Why inches and not centimeters?

Hello Quilters,

Some quilters here already know that I prefer to work in inches rather than centimeters. My projects are all in inches, I only make my quilts and patchwork pieces in inches, and my free classes and tutorials are all in inches. But Tania, why do you work in inches and not centimeters?

Like many quilters, I learned patchwork in centimeters. My first quilts, pieces were in centimeters and so far so good, I managed to learn and make several pieces in centimeters. After a while, I bought an imported quilt project and decided to make it, since I had some rulers in inches and my board had centimeters on one side and inches on the other side and English was not a problem for me, since I worked as an English teacher. Although English is not an obstacle to doing in inches, because one thing does not depend on the other!

And then quilters... Baaammm, that was the best thing that ever happened to me!

Doing it in inches was much easier than I imagined, it was more sensible and the process was much more relaxed and enjoyable. From that moment on, I never wanted to do it in centimeters again, only in inches! But since I was part of a patchwork group where the teacher only put together projects in centimeters, I was working on others in inches at the same time as these projects.

BUT WHY INCHES AND NOT CENTIMETERS?

There are several reasons, but the main and most sensible one is the simple fact that my machine only has a machine foot in inches. Is there one in centimeters? Yes, there is and I could even buy one in centimeters, but since I have a machine foot in inches, I thought it would be more sensible to use this foot.

Another reason is that the seam allowance is 1/4" inch anywhere in the world. You don't have to convert it to centimeters, adjust the machine foot and so on. So let's just stick with inches.

In addition to these more basic reasons that I mentioned, others are:

• All existing and new techniques that emerge are and will always be in inches. In other words, you already have access before any adaptation in centimeters that someone has to make, and this even if you don't know English, because one thing doesn't prevent you from using the other. Tell me who has been an English teacher!
• Availability and a variety of materials in inches that can facilitate and speed up your work, such as: different rulers, templates, cutting bases, diagonal sewing tapes and others.
• Cutting fabrics in inches is more accurate and precise;
• The sewing process is faster due to the techniques and tips for assembling the units used in patchwork blocks;
• Possibility to create new and different blocks;
• Easy to assemble blocks and quilts of different desired sizes;

These are the main reasons why I use inches instead of centimeters. You know those comments we hear that: "patchwork takes too long", "patchwork is too complicated", "sewing blocks and corners is too difficult, complicated and stressful". Well listen to what I'm going to say, in inches, ALL THAT DISAPPEARS! That's right, when you do it in inches, all that simply doesn't matter anymore.

BASIC INCH COURSE

And so I needed to show and spread this to all quilters! Showing that inches is much easier and more relaxed, and that it also allows you to create blocks, block sizes of whatever you want and that is fantastic!

The Basic Inches Course was launched in July 2022 and many have already tried it, understood it and, today, what I hear most from them: "Wow, I'll never go back to doing it in centimeters!", "Wow, it's much easier!" and so on.

The Basic Inches Course is a quick and complete online course. Who is it for? From beginners who have never used a sewing machine to those who already do patchwork but only in centimeters or who have a slight understanding of inches. By taking the course, you will be able to make any quilt and project in inches. The course is valid for life and can be taken at your preferred time, and I will provide support if you have any questions.

Inside there is an explanation and many cutting exercises on fabrics using inches. At the end we made a whole potholder with project, plus project of 2 extra star blocks: Churn Dash and Ohio Star.

The Basic Inches Course is available on my website under the SHOP, COURSES menu! Or if you prefer, you can access it by clicking here .

If you want to understand a little more about inches, you can access my YouTube channel and watch the video: FRACTIONS IN INCHES. There I talk a little about these advantages that I already mentioned and show you in an easy way how to understand fractions in inches.

I hope I have helped to clarify a little more about inches. If you want to know more about the available projects, just access my store.

See you soon, happy sewing,

Tania M ogari