hikingquilter

Just finished quilt top for DS in flannel. Full size, 4" squares in 16" blocks, sashing between blocks. BUT the borders came out puckery. I was very careful not to stretch the squares and I used lots of pins and it still came out puckery. It's going to have a fleece backing with edges brought around for the binding - no batting. I'm worried about trying to quilt it on my machine. Maybe just tie it? I'm really disappointed. I have done flannel lap quilts with fleece backing before and had no problem. Anyone have suggestions?

Zebra2

Do you mean "puckery" as in too much border fabric? If so, I'd take the borders off. Measure the length of the quilt top three places, (sides and center). Add measurements, divide by 3. Cut your borders that length. Sew them on easing in any fullness. Then do the same for the top and bottom. Does that help??

Prism99

I heavily starch flannel before cutting. Even though you were careful, it sounds as if the fabric distorted with handling.

Do you mean you didn't add a border; just that the edges of the pieced top are rippled? If that is the case, I would try spray starch blocking the edges to size using Sharon Schamber's method. She demonstrates it on a block on Youtube. It would be more awkward doing an entire border at a time, but it could be done.

If the rippling was from actually adding a border, then I would do as the previous poster mentioned. Since you mentioned sashing, I'm thinking you have sashing strips all around the edges of the quilt? If so, that would be the way to go -- take off the outer longer sashing strips, measure the quilt through the middle, then cut the sashing strips to match the middle measurement. What you will end up doing is easing the excessive material in the top to the accurate measurement of the sashing strip. For extra security, I would recommend heavily starching the sashing strip before cutting to size so its size remains stable while you are pinning and sewing.