Finish a king quilt?
 

What the heck was I thinking when I thought I'd be able to quilt this king quilt on my machine. I've already pinned and stitched the border. Do you think a professional quilter could even touch it at this point? Help!

It wouldn't hurt to contact an LAer to see what the answer would be.

Well, I've already done the border so I guess I'll do better next time lol.

Now I keep thinking about it do u think I screwed up my quilt Cuz I quilted the border first? I'd hate to think I've wrecked it I've been working on for 3 years now.

If quilting the borders first has pulled the backing a bit, you could always tie the rest so it won't be noticeable. Easier fix than ripping it all out again.

no, no, no.some quilters have done borders first with nothing going wrong. just don't quilt very close to border stitching and you shouldn't get puckers. Good luck.

What kind of pattern is it? You said you pinned and stitched the border. Did you also pin the center part? Can you run down the length, doing a stitch in the ditch type thing, maybe on a sashing seam? If it is OK on the back, no pleats or bunching, do the opposite side of the quilt. Then across, etc. to stabilize the squares. Then I think you would be OK to quilt each block without worrying too much. If not, maybe you can do the charm tack method, where you pick a shape, like a big heart, little heart, and stitch here and there instead of tying.

Do the best you can, chalk the rest up to a learning experience, and quilt on!

If I'd spent 3 years on that quilt, I'd take out the border quilting and take it to a long armer.

If I understand how they do it, you need to take it to them in pieces (top, backing and batting separate). They load the backing on the frame first and then someway add the batting and top.

I'm taking a class this spring, so I'll know more later.

bkay

Ann Peterson and some of the other quilting teachers talk about finishing their large quilts on a regular machines. Ann in particular accordion-folds half the quilt under the harp. She has no trouble quilting in the small area. I have not managed it myself but it is on my list of challenges to tackle.

Have you done the border all the way around, and do you have a good amount of extra fabric in your backing on all four edges? If so, a LAer might take it on. I have a LA, and seems like it would work. But you do need enough backing on at least two opposite sides for the quilt to be attached to the leaders on the LA. (And, even if you don't have enough, you can always add a length of other fabric to the backing to extend it.)

I've bookmarked this to hopefully help me when I come to quilting my next quilt. About halfway down the page, she shows how she divides the quilt into quadrants and quilts each section before doing the next.

https://stitchfancy.wordpress.com/20...ewing-machine/

Yes I did the border all the way around. I pinned about every 2 inches on the whole quilt.

Oh thanks for the link!!! I'll seperate the 4 sections and then quilt in straight lines. Last time I did stippling I don't think I had my tension right Cuz a few years later the quilting is coming out :(

I don't know how to help you with your present problem, but I'm working on a King sized quilt right now & I've broken the pattern into thirds. That makes it easier to quilt, & when done I'll put it together like a quilt as you go. This won't help you this time, but perhaps it will help you for future quilts. Best of luck with your present situation.

Perhaps you can find someone who has a sit-down machine such as a Sweet 16 or Tiara. We don't "load" the quilt so we could work on the inside even though the borders are done. I would do quilting that is not continuous so if the back shifts a little, it will be less of a problem. Hope this makes sense.

bKay is exactly right and if you take out the stitches on the border quilting AND there is enough extra back and batting on all sides of the top, then a long arm quilter will certainly quilt it. if you do decide to go that route, work from the back to take out those stitches--it's usually easier plus not as likely to accidently catch a seam.

Wouldn't I have to take out all the pins too?

I would leave them in until you discuss it with whoever you find to quilt it. The LAer may want to take them out him/her-self, as it gets loaded. If you find someone with a sit-down, they would still need the quilt to be basted.

I would take it to a LA, let her look at it and ask her advise. My LA gives me free advise any time I need help and that's why I use her exclusively.

I know a few people who've done this because they knew they wouldn't be able to get to quilting and they wanted to keep it intact. Later they started from the center then went to the edges.

Ask your longarmer. I have quilted several quilts after the border was quilted or "requilted" a tied quilt. It turned out really nice.

Wannaquilt 1 - I'd try to finish it myself. Jenny from MSQC says finished doesn't have to be perfect - but at least you tried your best to finish it. I'd go with NatalieF's bookmarked page.

Thank you, NatalieF for the bookmarked page to quilt a big quilt on your own machine - I hope to try this - scary but I have a quilt that I need to finish.

If all else fails, you could hand quilt it.

Leah Day at leahday.com has a class for sale on line called How to Quilt a King on Your Home Sewing Machine, in case you are interested. I did purchase the class but have not really used it yet because I haven't made a quilt that size. I do find most of her classes or tutorials very good and the info can probably be applied to any larger quilt. So far I have quilted my quilts on my home sewing machine. On the other hand, if it is not fun or fulfilling for you, I would send it to LA.

"Fun and fulfilling" is why I hand quilt all mine.