meyert

I am not sure if "birthing" is the correct term... when you sew the quilt right sides together leaving a spot to turn everything right side out. I have done this with receiving blankets and was happy with how they turned out. But I don't know how large of a quilt I can handle doing this. Has anyone done this with a twin size quilt? How about with batting? I am going to put a ruffle on a quilt that I am working on and I have never done a ruffle using the birthing method, so I wanted to try something new. But I don't want to get in over my head. This is a twin size quilt and it will have batting. Any thoughts?

GrannieAnnie

I've gone it to a king sized quilt. But I don't do all the elaborate "birthing" moves. You simply stick your arm in and reach for the corner on the far side, pull it out. Then reach in to pull out the corner on the left side, pull it out, then stick your arm in to pull out the corner on the right side and pull it out. Oh, one more corner left--------pull it out. Lay quilt flat and smooth it out then pin to press into place.

Don't let the "delivery room" police scare you.

Skip the "birthing" stuff. Not at all necessary.

GrannieAnnie

Oh, and ruffles are not scary, either. Just allow extra fullness when you round corners so the ruffle continues when the quilt is turned inside out.

PaperPrincess

We do up to queen size quilts at a charity I've worked with. Same 'technique' as GrannieAnnie. When you attach the back, you also catch the batt, then just reach in & grab a corner. A yard stick or broom stick can be used to make sure all the edges are pushed out. It is much easier if you can work on a table where you can lay out the whole quilt.

charsuewilson

I've birthed a queen sized quilt. I'd recommend it more for smaller quilts like 50x70", but it can be done for larger quilts.

nativetexan

many, many years ago i did a king size. tied it with embroidery thread which didn't stay tied. took those out and tied again with yarn. So far, i have never tried to birth a quilt and then machine quilt it. I know, Eleanor Burns supposedly does that but me, i would get folds in the fabric.

ManiacQuilter2

I have done mostly smaller quilts with the "birthing" method. Great way for when having ruffles or prairie points on the outside. Just make sure to have extra for the corner as mentioned above.

tessagin

There are different videos on birthing quilts. I have not done it.

ILoveToQuilt

Thanks for starting this thread. This is something I had wondered about as well. I have a crib sized quilt that I am now going to "birth". Appropriate, no? Crib sized...birthing...just had to say it! LOL

GailG

I've machine quilted a few and it wasn't so bad. I found that crosshatching was better because of the bias "effect" -- kinda stretched out the pleats. My favorite way of quilting is by tying or using a decorative stitch that makes one motif at each stop (I'm having a senior moment and cant think of the word for this stitch).

With the tying, I saw on one of the videos (perhaps EB"s) that if, when making the knots, wrap the yarn twice then pull tight, then repeat. Leave a half inch or longer tail. I used yarn to tie whole cloth quilts for my grandchildren beginning about 20 years ago and those old quilts are still going strong -- faded and worn but still in use. Now I use perle cotton with the same method.