Help me please - corner is curling up
 

Hello

I have been working on a tshirt quilt and yesterday I got the binding on and called it complete. Then when I got it out of the dryer I noticed that the corner is curling up. I have never had this problem before (at least not that I noticed)

I have some ideas on what might fix this, but I don't want to do anything and not solve the problem.

The length is the same on either edge.... down the middle the length is longer. but the middle of the body of the quilt (excluding borders) is the same - at least within 1/4". The most difference that I can catch is 1" longer down the middle - - even though the outer border measures the same within 1/4"

I can pull the border even on the corner and that will lay flat - - but when I do that the top corner (on same side) will then curl up

would pulling the binding off the bottom and trimming the border help? How would I know how much to trim off?

any ideas? I always appreciate the input that I receive from this board

First and foremost, that quilt is incredible. I've yet to do a T-Shirt quilt, it is something I would like to do for my nephew at some point in time.

That said, I'm going to follow this thread because I've never had this problem, either and I am interested in seeing what others may suggest. My gut would tell me to pull the binding off the bottom like you're thinking and maybe trimming it in the middle where that extra inch is, that might be where the problem is but I would have done the same thing and asked for advice before I did it.

Again, the quilt is incredible, fantastic job!

Great quilt. I think when it is on a bed it won't be noticeable.

I think maybe there is a bit of tension/just a bit of shortness in the back/binding, but oh my goodness, with it so slight in this case, it isn't anything I would bother with myself.

If it is going to be on a wall and that corner is going to be right at your eye and if it really really bugs you, you might try taking out that last 12-18" of the back side of the binding and see if you can't adjust it back out. If that doesn't do it, next step would be to completely remove the binding about 1 foot from either side of the corner and try resetting. Sometimes though our fixes create bigger problems and I would count it as sealed and done!

Is the quilting in the borders not the same as what we can see on the Pirates shirt?
One option would be to dampen it down and use T-pins to block it out on carpet, or on a drop cloth on the lawn, that is what many people do for show quilts.
Another original problem might have been border and backing that weren't prewashed and shrank?
It does appear that corner is shorter, but as above, unless it is a wall quilt no one will ever notice or care.

Great T shirt quilt! When I wash a quilt, I wash, remove from dryer while still damp and then I block it until dry. Alex Anderson did a chat on the daily blog a couple of days ago on how to fix bleeding and block a quilt on The Quilt Show site. It might be that the binding is a tad tight on that corner but I would damp and block first before doing anything else.

Thank you everyone for your replies and kind words. You have given me something to think about. I don't want to create more problems for myself. I may not worry about it either it this wasn't for a customer.

The binding was a moda jelly roll. I don't prewash jelly rolls and I would think Moda would be good fabric

the quilting is the same all over - so yes the border is quilted the same as in the pirate block

Now I am thinking......

This is a great tshirt quilt. I would leave it just as it is. You have done an excellent job on the quilting and taking off the binding and trying to trim may disrupt the entire flow of the quilt. I agree it should not be noticeable when it is on a bed our in use. Noticeable only to your eye.

Before you added the binding and while squaring up the corners, did you measure the border to make sure it was consistent in width all around. Sometime a slight variation in seam allowance can change the witdth requiring adjustment.
I encounter this occasionally when binding Quilts Of Valor which are quilted by different people.

How often will the quilt be hanging on the wall for you to step back & view? If it were my quilt I would tell myself "well done" & use it & enjoy it. If you made it for someone else, I would not point out the fact that the corner curls up slightly when hanging on a wall. I'm sure the person who receives it will dearly love it just as it is.

Perhaps the batting was stretched out in that corner before it was quilted - and now that it is "relaxing" - it is retracting?

Looks like to me, maybe that border was a bit too short. I would take care on future quilts but, I would leave this as is.

I'm in this camp. That corner doesn't look square to me, which would cause the corner to curl up.

That might be the problem, I always prewash, regardless if it's yardage, fat quarters or jelly rolls. Moda is a very good fabric, but there may have been some shrinkage when you washed it because you didn't prewash first.

Everything I get for quilts, gets washed, usually by hand in warm water so I can judge if I'm going to have any bleeding and I can address the issue immediately. I haven't had a washer and dryer for some time so it's become a habit to hand wash everything, but at least I know after it's been dried and pressed, nothing is going to shrink.

Two thoughts: first, I'd get it damp again and block it to see if that takes care of issues. If not then the other thought I had was perhaps the binding got pulled a little while attaching and it's pulling in the corner.

If the binding was shrinking - wouldn't it be pulling up on all four sides?

Moda also shrinks like most cottons. I should qualify that - most Moda fabrics will shrink. Some of them will also bleed.

Thank you everyone for your kind words and insights. That's why I love this discussion forum - full of good info
I ended up removing the binding from the corner to about 24" in . Then I cut the border some to smooth out the uneveness

I didn't look at it when I was done... because I ha ha

the girl said that she loved it. And as some of you said, it probably is not noticeable on the bed - -- but thank you all for your replies. I learned some things :)