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I need some advice
Hi all-I am hoping for a miracle I think. I am doing a scrappy quilt. All was going "okay" until I began adding the borders and this quilt has taken on a life of it's own. The inside of the quilt is stretching every which way the more I am handling it. Is there anyway to calm this thing down? I am afraid by the time I finish it is going to all wonky. I did use "Best Press" while pressing but no steam. (But I guess that acts as steam?)
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It sounds like you are playing with bias edges too much. Best to try not to cut too many bias edges which are joined to other biases. Don't iron and press all of the time if you notice your quilt is growing. Just gently finger press. If it becomes a real problem, you might find that doing some 'stay stitching' around each shape might be the best solution. It will be tedious but is an age old dressmaking trick for bias edges. Hope you have better success with it.
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When you sew the border on sew with the quilt top next to the feed dogs. The rule is "bias on the bottom." It really helps control any stretch.
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So are you saying that the edges stretched when attaching boarders, and that made iT wonky?
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When you sew on the borders, you should sew from the middle out. More work but helps control the stretching.
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Maybe if you show a picture it would be easier to diagnose what is happening. It could be bias edges, or cups in the piecing, or borders not cut correctly (although that would probably mean the borders were waving, not the inside of the quilt). You might be able to carefully block the quilt to get it flat and straight.
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If I am understanding the problem, than the many different bias pieces are causing the quilt to stretch as you sew the borders on? I don't see any way to avoid it except applying some kind of fusible to the back of the whole quilt (pricey). I think I would go ahead and quilt it without borders. I would then re-square the quilt and add my borders Quilt as You Go style. The quilting will stabilize the quilt and then you can add the borders.
QAYG- You lay the border right side down on the quilt (pin). You lay the backing piece right side down to the back(pin). You put a strip of batting pinned to either the front or back piece and sew the pinned sections on the top edge of the quilt.You press all of them outwards and then do the same to the bottom of the quilt. You then repeat the process on the sides and then finish quilting the borders and bind. Good Luck! |
My suggestion is stay-stitching all around the edge before putting your borders on. Kind of helps hold everything in place.
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I think I'd go with the stay stitching. In the future, be careful when pressing the bias edges. Too heavy a hand or moving the iron (ironing vs pressing) will definitely cause distortion. Good luck, I hope it turns out beautifully for you!
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I knew I could count on you guys-thanks for all the great advice. Lessons learned here for next time for sure! Happy New Year!
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