Anyone remember this way of quilting?
 

I remember taking a class years ago and the instructor did her quilting just opposite of what most do now. She layered her quilt and turned it, she called it birthing the quilt. She basted the quilt with long running stitches from side to side and top to bottom then diagonal both ways. She then machine quilted the quilt and had no puckers or poofs. She then trimmed off the seam from the turning and added a binding. I'm sure she had a book she wrote, I remember her signing some. I didn't buy one as I was addicted to crochet at the time. LOL

I can't figure what you mean by turning it.

also called 'pillow case style' except after quilting she cut the (edges which are finished) and bound instead of leaving. i've seen them done this way or with a 1/2" line of stitching all the way around the finished edge.

Eleanor Burns has a video on her website showing a baby quilt done that way. I've heard it called "birthing a quilt" and "pillowcase method". I have seriously been debating trying it on a gian king size that I can't seem to get spray basted smoothly.

I've done that with smaller projects, like a crib quilt, wallhangings and a table runner. It's nice sometimes not having to sew a separate binding.

Turning it inside out and then basting the quilt. The layers are all together and easier to baste. Many quilts are done this way when they are tied and not quilted.

OH yes !! My earliest quilts were done this way - no separate binding, just stitched around the outside and knotted. That's XXX :rolleyes: years ago and the ones i still know about have held up beautifully.

After Googling I think the teacher was Fran Roen but I'm not sure.

I remember Eleanor Burns "birthing a quilt" on her show eons ago, and I remember making my first quilt that way back in 1974. Gawd I feel old.

I have done a few quilts that way ... decades ago. One problem was they were best tied. Seems like they did not lay falt and even ( back and front) so machine quilting created a puckering problem.

've done the birthing, but never cut it off to bind

I've done the birthing and stitch basting, (not on the same quilts!) but never cut off edges and put on binding. Interesting.

Similar to the 'envelope method'. I use it all the time for small art quilts.

MOST of my quilts are done that way-----------at least the baby quilts and personal size quilts. One on my sewing table this very instant. But "birthing" as a name for turning them inside out bothers me to no end. Don't know why----------just does.

and I don't hand quilt, I alway tack. So this is the perfect method for me.

cutting the edges seem counterproductive!

In a book I have called Kitchen Stitchin' the author called this kind of quilts self binding quilts. But she does not cut the edges. I tried this on placemats and it was fine and I have two really old quilts given to me that are bound this way. No puckers in them but than again they were hand quilted eons ago and are still being used today. Batting in one is almost completely destroyed but the quilt itself is as new.

Sounds like a good idea, ill have to try it

I tried this method way back. Mine turned out kind of lumpy (I tied it).Later I tried to quilt it. Oh boy what a mess. I didn't think of basting it. Maybe it would have turned out better. Anyway I didn't do that again

A-h-h-h-h-h yes, the "good old days"! Seems like most of us have done that too.....:)

What a great idea! I have turned or 'pillow cased' quilts before but never finished them this way. Love it. Will try on a small baby quilt and see how it works.

peace

I've only done it with baby quilts that had ruffled eyelet encased in the seam. Wow, that's a blast from the past. Then I tied them with satin ribbon and put a few stitches through the bow so little fingers couldn't undo them. Cutting the edge off seems a waste of fabric.

I learned this method from Eleanor Burns shows years ago and still use it when I plan to just tie my quilt. It works very well :)
For my quilted quilts I like a traditional binding , I enjoy sewing on the binding or I would probably use this method for all of my scrappy quilts.

You've got company Lol. I can see where this would be easier for some quilts though.

We do this method for our children's charity quilts at guild. The turning (birthing) process itself causes the layers to shift, and we must be careful to pat everything in place afterwards. They are not easy to machine quilt, but some people do ok with it. We tie a lot of them.

The positive aspect of this is the shorter time it takes to make a quilt this way. If you are going to cut off the edges and put a binding on it anyway, why not just layer it the normal way and save the stitching around and turning?

Dayle

I like the birthing/pillowcase method for small items & have used it up to crib size but the larger the item--the more chance it will be lumpy or get stretched out of shape. I've never heard of cutting off the edge & binding it, though.

I've heard of birthing and was thinking of using it on my latest quilt, but wondering about the diagonal basting. If you do that, you can't turn it, can you?

I am allergic to many of the battings so I layer my quilt, pin it thoroughly and sew the binding on. This way I don't have to deal with exposed batting while I am quilting. The optimum phrase here is "pin it thoroughly" because if I rush I can have a less than stellar back when I'm done. I think if I turned it over and checked the back more thoroughly and basted before I quilted it I would have fewer problems. Unfortunately that is a very big "if" because I am always in a hurry. LOL

I did my first one last week - a crib quilt. I enjoyed it so much, I have 3 more ready to go!

I had a problem figuring out the "layering", "turning", and "basting", until i figured out it is done in that order. But no one has said how to do the layering. I have been doing this since the 50's. Talk about old! You need to place the top and back right sides together. The batt probably goes next to the top. If you want to baste at this point, that would be fine. But then you sew all around the outside leaving a few inches open for turning. Then you need to remove the basting in order to turn it.

Another way that we used to do was to sew just the top and back together, right sides together, leaving quite a large turning space. Turn it and then work the WOOL batting inside, trying to get it into the edges and corners all around. Doesn't sound like fun, does it. But we did it. Then they were tied with wool yarn. These quilts were not washed. If the top got too soiled, you took off the ties, opened the last seam and washed just the top and back. If the batt was bad, it went to the woolen mill to be recarded. Our quilts were not made for show, just for warmth.

She then trimmed off the seam from the turning and added a binding. I'm sure she had a book she wrote, I remember her signing some. I didn't buy one as I was addicted to crochet at the time. LOL[/QUOTE]

I "birthed" a quilt once, but I didn't "trim off the seam from the turning, and add a binding". I may try that. I guess it would look more like a quilt finished in the traditional way, if you trimmed the seams and bound it. I think I just turned it and top stitched all around it.

This works great for making little quilted coasters.

I'm a 'Linus Project' member here in Washington ST. thats How We do The Quilts!
Lay down Batting, lay down Backing, Lay down TOP Face Down with Enough Batting, Backing, for About 1.5 to 2 inch extra around the TOP Pin All around Leaving a small OPEN SPACE. Cut ALL Around the Quilt TOP, Sew 1/2 to 1 inch Seam Allownce Leaving OPEN Space To TURN Quilt/Birth. (Called Envelope) Then Sew Around the Quilt Again 1/2 to 1 inch inside the Edges and Tie with Yarn/Heavy thread. :)

Eleanor Burns of Quilt IN A Day did that on t.v. and always went right to her machine and started quilting it. now i know she would have had puckers since she didn't take time to smooth it out well. I did it once on a king size and tied that one. I would never try to machine quilt it. i have enough trouble. but for tying, it is fast and easy. no binding.

I use this method while teaching a first timer to quilt. This is because I only see the person for 2 hours once a week and most time for only 2 weeks. It is a temperory home for homeless pregnant women and they are moved on to a more permanant home. This way they can finish the quilt and take it with them.

I have an Aunt that does all her quilts this way. I have tried to talk her into doing a binding, but she just won't try it.

Not sure if I can explain this clearly...I've done this on a couple quilts. One of them, my sister had pieced the back, but it was so nice on the back, I didn't want to trim any of it, so I layered it...right sides together and batting on top...stitched the sides together and turned it. Because the back was a bit bigger, it wrapped around the sides when I turned it. I just layed it flat, made it even on both sides, pinned the edges and loaded it on my long-arm frame. When it was done, it had to only be bound on the top and bottom because the sides were already done. I quilted it all the way to the edges and it turned out really well, nothing wasted and it was completely reversible.

It's a little fussy to quilt it on the big frame, but it was fun and she didn't have to cut into her design to finish it. Before I had the big machine, I always used the pillowcase method and tied the quilt with yarn.

I "birthed" a quilt once, but I didn't "trim off the seam from the turning, and add a binding". I may try that. I guess it would look more like a quilt finished in the traditional way, if you trimmed the seams and bound it. I think I just turned it and top stitched all around it.[/QUOTE]

I still don't see any benefit in trimming the edge after turning a quilt inside out.

I used to do baby quilts similar to this way. I always used a ruffle on the edge. I always hand quilted, usually around whatever print I was using, the teddy bears, the hearts, the trains, etc. I didn't trim the seam, obviously, and I didn't bind either. I just made a stitch 1/2 inch inside the edge.