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Someone please help me. I only machine quilt. I use the walking foot. I can do backing fine on potholders, place mats and table runners but anything bigger than that and I get creases in the back. I am always pulling out. It is never smooth. I pin and pin and pin so I don't know what I am doing wrong. Is the only solution to keep cutting the thread, taking a look underneath and then reconnecting thread? That doesn't seem practical.
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I starch my backing pretty stiff and then use spray baste. I also pin about every 8-10 inches. This is the only way I can do anything larger than a runner. Otherwise I also get the tucks and pleats. Good luck!
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I starch the dickens out of my backing.
Then when sandwiching, I tape or pin down the backing, slightly pulling it so it is taught, but not stretched. Then add the batting and the top. Also, make sure that you are pinning/basting it closely enough, too :D:D:D |
There is a quilt on one of my dinning room chairs for more than a year because of a BIG crease. I was hand quilting it and did not look at the back. Oh my. On my bucket list.
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Starch then tape( use masking tape or what ever tape will stick to your floor.).. the backing to the floor firmly not stretched making sure there are no creases then put batting then quilt top... Pin about every 4 inches... Once pinned remove from the floor and turn over and check that the batting is smooth I sometimes have to repin some sections.. another way is to use bull clips to hold the backing onto a table then pin batting etc
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If you use the Sharon Schamber method you don't have pleats and you don't have to get down on the floor either.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bhwNylePFAA |
You may not be pulling the back taught enough before you pin.
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Originally Posted by bj
You may not be pulling the back taught enough before you pin.
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If you use a table, there are large clips that you can attach to the edges that will help keep your backing fabric tight (not too tight), providing that the clips fit on the edge of the table!
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Thank you for the Sharon Schamber method. I am tired of ruining my fingers and nails with pins. I am off to get boards and try this method.
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Originally Posted by hobo2000
Thank you for the Sharon Schamber method. I am tired of ruining my fingers and nails with pins. I am off to get boards and try this method.
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I had pleats all the time too. Til I started using basting spray. That solved that problem for me.
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I had this happen to me also I used basting spray and pens but
forgot to put on walking foot got to end of quilt huge glob .It also helps if you work your way out from middle on large projects.And agree with everyone else pen or baste well.Good luck I know your frustration. |
Originally Posted by Scissor Queen
If you use the Sharon Schamber method you don't have pleats and you don't have to get down on the floor either.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bhwNylePFAA Also, I pinned about 4" apart. I am going to study this tutorial. |
I pull my backing real taut without overstretching and tape it down with painter's tape. (Usually, I work on large tabled pushed together at work to do this) Then I lay the batting down in halves and smooth it out on top, patting as I go. I repeat with the top and pin about hand-width apart.
Then I check the back and make sure all is smooth. By using that method, I have had no puckers using the alking foot for SID or other straight stitch quilting. |
My husband went to home depot and got me 2 8 ft straight boards, he painted and sanded them and now I put the leaf in our dinning room table and set and pin I do as Sharon does only I pin. Works great and no pleats on the back.
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Originally Posted by karen65ae
Starch then tape( use masking tape or what ever tape will stick to your floor.).. the backing to the floor firmly not stretched making sure there are no creases then put batting then quilt top... Pin about every 4 inches... Once pinned remove from the floor and turn over and check that the batting is smooth I sometimes have to repin some sections.. another way is to use bull clips to hold the backing onto a table then pin batting etc
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Its the only way I baste since seeing her video - no creases!!
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This is a fabulous idea!
Originally Posted by Scissor Queen
If you use the Sharon Schamber method you don't have pleats and you don't have to get down on the floor either.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bhwNylePFAA |
Originally Posted by OmaForFour
This is a fabulous idea!
Originally Posted by Scissor Queen
If you use the Sharon Schamber method you don't have pleats and you don't have to get down on the floor either.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bhwNylePFAA |
I have this problem too but with hand quilting, it is easier to fix but still time wasting. Thanks for all the great ideas.
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Originally Posted by janRN
I starch my backing pretty stiff and then use spray baste. I also pin about every 8-10 inches. This is the only way I can do anything larger than a runner. Otherwise I also get the tucks and pleats. Good luck!
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I agree with amma, starch, spray baste and then pin. I know the pins are a pain, but it keeps your backing smooth
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I found boards at Home depot . They are facia trim boards for your house. well I bought those because they were already painted on all 4 sides,very smooth. They even cut them to the size I needed. They work great!
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Originally Posted by Nolee
Originally Posted by Scissor Queen
If you use the Sharon Schamber method you don't have pleats and you don't have to get down on the floor either.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bhwNylePFAA great tutorial. i once spent a whole day on my kitchen floor with those 12" square self stick tiles and my marble rolling pin. i wound up having to crawl to a wall and "walk" up the wall with my hands just to straighten up. getting to middle age bites. Also, I pinned about 4" apart. I am going to study this tutorial. |
I use all-cotton fabric for back and top, then 100% cotton or 80/20 batting, then it all sticks together pretty good, in addition to pinning.
Once (and only once), I used polyester batting, and everything slipped around way too much. So I got the spray, and it worked, but I would only use it again if I had a shed or somewhere I could go where people wouldn't have to breath it. So, all cotton, to sum it up. |
I agree with Karen65ae. Read her reply and you shouldn't have any problems.
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The walking foot is only good for straight stitching. If you want to do FMQ (free motion quilting), you need to get a hopping foot to fit your machine.
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Originally Posted by Scissor Queen
If you use the Sharon Schamber method you don't have pleats and you don't have to get down on the floor either.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bhwNylePFAA |
I made a log cabin quilt recently, and I was having a terrible time just quilting in the ditch on the front. I kept getting a "pleat" at the end of the line of stitching. I did it the best I could, washed it, and it looks really nice. You can't even see the "pleats". It puckered up really nice all over and looks good. Just a nice old-fashioned look.
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[quote=Scissor Queen]If you use the Sharon Schamber method you don't have pleats and you don't have to get down on the floor either.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bhwNylePFAA[/quote This was such a wonderful video. I, too, am anxious to get some boards and try it. I have learned so much from all of you on the Quilting Board. |
Try spraying your sandwich together with basting spray glue - it works, and no pins to worry about. It sounds like you do not have a quilting table that butts into your machine so that you have a smooth surface to glide over. It is more difficult to avoid puckers if you are humping the quilt over the sleeve arm all of the time. A sewing table where your machine sits flatly in the recess would help equally as well.
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Originally Posted by Nolee
Someone please help me. I only machine quilt. I use the walking foot. I can do backing fine on potholders, place mats and table runners but anything bigger than that and I get creases in the back. I am always pulling out. It is never smooth. I pin and pin and pin so I don't know what I am doing wrong. Is the only solution to keep cutting the thread, taking a look underneath and then reconnecting thread? That doesn't seem practical.
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Originally Posted by Nolee
Someone please help me. I only machine quilt. I use the walking foot. I can do backing fine on potholders, place mats and table runners but anything bigger than that and I get creases in the back. I am always pulling out. It is never smooth. I pin and pin and pin so I don't know what I am doing wrong. Is the only solution to keep cutting the thread, taking a look underneath and then reconnecting thread? That doesn't seem practical.
Are you using a walking foot to quilt with? That will help move all layers through at the same time. :thumbup: |
If you can lay out your quilt sandwich on a table that is thin enough (my glass dining room tabletop is just right for this) you can clip your backing all the way around with big binder clips (from Office Depot or Office Max) and tape it with painter's tape or masking tape as well. Sometimes I use the basting spray but don't like it so much because it's difficult to reposition once it's sandwiched. It's always something.
Dana |
I happen to be fortunate enough to have an inexpensive New Joy quilting frame and I have found that I can pin my backing to the take up rollers (pinning to the leader fabric) then I put down my batting and quilt top. Then I pin baste it while standing. When finished with that section, I remove the pins and slide the "sandwich" up and re-pin it again. I repeat this until all is basted. This is done for the smaller quilts that I quilt on my regular machine.
I have found it saves my back and legs and it's also in the same room - on the same floor! :-P |
Originally Posted by Scissor Queen
If you use the Sharon Schamber method you don't have pleats and you don't have to get down on the floor either.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bhwNylePFAA By the way, an other famous teacher, Becky Goldsmith, doesn't pin her quilts either. She bastes them like Sharon does and clips the threads as she quilts it. |
Thanks for the tips! I have had my share of creases!
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I had that problem once and got a tip on this site to use basting spray. I love it! I never have a problem now and I've found that if I put a layer on a little crooked, I can peel it off and reposition it...even hours later.
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Dependng on the size of the quilt I either do it on a table or on the floor. Like others, I stretch my backing taut, but not too much as to stretch it. On the table I use clips to hold the backing. On the floor I use painters tape. Lay on the batting, then the top. I pin baste about every 4 or 5 inches. When done I always check the back first before going any farther. Make any corrections as needed, then quilt til your hearts content. I've never had a problem with pleats, folds, or creases. Good luck. Oh, I would like to try the basting spray. Just haven't yet.
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