Originally Posted by
Prism99
Quilting from the middle out originated with hand quilting in a hoop. The reason for this was to ensure that any fullness got moved out to the edges of the quilt rather than pushed to the center, for obvious reasons. Even in those days, however, frame quilters did not quilt from the center out, but rather from the edge in.
Yes, I remember my grandmother's quilting frame. I can remember my grandmother, mom, aunts and older cousins sitting on two sides of the frame - quilting and talking. They definitely were quilting from the outside in. All Grandmother's quilts were quilted in the "Baptist Fan" motif. Thanks, Prism, for the fun memory.
Thanks, everyone. I'm not quilting for show, either. So, I'll keep spray basting, start starching and backtacking.
bkay