How do you fix a "bubble"?
07-13-2010, 06:00 AM
#11
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Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Southeast Georgia, USA
Posts: 9,136
the threads in woven fabric go horizontally and vertically. warp and woof. i can never remember which is which. :lol:
the fabric will stretch a bit if you pull on it acros the horizontal weave. it won't stretch if you pull on it vertically.
when you cut into the fabric at an angle, that cut edge is said to be "on the bias". very stretchy. very easily distorted if you don't match and stitch carefully to the other piece. (for example, a too small triangle can easily be stretched so that it appears to match a larger block or piece of fabric.)
i always starch the heck out of any fabric i plan to cut and stitch on the bias. i'm very careful to lay the pieces together. i make sure i don't push or pull on them as they feed under the machine foot and needle. i'll pin if necessary to make sure they don't get wonkified.
there are many different ways to guard against the accidental distortion. i'll bet you get lots of good advice here. :-)
the fabric will stretch a bit if you pull on it acros the horizontal weave. it won't stretch if you pull on it vertically.
when you cut into the fabric at an angle, that cut edge is said to be "on the bias". very stretchy. very easily distorted if you don't match and stitch carefully to the other piece. (for example, a too small triangle can easily be stretched so that it appears to match a larger block or piece of fabric.)
i always starch the heck out of any fabric i plan to cut and stitch on the bias. i'm very careful to lay the pieces together. i make sure i don't push or pull on them as they feed under the machine foot and needle. i'll pin if necessary to make sure they don't get wonkified.
there are many different ways to guard against the accidental distortion. i'll bet you get lots of good advice here. :-)
07-13-2010, 06:19 AM
#12
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: Central Florida
Posts: 535
I agree with PatriceJ. In my limited experience, heavy starching and careful pressing before cutting and sewing on the bias makes it much easier to avoid distorting the fabric. I don't think you'll be able to "un-stretch" the triangles now, so if this were my dilemma, I'd try to redo the side triangles with fresh (heavily starched) fabric.
Originally Posted by PatriceJ
the threads in woven fabric go horizontally and vertically. warp and woof. i can never remember which is which. :lol:
the fabric will stretch a bit if you pull on it acros the horizontal weave. it won't stretch if you pull on it vertically.
when you cut into the fabric at an angle, that cut edge is said to be "on the bias". very stretchy. very easily distorted if you don't match and stitch carefully to the other piece. (for example, a too small triangle can easily be stretched so that it appears to match a larger block or piece of fabric.)
i always starch the heck out of any fabric i plan to cut and stitch on the bias. i'm very careful to lay the pieces together. i make sure i don't push or pull on them as they feed under the machine foot and needle. i'll pin if necessary to make sure they don't get wonkified.
there are many different ways to guard against the accidental distortion. i'll bet you get lots of good advice here. :-)
the fabric will stretch a bit if you pull on it acros the horizontal weave. it won't stretch if you pull on it vertically.
when you cut into the fabric at an angle, that cut edge is said to be "on the bias". very stretchy. very easily distorted if you don't match and stitch carefully to the other piece. (for example, a too small triangle can easily be stretched so that it appears to match a larger block or piece of fabric.)
i always starch the heck out of any fabric i plan to cut and stitch on the bias. i'm very careful to lay the pieces together. i make sure i don't push or pull on them as they feed under the machine foot and needle. i'll pin if necessary to make sure they don't get wonkified.
there are many different ways to guard against the accidental distortion. i'll bet you get lots of good advice here. :-)
07-13-2010, 06:27 AM
#13
Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: Texas
Posts: 961
I agree that the triangles seem too small. The link below will explain how to calculate the size needed according to the size of your blue blocks.
You pieced them correctly in diagonal rows so that would not be the cause of the bubbles.
http://www.quilterscache.com/H/howto...triangles.html
You pieced them correctly in diagonal rows so that would not be the cause of the bubbles.
http://www.quilterscache.com/H/howto...triangles.html
07-13-2010, 09:00 AM
#14
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Thread Starter
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: Long Valley, NJ
Posts: 474
Ok, according to that chart, they should be 14 inch squares (which is what they are in this picture), I just tried 15 in squares...SAME THING IS HAPPENING :-( I dunno, maybe i am not supposed to make a spider man quilt for this child. How many more times can i possible rip it up....I'm very agitated...I've walked away for several hours at a clip...AUGH
07-13-2010, 11:30 AM
#17
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Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: Long Valley, NJ
Posts: 474
OK, well i forged thru and put the borders on anyway...This is what it looks like with the borders on...I'm hoping the quilting helps it some. I was spending entirely too much time and decided to just plow thru. Putting the border on did help some i think.
07-14-2010, 05:07 AM
#20
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Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: Sturbridge, Ma
Posts: 3,992
It appears that problem may be in both piecing and in cutting.
So go back and measure the parts. Did the blocks finish out the size they should have. Are the triangles the size they should have been. Take off the offending parts and measure and put dots where the end of the seam should be
Accuracy in all parts is important. A recent teacher in a class said the piecing is only as good as the last seam. At the bottom it appears that either the block side is not the right size or the triangle is not the correct size.
So go back and measure the parts. Did the blocks finish out the size they should have. Are the triangles the size they should have been. Take off the offending parts and measure and put dots where the end of the seam should be
Accuracy in all parts is important. A recent teacher in a class said the piecing is only as good as the last seam. At the bottom it appears that either the block side is not the right size or the triangle is not the correct size.
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