Do you quilt your borders as you are quilting? Or do you quilt the top border, quilt the middle of your quilt, quilt the bottom border and then turn the quilt to do the other 2 sides? I have a quilt I am working on which I want to do a panto but I think it would look better if I turned the quilt to do the side borders. What do you think? Am I making this harder for myself?
Thanks for any help in advance!

Mindy Wilie, a well known longarmer says if you quilt the interior before the borders the interior will draw up and the borders will be too big and get wavy no matter how well they fit before.
untill I saw the video I had only done pantos so it didn't matter but since I've started doing custom work and I can vouch for her, she's knows what she's talking about!

I've been reading a lot recently about turning a quilt to do the borders. I'll be watching this thread.

I will be following this as I have a new longarm machine...sitting in boxes....as soon as I clear a space the tech guy will come and sit it up. Any tips would be appreciated.

Lynn :D

I only have an HQ16 (16"), but I don't turn. There's too big a chance of getting puckers. I've heard of some people turning, but toooo much work for me! Not wanting to take the chance.

I have never done a panto other than messing around for a short spell on a practice piece. So far all I have done is freehand from the front of the machine and I quilt the borders as I go. Pantos are really intended for E2E quilting it would take a lot of futzing around to use a panto in the border as you describe, plus the added problems of causing wavey border like Kathy described. I have never run into this as I have never quilted the interior and then the borders, I am always quilting from one end to the other, changing my design depending on where I am in the quilt. If you are dead set on doing the panto design in the border perpendicular to what is in the body of the quilt, I would either make a photo copy of the panto on 8 1/2 by 14 legal size paper or actually cut a length off of the panto and place it on your table exactly how you want to quilt it. So you would need to measure out the part of your panto going the full width of the quilt and then carefully place the panto section intended for going the length of the quilt in the borders on either edge. This way you can follow your panto in the two different directions as you advance the quilt. However, unless you really know what you are doing and your measurements are impeccable, this method will create a certain amount of headache each time you advance the quilt. I can envision having problems lining up with each new section being quilted on the border edge. You will also have to get very creative when turning the corner. If I were you, I would try a free hand design in the border and your panto in the center and switch from front to back of machine depending on if you are in a border section or the center section.

I am sure there are LAers out here that have a lot more experience than me. There is probably a better alternative for you.

Turning the quilt is not that difficult though I will admit I tried to avoid it like that plague at first. I've done both ways with my HQ 16. I have not had puckering problems with turning but am very careful while I quilt the center area. It's just a pain to remove then replace the quilt when it's heavy from being quilted.

OK ...mostly for me I quilt from the top and work my way down doing my borders as I go, working my way down as well. I have never done a pantograph but I have helped other people do them.

I have taken classes from professional quilters.

Each professional did borders differently..so I suspect you will get the same differing opinions here.

I think there is a few things you have to consider:

1. How is the piecing? If the piecing is iffy...I wouldn't even consider turning that quilt..what a headache and pucker city!

2. How heavy is the quilting? In this case you aren't doing heavy quilting probably because you are doing a panto...however if you did heavy quilting in the center of your quilt and you are trying to put a panto in the border...problems. Heavy quilting sucks up fabric...you will have to learn how to stabilize a quilt as you are quilting to get that light border design on...if you even can get it to go on evenly. Just as another responder said..wavy.




Sally Terry.....she said she takes quilts off and re-pins (turns ) then to do borders...she is the author of "hooked on Feathers"

Deloa Jones....quilts her borders as she goes.
But she is also a gadget quilter..she will use pantos, many types of rulers and stencils.

I hope that helps.....Good luck!

The quilt I am talking about is very busy and the person I am quilting it for doesn't want her "featured squares" quilted on. The quilt has a top border approx. 12" wide, then a row of her "featured squares", then approx. 7 1/2" in between more of the featured squares rows. She wants me to do a panto which is 7 1/8" wide in between the featured squares. She doesn't care how the border is done but I thought it would look better if I could do the full panto in it. Now that I have read what you all have said, I don't think turning it would be a good idea. My dilemma now is what to do with the 4 1/2" dead space I will have in the border? Did I explain that right? If I do the panto in the border and then go to the row without the squares, I will have no quilting done in approx. 4 1/2" because of the size of the panto she chose. I will try to draw an example below:


______________________________________{border
Panto {
______________________________________{12"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX {
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX {Row between 7 1/8" Where she wants the panto done

TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT Featured Squares
TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT Panto
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX{
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX{ Row between 7 1/8"
Panto
TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT Featured Squares
TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT
Panto
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX {
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX { Row between 7 1/8"
Panto
______________________________________
Panto
______________________________________ Bottom Border 12"

I have done borders both as I go and turning. For me it is just a matter of what works for that quilt. Free hand, I will usually just quilt as I go. If I'm doing a panto all over, I just treat it like just one big top..ignoring the fact there is a border. If i'm using a panto, or I'm doing a special treatment in the border ie: meandering feathers of a swag that needs to be centered, I turn. If I'm going to turn, I baste the sides and SID if appropriate as I go down the quilt. This give me a nice straight line to pin when I turn too. Hope this gives you some ideas.