Done! I got the placemats to look right, and I didn’t have to call anyone for help. I am patting myself on the back. After thinking more about McCall’s Crafts Pattern M4486, I decided to go with the standard scant 1/4″ quilters seam allowance and voila — it worked! The instructions tell me to use 1/2″ seam allowances. I questioned it, but then thought about other patterns I have had. Many of them are for apparel, and most of them call of 1/2″ seams. So I tried it and nothing I did worked out. Maybe that would be 1/4″ + 1/4″ = 1/2″ ??? It doesn’t make sense to me, but I have definitely found patterns with mistakes printed in them. A Butterick purse pattern stands out in my mind as needing correction.
Today, I spent a little time, very little, as there are only 16 pieces of fabric to cut, on what Mr. GAIN’s family calls “smelting.” The kids applauded my craftsmanship (N of GAIN’s word choice) when I showed them the final results. My gift to my sister is now exactly one month late. Should I call it an early Christmas gift now?