help is very much needed
 

I have never tied a quilt bigger than a baby quilt. I just tied one that is a king size single Irish chain (blocks are 12 inch). I tied it at each corner and the nine patch using embroidery floss. This is my question. Is this enough to hold the quilt together over time? The binding is already attached and ready for my grandson to give his maternal grandmother. It is his gift to her. I just need to know if I need to ask for it back to do something more to it. TIA
Icee

How often will it be washed?
What kind of batting did you use?
What did the package say about how far apart you could safely quilt it?
Are the ties about the width of your hand apart?
The point of tying or quilting a quilt is to keep the batting from "migrating" or bunching up within the item. If you feel confident the work you have done will accomplish this, then you're probably good to go.

Jan in VA

Did you tie any in the large, square area of the alternate block? I'm thinking that if the quilt is more than ornamental, you would probably want to tie it more. However, this is pure conjecture as I only tied one quilt--my first--and that was more than 20 years ago.

Laurie

you need to look at the package that your batting came in. It will tell you how far apart you need to tie it. If you don't have the package, do you remember the brand and type? You can look it up.

If in doubt, tie some more, especially on a quilt that big. Consideration has to be made about the additional weight created when wet.

Jan is wise. She asked all the right questions. I would hate to see you give it and have to get it back and take everything aprt to fix it.

Thanks everyone. I hadn't thought about how much it would be washed. I went back and tied the large squared also. This is such a helpful and informative board.

I know its all a matter of what the package instructions suggest of course, but I personally prefer closer ties. I usually tie according to the pattern of the quilt, often no more than 1 1/2 inches and usually no more than 2 inches. I also use embrodery floss at times.

I grew up in Wisconsin and never saw anything but a tied quilt until I was in Ohio. We had wool batting so it could be taken out, washed, re-carded and put back into the quilt. Very warm - our house only had a gravity furnace.

The other thing to take into consideration is that with the 1/4 inch seam allowance, the less you tie, the more it will move around and ravel when it is washed. We tie a lot of quilts at church

I have made lots of tied Baby Quilts and tied them every 4 " apart... I have tied Corners as well as in the middle of the blocks... sometimes follow the design around the edges of the Animals or Toys on the Quilts. for them I used the Poly batting so I wasn't too worried about it shifting... Just remember to dry on Low heat and only wash just the quilt in a Front loading washer... One of my Baby Quilts lasted through 4 children..... With a larger Quilt a little closer together would be Good...

Icee,
I would get it back and tie it some more. My first quilt was a 100" flaming star (pieces were 20+ inches large). I did as you indicated - tying about 12" apart with embroidery/ crewel thread. I used old 100% cotton thread - material was a cotton/poly blend. My grandma helped me tie it.

After the first wash, seams started popping. There just wasn't enough support for the weight of the quilt. Because Grandma is long gone, I haven't wanted to take it apart and put it back together the right way, but I've never really been able to use the quilt because of all the broken seams. That was 40+ years ago!

Since it sounds like you have gifted the quilt, it's really better to just admit the problem before the quilt starts to fall apart, get it back, and fix it now while you still have the energy and desire to do so.

Good luck!

I suggest 4 to 6 inches apart. We tied about 50 lap quilts for the local nursing home and that was our general rule.

The ones I've tied with wool yarn have stayed tied just fine - the wool shrinks when you wash it

I've never liked the look of tied quilts, but I appreciate the ease and speed of doing it this way...so why not do a whip stitch instead of tying? Then run the needle along the inside of the quilt and do another whip stitch. Unseen, yet effective.