you can see, you can use a very sharp pointy item to cut through the tape once it is laid on the surface allowing you to open that area for bobbin replacement.

So as you can see, the bobbin cover opens easily.

This is how you use it for Diagonal Seams.  I am getting ready to do a Jelly Roll Race quilt using an entire Jelly Roll.  This is also the same way that you prepare a binding strip.  Take your strips, put your tips down with the bottom strip right side up and the top strip right side down at a 90-degree angle.  Then turn the strips so you can see where the strips cross.  The top "Y" is up against the needle.  The bottom "Y" has the red line on the tape in the middle of that "Y".

As you sew, all you really need to do is keep the bottom "Y" aligned with the red line and you should end up with beautiful, straight diagonal seams.

Just keep that red line in the "Y".

And there you are... a perfectly straight diagonal seam without even needing to pin and/or mark your fabric.  What a timesaver this has been for me.

Just an FYI, this is the quilt I am making.  It is a pattern from Missouri Star Quilt Company.  During National Sewing month in March, this pattern was one of the three projects on the Triple Play YouTube video on March 18th. It was the pattern that Jenny made on their 'spool triple play' called "The World's Largest Spool of Thread".  They actually have the World's Largest Spool of Thread outside near their shops where you can actually add real thread should you be lucky enough to visit Hamilton, MO.  This pattern uses the Jelly Roll Race as the base of the quilt design.  I will be making this quilt to hang on another wall in my entry area at my front door.

True confession time... After taking the pictures for this blog, I realized that I had been doing my diagonal seams wrong.  I had been going so quickly that I was not putting right sides together.  I had all of my right sides up so I had to take about 1/3 of my total strips that were sewn wrong and cut off the ends... much quicker than using a seam ripper... and I will be starting from scratch once I get this posted.  I will probably have to do a minor adjustment to the top and bottom, but it should not affect the Jelly Roll Race part as far as looks.

Good thing I took a moment to take the pictures or I may not have realized that I was making a mistake until I finished all 40 strips.  So thank you for giving me a reason to stop and realize my error!!