How to make a large quilt in a small space!!!! Quilt as you go???
 

hi all,

i am from the uk so do excuse me if i sound abit daft with my questions :)

i have made small baby quilts in the past for my children and would now like to make a large quilt for my bed but i cant work out how to do it as i dont have a large enough flat open space to sandwich the quilt together!

is there anyway i can still make my quilt without needing all the space!

i have done abit of reading up about 'quilt as you go' as an alternative. but i am unsure how i get the quilted blocks joined together without bunching the batting when sewing them together?

in all honesty, i dont really like the finished look of the 'quilt as you go' quilts as much :(

any answers on this would be greatly appreciated!

Lisa x

If you don't like the look of quilt as you go, you can find a way to get somewhere that has a big enough space. A local community center or rec center, a local church, maybe even the local library. We have a small condo. Fortunately I am able to take my bed size quilts to the community center push together some tables, and baste my big quilts there.

If it was me Lisa I would sandwich and quilt just the centre of a large quilt, and then do sections at a time. Which I have done quite sucessfully.

hi, thanks for you responses

not got a community centre etc as an option :( but i could try the basting the middle section first and doing that! thanks caroyln ~ it hadnt even occured to me haha.

lisa x

I have heard of people taking the blankets off their mattress & sandwiching the quilt there. Once the center is basted you would need to move the whole sandwich to baste the outer edges. I have never done it this way & think it might be difficult to keep the backing smooth, but just a suggestion.

there are many places that could have the tables/space for sandwiching....you just need to ask....library, church basements, schools, local quilt shop....think about where there are lots of tables and you will find somewhere to get er done!

ooh another good idea! thank you! think you are right thou, i cant imagine how i would get the backing to stay smooth without it bunching up when i quilt!

you lot are great and i appreciate your suggestions ~ i am itching to get started with my quilt!

lisa x

errm buckeye rose, i appreciate your advice but i am in the uk! quilting is a not very much heard of thing here and i think i would be politely told to 'take a hike!' if i asked any public places if i could baste my quilt haha.

honestly it is not an option :(

lisa x

You can also quilt them in thirds where you pin the sandwich together than take off one third of the batting now quilt the middle then move to the other side that has batting and quilt that. Now put the batting back on the third piece and quilt that. I have also when sandwiching quilt not put borders on but allow for them when putting the front and back and batting together. You would quilt the main part of the quilt then you can lay your borders on top and sew as usual but you will be sewing thru the batting and back so that it would be quilted in the ditch already. I have tried them both and it sure does help.

If you have enough space to put tables together end to end as long as the narrow direction of your quilt you can sandwich there. It could even be outside in good weather. I also have limited space and this works for me. Smooth the back of the quilt, wrong side up, across the table with one edge near the edge of the table. Tape in place to keep it from sliding off. Let the rest of the fabric drape off the back of the table. Then add the batting (wadding) the same way then the quilt top face up. Baste the part of the quilt that is on the table. Remove the tape and pull the quilt toward yourself, smooth the next area and baste that section. I have done many quilts this way.

Do you have a large wall space? Someone on here was talking about useing spray basting' tape or tack backing to wall spray and hang batting then spray and add top. They said they did not pin or baste, I have never done it but I think a couple of people on the QB have and had good results. I do understand that the spray is very messie, do you have an outdoor space you could use?

thanks kat sews! good advice!

any advice on how you would do this with stitch in the ditch quilting

or

sew as you go quilted block squares and joining them together without the batting leaving lumps?

thanks again everyone for your advice it is greatly appreciated

lisa x

outdoor! haha

so sorry guys! dont know what the weather is like at your side but it sucks here! might find a day sometime in august next year but i wouldnt guarantee it haha. good old british weather haha

wet windy and very muddy! little bit of snow at times!

lisa x

trying to imagine the wall thing ~ giving it some thought x

I have seen here on the board where people clamp their quilt to their table using large clamps that look like they got them from a hardware store and baste/pin in sections.Then they move the quilt to a new section to continue basting or pinning their sandwich. Maybe you can find this technique on You Tube?

I just put in" clamp quilt to table" in the advanced search section & there are some ideas there.

You could make it in sections, like fourths, and then connect the sections. There are lots of directions on the internet about how to do this.

I have a friend who has a large living room with large open space that I use to pin the sandwich together. Also my last one I quilted in peices thats to say I only put the batting down the center, and backing, with extra to sew the border peices to quilted it leaving about 2 inches unquilted around the quilt and then added the side batting and backing next and quilted that it came out fine. hope this doesnt sound confusing

I live in a motor home and sandwich my quilts on the bed. Is it easy? No, but it works. I use basting spray and it works quite well. I lay out the backing, then batting on top. Fold back half the batting, then spray and smooth working from center out. Do the other half the same way. Then do quilt top the same way. I then flip it and smooth the backing. Flip back over and resmooth the front. Perfect....probably not, but works for me.

I understand your problem. We live fulltime in an RV so my space is also limited. When I finish a quilt top, I wait to sandwich it when I can find a place with large tables. You'll be surprised when you start searching for a place to do this. Just keep looking and asking. Something will happen. I've tried "quilt as you go" but I'm not pleased with all the seams on the back of the quilt. Also, it's necessary to quilt each block and you have to stop 1" from the edge of the block in order to sew that block to the next block. Good luck with finding a place to sandwich the quilt! Just don't give up on finding a place.

One of the ladies on youtube (think her name is Sharon something) has a method using a couple of boards that would work on a bed. I've been thinking of trying it since, like you, I'm very limited on space. I usually lay an accordian type cutting board on the bed so it's more solid and gives me a solid surface for pinning and basting, then just spread it out on that. It's not the easiest way, but it works.

Her name is Sharon Schamber. Just google her name in and her u-tube video is easy to understand.

spray baste is your friend... I have spread a king size quilt over my dining table and sprayed it together. I've also used my floor - spread it as flat as I could and rolled on side up so that a little better than half layed completely flat then spray in sections starting in the middle. once that side is done roll it up and spread the other half flat... then flip and spray the back down the same way

Even though my house is big (tall and narrow) we don't have much floor space to baste quilts either. I use my mom's full sized bed (I mostly do twin or smaller) but I have done 2 larger quilts and I put as much as I can on her bed, pin heavily, then slide and do the other part that didn't fit on the bed. I too don't know where to go do pin large quilts as I'm in the middle of a queen sized quilt. I may show up at my church and do it there if my mom's bed doesn't work to well. Good luck though!

Ive used sharon scomburgs board method and it works really well. You do it at the table

I clamp backing, batting and top on my glass topped dining table, moving them until all is pinned. I don't use spray basting as you have to have all surounding areas covered to catch overspray. I also have a pet bird and afraid it would harm her.

Some good ideas, I had not thought of folding it in half and doing half at a time. It's so much easier to do it at home then try to get out to a place!

I dont't know your location in UK, but there is a lady from Stoke On Trent, North Staffordshire, that has a lovely & fun blog. She meets in a number of different places. Seems like a great group of ladies. Reading her blog is a bright spot in my day. If you are not near, perhaps she can give you some locations or shops that may have room for you to work.
Her blog is at
angiesquilts.blogspot.com

Here is some information about quilting in thirds that I found somewhere and have used:

1. Start by making the whole sandwich -- unfortunately there is no getting away from laying out the entire quilt (unless you are doing QAYG)
2. Fold back the top only on the left side and cut away the outside third of the BATT ONLY – I use a wavy cut so there is not a straight line.
3. Before moving it, mark the top and bottom on both sides of the cut line so you get the top and bottom on correctly. Use something like A/A, B/B. Set that piece of batting aside. The letters will show you precisely where to put the piece back. Your cutting line does not have to be perfectly neat since it will fit precisely against the other piece.
4. Once the batting has been removed, roll the top and back and pin so they do not flop around or let sewn to the back by accident. Use safety pins – or something on the end of the straight pins to keep from getting poked.
5. Repeat the process on the other side, folding back the top, cutting the batting, marking on both sides of the cutting line. Use different markings for the top and bottom here (like C/C and D/D).
6. Roll the top and backing together and pin in place.
7. You now have a long skinny quilt. It should fit under the head of your machine with no trouble.
8. Quilt to within 2-3" of the sides. Some lines of quilting will be stopped in the middle of a line. End the stitching so it will not ravel loose but you will be going back and sewing over those
   places.
9. When you have completed the middle, lay the quilt out again. BE sure to spread the whole quilt out – otherwise you can get ripples.
10. You can choose either side to do first. Unroll the top and back.
11. Smooth the back out against the table and tape the loose edge. Put the batting back in place.
    Carefully match the cut edges and the lettering – don’t overlap, just abut the edges.
12. Using a needle and thread, make a big XXXXX row of stitches to attach the two pieces. Unroll the top over the batting and pin securely in place (or spray baste).
13. Put the bulk of the quilt to the outside of the machine so you are dealing only with one third to quilt.
14. Be sure that you quilt across the join as the first part of your quilting.
15. When you repeat all the steps for the last third, you have to rotate the quilt so the bulk is still to the outside. (I normally start from the top of the center section, then I do two of the thirds from top to bottom and the final third from bottom to top.)
16. The borders should be done last and can be done with the bulk to the left (or outside) of the machine during the whole process.

Big big thank you to all that have replied x
 

hi all, thank you so much for all those that have replied to my post

i am currently reading and re~reading all the advice you have given me! some of it seems complicated haha (bet it isnt really!) but i am having a good read and am googling some of the links suggested to try and get a clearer picture :)

keep it coming guys ~ i really do appreciate the time you have all taken to help me out with this :)

lisa x

ps...good to know i am not alone in my dilema ;)

This is also a problem for me. Not enough floor space and although I do have a bed I could use it would leave me in pain for days from bending over. I use my cutting table. I center the back and clamp using large binder clips
.... http://tinyurl.com/7pcfr82 ...... I spray baste and smooth down the batting and move the clips to to hold both back and batting.... then more spray and the top and again move the binder clips so its holding all 3 layers. After I pin that I slide the quilt , fold back layer by layer and spray and smooth and reclip and pin , I do this on all 4 sides that were hanging over the edge of the table. Before I had the binder clips and cutting table I used blue painters tape and the kitchen table. Hope this makes sense.

I can not get down on my knees so pin in sections on my cutting table.
Someone suggested that you can buy a 4' x 8' piece of plywood to set on top of a table to pin quilt to. This can be stored in garage or stand up against a wall
Dont think it will fit under a bed.

Lisa - QuiltinLady1's directions are great and I have used this technique - my sewing room is only 10ft by 12ft and I have 3 machines plus the cutting table so space is at a premium. The method works GREAT - especially if you have a traditional 7" harp on your machine becasue you don't have to fight the bulk under the harp!

The last place that I was at, was small, although the kitchen was fairly big, I moved the kitchen table and chairs out and laid it on the floor. How about the backyard or on your bed, I also have used my bed for most of the sandwiching of a quilt!

I agree Sharon Schamber's video's on YouTube on basting a quilt is absolutely wonderful, easy to understand and most importantly easy to implement. I don't do large quilts on my DM I hire a long arm quilter to do that for me, so I'm no expert on larger than lap sized as far as basting. However, using her directions I've found her system absolutely the best at keeping the quilt sandwich stable until it is quilted.

Quilt as you go, lap quilting, quilt in a day - it's all good. Oh yeah & don't throw away a single scrap of cloth, no matter how rich you are. You or someone you love can use it some day.

I take blankets and sheets off my bed, and lay my quilt out there for layering and pinning. I use staight pins and pinmoors everyone had been talking about. Works better then safety pins.
Pinmoors can be found at pinmoors.com

Also try YouTube Sharon Schambers she has a method of basting that you don't need to spread the whole quilt out. I recently tried her method with 3 crib sized quilts...yes I always had trouble even with crib size but her method made it easy.

I'm enjoying this thread.

maybe do the center and work out?

I have the same problem and someone recommended watching this video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bhwNylePFAA It's great! Will definitely be using this technique the next time I get ready to sandwich a quilt. Hope this helps. :)

Try the floor.