Originally Posted by
zozee
When you quilt, start in the middle and work your way out. Otherwise you'll get unwanted puckering. How did you baste it--with pins? spray baste? thread basting? If with pins, be sure to place each one about a hand width apart, and remove them carefully, don't hit them. (Very bad for machines--more than a broken needle, a little piece can get down in the machine and damage delicate part. Worst of all, a pin could break and fly into your eye. Or close to it. Ask me how I know. Glad I was wearing glasses!)
Have you quilted anything before? If not,I'd suggest making a practice sandwich with maybe a big four-patch on top so you can practice SITD. For my first quilt, I did a big X through each block and a wavy line through the sashing .Have fun!
Thank you for all the great advice! This is my very first time quilting anything after years of admiring quilts from afar. I spray basted my first row, but thinking I might use pins on the others. The spray made things pretty difficult to line up, and the fabric kept flopping over and sticking to itself, so I'll probably pin the next row and see if that's easier. Good tip on pin removal. I definitely don't want to lose an eye, especially while quilting. Don't want to get blood on my fabric.
Making a practice sandwich is a really good idea. I have a tendency to jump in way to fast, so it's probably a good idea to do a few practice runs.