Y-Seams Tutorial
Two days ago I was looking in the book Material Obsession 2
Disclaimer! This is how I personally figured out how to make Y-Seams. I am self taught, I’m sure there are a thousand ways to do this. This is mine.
Y-Seams Tutorial
What is a Y-Seam? Sometimes in sewing, you have three pieces of fabric that need to be sewn together in the shape of a “Y”. Like this:
1. Start by taking the bottom 2 pieces and place them right sides together.
Stitch from the bottom up to the dot in the photo. That dot is a little closer than 1/4″ from the edge of the fabric. If you want you can backstitch a bit at the end (I didn’t).
Sewing:
Finished:
2. Press the seam open. See where you have a bit that you didn’t sew.
3. Now the top portion of the “Y”. We need to sew the top piece to the bottom piece.
Take the top piece of fabric and fold it down right side together with the left portion of the bottom fabric.
4. Stitch down the fabric along the red line above. With your needle in the down position, stop at the red dot on the diagram above. This is the seam line from step 1!
5. Now is where it gets a bit tricky. Leaving your needle in the down position, lift your presser foot. Turn the top fabric so the seam now lines up with the second half of the “Y” you need to sew.
Continue sewing down the rest of the fabric to complete the “Y”.
6. Press the fabric down towards the bottom of the “Y”.
And now you can go ahead and make something really cool like this!
Hello Faith! Thank you for showing how you sew this! Looks more complicated than it is! That makes really beautiful ‘flower’ – I shall try this!
xxx Teje
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. I am such a visual learner and this looks to be wonderful. I will be savoring later (after work!!) Hugs!
Hi Faith! thanks so much!! I haven’t tried them yet but it doesn’t seem as intimidating now, pics always help!
What a great tutorial- It’s not nearly as complicated as I thought. And you turned it into a beautiful block!
Faith-thank you for taking the time to do this. I’ve see the little hand drawn images before but could never really make sense of that step of turning the fabric to sew the other side. Having the photos is a big help and will be really useful. I love your Jazz Hands Block. That looks amazing!
That is pretty cool! Impressive!
Great visual!
Did you know that a lot of sewing machine feet have a quarter inch marking on them that will also help you know where to “stop”? 
It was a “quilt changing” moment for me when someone pointed it out to me…
Thanks for the tutorial, Faith! I am a visual learner, so your thought out tutuorial with photos is perfect!!
Thanks for the tutorial doesn’t look as scary as i imagined. just seams u need to go slow
I have that book. Jazz Hands is one I want to do too. Thanks for the great tutorial.
This is fab- thanks so much. Pictures ALWAYS help me.
Yay! You honestly have NO idea how hard I’ve worked trying to figure out a dang Y seam! I’m going to give this a try as soon as I possibly can. Thanks! =)
Faith, this is very helpful! I haven’t yet encountered the need or desire to do y-seams but I am bookmarking this for future reference.
Thanks for sharing! Looking forward to seeing your quilt finished!
Dear Faith,
Very good indeed! Thanks a bunch. Lauren
Love your block! Looks really more complicated than you make it out to be. Must make it one day.
Thanks!
Thank you for the great tut. Now, I’m off to find my book!
Great pictures – much better than trying to figure out the worded-steps you find so oftern for y-seams.
The only thing I do differently is that I prefer to stitch with the pieced-pieces on top, since the critical factor is the stopping at the correct spot on those as opposed to the last, solid piece. I can keep track of it best on top and make less bumpy tucks from going too far or short.
Yes! I did it this way too today and it turned out great as well.
Thank you! I have hated these, because I was doing them backwards. Your tut was sooooo helpful!
Oh! You make it look so simple. The block is stunning.
Thanks your making this new quilting obsession of mine so very fun and easy.
Great idea for a tutorial! I totally could have used that in the improv class… instead, I have a big mess on the back (oh well)
Your finished block is beautiful. Thanks for the tutorial. You are so good at explaining the steps of sewing.
Wow, that is a fantastic block! And way to go for making the Y-seam look not so horribly scary. I don’t know if I’m ready to try it, but looking at your pictures, it does make sense!
Thank you so much for this tutorial. I’ve had to sew a couple of these and usually end up mangling them and praying they don’t fall apart! lol
Great tutorial. This is how I have always sewn Y-seams for both garments and quilts…but I am self-taught, too, so who knows if this is the “official” way to do it!
awesome! That’s a really cool block too. I have their first book and really like it. I make their Dresden all the time!
Great tutorial and I’m glad you like my quilt! Have fun and make sure to show a pic of the quilt when you’re finished, I would love to see.
Sarah Fielke
Eek! It’s Sarah!
Love your book, everything in it is amazing. And now that I can do Y-Seams, I can make a lot more in it. 
Thank you for the tutorial. I have problems with Y-seams but your tutorial makes it really clear. (And I love the Jazz hands block. Makes me want to have a go at that block!)
This is exactly what I needed today! I’m getting ready to sew a y seam on my pillow talk swap project. You rock!
So helpful! Thanks for the tutorial, I have to try this!
You are such an excellent teacher. Thanks for a cool tutorial!
Nice tut! Thanks for sharing! Like the block at lot!
Gorgeous block! I’m still scared…but got to just jump in and try it right? Great tute!
Girl, this is so good!! And the block is gorgeous. I think I’m going to have to buy this book, too.
And now I do not fear the Y-seam. Why, thanks!
This is awesome Faith! Thanks so much I am so ready now to make something with Y seams that I have been wanting to for a long time
primera vez ver tan claro como unirlos.el bloque es hermoso
I have that book and I thought your tutorial was very good. Thank you. Now for the time to try it!!
you are very, very brave!!! and successfull at “y” seams~!! hooo-rahhh! now, tell your audience (after mastering the “y” seam construction, of course..) how long DID it take you to complete that smashing ‘jazz hand’ block?? WOW-ZER!! that is some sewing!!! congrats to you!!
Not long at all! Maybe 2-3 hours, but that included the learning curve.
That is really funny as I was reading ‘Material Obsession’ yesterday evening thinking that I would like to make the Jazz Hands quilt. My problem was that I couldn’t visualise the Y seam. Tonight I read your blog with instructions for a y seam to make the very same quilt. Amazing! Many thanks for the superb photos and instructions.
Whoa. You’ve just opened up a world of possibilities for me. Thank you for making this tutorial! I will try a block tomorrow!
You make it look so easy! Thanks for posting this great tutorial – I pinned it! http://pinterest.com/iftoyscouldtalk/quilting-tutorials-and-tools/
How fun! Great tutorial!
sazzyfrazz at gmail dot com
Very clever! Thanks for the clear, concise pics! Wonderful!
Thanks for sharing with us
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Thanks for the great tutorial…will be extremely helpful when trying a Y-Seam!!
Being VERY new to quilting I so appreciate this lesson…thank you VERY much.
I think I will not shy away from Y-seams now!
Oh, I HATE Y-seams!! THank you for this. I am book marking it and will remember the next time I run across some in my travels. When I go on shop hops and get patterns with y-seams I actually mark the pattern “y-seam” and each time I come across it I just put it aside “not today”. But I suppose I need to get over that
This is incredibly clear and helpful-thank you so much!
Going to try this NOW! Been looking for a good tutorial
Thanks!
Wow! Love the tutorial. I just purchased the book and was a little intiminated to try that pattern but now I think I can do it. Thanks
Love your block.
Thank you so much !!!!You great work!!!!!
Thanks for showing us how to do that..
Makiing 7 pointed star at the moment, thiss will help.
Sandra
This is great! I can think of tons of situations where this info will be useful. Thanks so much for the clear instructions and pics.
beautiful block thanks
Thanks for such a wonderful tutorial, I am always looking for a better way to do Y seams. Love the block you made.
I’ve always wondered about these. Thanks for the tutorial!
Thank you for sharing how you did this!! I have read and watched a variety of tutorials online and I like this one the best! It is easy and straight forward! Thank you for sharing!!!
I love your tutorial, thank you! I have the book Material Obsessions 2 & Material Obsessions Two. I’m so glad to find your tutorial for Jazz Hands. Is there a group that is working on Jazz Hands? Your block is very pretty! Again, thank you!
Wonderful tutorial – thank you so much! I think I can do this now — woo hoo!
Thank you so much! I just cut our all of the kite shaped pieces for that same quilt. Could not quite make out how to do the Y seam. Feel so happy now. Thank you. Any ideas how to cut those shapes quickly?
I think more than 3 people are interested:) I’m doing my first block requiring a y-seam and my first two tries didn’t work out, so I’m so glad I found this! I wasn’t leaving a 1/4″ unsewed, so I will try it again after I take out some stitches. Thanks!
I couldn’t agree more that there are MANY of us that have been searching for this tutorial….Thanks again
Thanks a million for the tutorial! I’ll admit that I’ve read instructions elsewhere plenty of times, but seeing your picture really made it “click” for me. Can’t wait to try it out!
Hi Faith! It took this long for me to really make y-seams. I am making a quilt with diamonds and I use the method you show here. Thanks – it works so well but needs patient! x Teje
Thanks so much! I have been looking for a good tutorial for this forever! It does look a bit tricky, but is very reader friendly
I am all for “self taught”. Thank you for having the patience to make it clear to us.
Thank-you so much for the tutorial! I have a quilt that is a bit of a beast with y-seams all over the place. I didn’t realize quite what I was getting into when I started it…but know I am armed with the information to tackle it again and finish it up! Thanks! I also LOVE your blog. In fact, I need to link a picture of a quilt I just finished for my 15-year-old son that I based off of one of your patterns. Thanks for all you do and your creativity!
Oops… *now I am armed…
Thank you so much for this tutorial! I was stuck with some y-seams on a project on another blog, and not getting anywhere with that tutorial. I was close to just starting over! But a quick search brought me to your blog and and project-saving tutorial! I just have once one question — if you find the bottom leg of the y seam doesn’t match up, do you fix it by machine or by hand? Thanks again!!
I rarely do anything by hand, so I would do any fixing by machine.
wow I am so glad I found this Website. I am assemblying the candy pinwheels quilt and was having trouble with the ‘y seams’. I am a new quilter and need specifics. The directions in the magazine were too vague. Thank you.
Thank you for this wonderful toot with clear pictures. I am working on a Lone Star, and will need to do a “Y.” Your instructions are clear- love the red lines, and the detailed instruction such as not to sew all the way to the end (your step 2 above), and your close up pix. THIS is the way tutorials should be presented!