DEAR QUILTERS,
I have birthed small quilts but have a large 7'x8' quilt I'd like to birth rather than bind due to the special nature of the quilt (the center (about 5'x6') is loose and right now ocean waves are glued, waiting to be sewn down
after it is turned, leaving each wave loose at its crest... we'll see how it works
). I promise to share (my friend Beckycraft will post pictures for me) if I get enough help to get this quilt finished!
After searching both under pillow casing and birthing I did not find that anyone had remarked on using this method on larger quilts. I'm not uptight about every inch being just so, but I don't want to mess up a quilt which my new DIL (its for her and her new hubby, our son) helped me design, either. Is there a reason for not birthing large quilts other than a microscopic imperfections? I can't reason why this might be a problem. I have wide enough tables (4 pushed together) to lay it out and make sure it is smooth on both sides before quilting. DH will help me to keep it as stabilized as possible.
But still, I really need to know why no one wants to birth a big quilt. After birthing it I know it will be harder to reach inside and make sure each corner is OK, but I figure if I do each corner and pin it down as OK, then I will be able (with DH's help) gently pull the quilt edges (I'd start at the bottom and work toward the opening, gluing just enough through the top to the batting). Then I would turn it over and go over the back and glue through the back to the batting. I always quilt near the edge for stabilization. Then I'd be ready to quilt the whole thing. Each element of the quilt will be quilting according to the quilt top's pattern. The back will not have the "ideal-for-it" quilting showing, but that isn't an issue for me.
If you wonderful quilters of QB would give me input of WHY you don't do birthing on large quilts then I feel like I'll have a better chance of being successful. Thank you for reading this and double thanks for helping me out!!!