Originally Posted by
cindi
That problem alone is the reason I use the centering tape on my frame. It keeps me from pulling it too tight at one end and not enough at the other. It keeps everything nice and square. I've never had that problem again. I swear by this tape! It's the pink tape that runs across the quilt in the picture. It has little points that I line up with the sashings. You can see it up-close in the other picture. Two different quilts, but you get the drift!
I saw another thing you did which was to pin a lot more closer when going down the sides than I have been doing. I have been pinning every 3 or 4 inches. I'm thinking that is leaving too much slack. I have been tending to work the "fluff" (love that word) out by pulling the corner to stretch it, when I should have been easing it in. All the seams inside the quilt tend to not let the middle stretch at all, so only the side borders can stretch, which is another part of the whole equation.
The measuring tape you are using...is it a special one that fits your frame, or just a really long one that you hook on? I am very good at eye-balling it to keep the quilt straight and have been measuring from one side just to verify. I didn't think about keeping the whole quilt straight by measuring all the points. I just love learning something new about my quilting every day and I do. Thank you for these two great tips.