HQ Avante long arm
 

Our church leader and her husband recently bought this type of long arm machine to expedite the charity quilts we make. He is enjoying quilting and probably looking at it as a power tool. I received this quilt back and when I was about to trim the quilt to attach the binding, I noticed the extra fabric on the quilt top. I am curious, do you usually stitch along the edge to keep the quilt in place? I am at a lost as to how to proceed with have tucks on the quilt top when I attach the binding. This is unfamiliar batting to me. It seems like a densely polyester batting. I usually do my my binding 2.25" and wonder with this batting if I should increase to 2.5"?? Any suggestion will be deeply appreciated. THANKS!!

Manic ... when I use a new-to-me batting I generally make a test binding strip about 12" long to make sure it will wrap properly. If it has a lot of loft, I would start with a test of 2.5" binding.

As for the waves at the edges, especially that rather large wave in the bottom picture ... sorry but I can't help you there. You might be able to ease it in ... perhaps try your test binding strip in that area with a basting stitch to see how it works.

What a shame.

What I would do for each full area at the edge is do a quick running stitch by hand in the quilt top, pull to gather, and fasten. All you can do at this point is equally distribute the fullness at the edges.

This is a type of beginning longarmer mistake. To prevent this in the future, he should take the time to secure the edges of the quilt before doing the panto.

Don't worry, that will quilt out. Oh, wait.... :hunf:

Yes, longarm quilters usually baste the top edge first, then the sides and bottom edge as it is advanced to keep it completely flat and straight. It looks as if he just laid it down on the frame and started quilting. Someone needs to tell him that basting is part of LA quilting, and that it's imperative that it be done. If you're going to buy a longarm (as with any "power tool"), you need to learn how to use it properly. LA quilting is not something you can rush through.

I don't even know how to begin to help you fix this, and I'm so sorry....

Yes, it's normal practice to baste the edges as you go. Also, he may need to practice a bit to get the tension on the backing correct. Too little and the backing may pucker, too much and the top puckers. I think there's a tendency to have it too tight. As Cindi said, there's a learning curve with any tool.
I would first pin the edge, distributing the fullness as best you can. Then machine baste about a quarter inch in using a longer stitch (3, or 3.5). If you have a walking foot, this is a good place to use it. You may not be able to avoid a few pleats, but I wouldn't stress too much. the quilt is lovely and will be loved. The 2nd photo shows you have some extra batting. I would use some scraps of fabric and batting to determine if you need to go to a 2.5" binding strip. I think you may be surprised at how much the batt will compress after you machine baste it.
You have to admit those fishies are really cute, and give him an "A" for enthusiasm. Although it might be a delicate situation, he does need to be told, and know that things will improve with practice. If they bought the unit new, the dealer should offer free classes also, Handi Quilter has lots of great videos on their site:
http://www.handiquilter.com/videos/

Also, use your largest square ruler on each corner to make sure each corner is perfectly square as you are basting those edges. Make sure each side edge is straight as you proceed.

When I took another close look at the photos, I realized that the fullness is in the top and bottom rather than the sides. There are quite a few different mistakes that can cause this problem.

It looks to me as if he did not accurately square the quilt on the frame before starting, as the panto going from left to right is lower on one side than the other. This means the top of the quilt was not completely parallel to the takeup roller when he started. The problem probably started right there, with the loading of the top. Also, he may not have basted the quilt top to the batting and backing before starting the panto. This would account for the uneven fullness at the top of the quilt, as the top edge would not have been secured when he started.

It looks as if there are areas of fullness between the pantos also. This is probably caused by not using side tensioners, and also by not being careful about how the top is rolled and unrolled. Most people do pantos from the back of the machine, so he probably could not see the fullness developing as he quilted (being focused on moving the machine).

Basting the top and sides before starting should help, as would side tensioners. Before doing the last panto, he should probably also baste the bottom edge of the top (to the batting and backing) so it doesn't move around. The fish are really cute, but it is also their largeness and the large unquilted areas between them that tend to create this problem. A close quilting pattern will likely not allow such large areas of the top to become distorted during the process.

Being careful to keep the top perfectly aligned with the rollers and with the sides of the frame would help, as does basting as you go.

There are lots of Youtube videos that are helpful for beginning longarmers.

Another thing I noticed were the large unquilted areas. What is the maximum quilting area for this batting? With those large open areas, I'm worried the batting will bunch up when it's washed....