Seam Allowance

I finally figured out why I have been having such a hard time getting my seams to align. I thought my presser foot was a 1/4" from the needle and apparently it is closer to 3/8" just enough to royally mess up something with a lot of seams. Now that I know, I can either start sewing the 1/4" seam or adjust my cut pieces to allow the 3/8" seam. Currently, I am leaning more towards just adjusting the cuts, as I have a hard time sewing a consistent seam without something to align the edge of my fabric.