marking quilts
 

I would like to know when your top is made & you want to mark it for quilting like using stencils do you mark it before you put the batting & backing on ? thank You , shrabar

I have always marked it after it has been sandwiched.

I marked my last one after it was sandwiched.. I did have to move quite a few pins but overall it was much easier to handle with the batting and backing in place than it would have been if I'd tried to mark just the top.

I mark it before I layer it. The markings show up better if they were drawn with the harder surface when there is no sandwhich yet.

I mark it after I sandwich, but this is the most difficult way to mark a quilt and don't reccommend. It's mainly because I forget to mark it beforehand.

Marking the top before making the quilt sandwich would certainly be easier; but for some reason, I usually end up marking after I have made the quilt sandwich. In fact, sometimes I quilt everything but the borders and then mark them.

I often mark before loading, but it depends on if I have a plan ahead of time or not- if using stencils & chalk *pounce* I mark as I go. it depends on what I am using to mark...chalk brushes off- so I use it as I go- if using my ceramic pencils I mark ahead of time when I can lay it out on the table (hard surface) & draw nice thin light lines....just depends on what you use & what is easiest for you- if pin basting I think dealing with the pins in the way would (could) be an issue- but if thread basting, or spray- then marking after might be ok- ...do what you want...everyone has their own methods.

Really good question. Always wondered what others do.

I mark before making the quilt sandwich - the pen markings show up better marking on a hard surface.

I mark the border as I am pinning the quilt. It is a good time to do your calculations that you need to do in order to fit the stencil properly into the length of your border. Good luck and take your time. If your border is dark, I always like to use the Clover white chalk liner. The white chalk comes off easily but stay away from the BLUE !! It does NOT come over EVER !!!

I plan the quilting and mark it before sandwiching. If I've found a pattern in a book, I can copy it to the right size and lay it on a light box to mark the top.

I think marking before sandwiching is easier but I usually forget to do it until after I've pin basted the whole thing - just did that last night!! Maybe when I have more experience I will develop a better way of doing things.

I sandwich and mark, but for no reason than that is how it was done by the person that taught me..I honestly never thought to mark first . I hand quilt everything and am going to try marking first and see how I like it!

Yes I generally try to mark my quilt before sandwiching it together - though sometimes for feathers I get a spur of the moment idea and I will mark the spines with chalk as I go. ;)

I can never decide how to quilt the quilt until after I have started or half done and then it's - i should have done this! But if I'm marking after it's sandwiched, then I like the thin roller chalk marker. Just did this with my lighthouse quilt. I wanted to do crosshatching in the border, but the quilting bar kept moving and my lines were not evenly spaced. So I used my marker and followed those lines. Works really well.

I hand quilt and mark before layering *most* of the time.

Jan in VA

This is an interesting thread! I know intuitively that I should mark my quilt before sandwiching for all the reasons mentioned so far. But with every single quilt thus far, I forget to mark it until I have layered it.... I always kick myself but forge ahead. It is so nice to see that there are others in this boat with me! Maybe NEXT time I will remember....

I also use the Clover chalk markers & the white removes very easily BUT the YELLOW is not so forgiving. I just finished a Breast Cancer Ribbon quilt, which I am donating for a charity golf tournament & had to use the yellow to mark a design & it does not come off. Thank goodness I only used it on a 3 blocks but have tried everything & it is so stubborn. My quilt is now in the wash & hopefully that will help. I used some Dawn dish soap on it & I'm hoping things will improve. Also have the blue but have not used it yet & probably won't now that I have had so much trouble with the yellow. The White is a piece of cake to remove. Sooooooooooo frustrating.

I often don't know what the quilting will be until after the sandwich is made. I have used a lot of methods to mark, and sometimes I just wing it and don't use any markings. Last fall I hung a Carpenter's Square quilt in the closet waiting to decide how to quilt it. I still haven't decided, so it's still there.

I have found a great way to get rid of colored chalk lines. I bought the vacuum attachment for cleaning sewing machines, computers, etc. The brush attachment with a little scrubbing motion gets rid of the unwanted chalk.

Duh - never thought of marking before sandwiching.

I mark after sandwiching. Either iron-off pounce with stencil or I pin marked paper (goldenthreads or tissue paper) to it.

I only do straight line quilting so I mark it as I go with a clover chaco liner. I have the pounce pad though, in the unlikely event that I'll brave free motion quilting.

I am a hand quilter and am now quilting a 90 x 90 quilt with cross hatching in a hoop. I didn't mark before sandwiching because I planned to use masking/painters tape. After much frustration and many tears I've discovered that it just doesn't work on large areas. I have removed almost as much stitching as I have put in because of uneven lines. I tried marking but with the batting (poly) I can't get accurate lines. So, I have vowed to mark all my tops prior to sandwiching no matter what the design is. It will certainly be faster than ripping out my stitches.

I've done both. I think it is better to do it before, but if you are using chalk or a pouncer you have to do it after it is sandwiched. I say to do it before, but I seem to be much like everyone else--I forget to, or don't have the right marking thing, or haven't figured out what to do. Most often I just free motion quilt everything. I have found if you figure out what you want to free motion in the different blocks of the quilt, practice on paper and when you are ready to quilt it is second nature.

Never before because I like to wait until it is sandwiched to decide how to quilt it. I do hand quilting and have used many different marking tools. I like the Frixxion (spelling?) pens that the marks disappear when they are ironed but come back if really cold. They are wonderful!

Be careful. Some have found that they end up with light marks on darker fabrics from the frixxion pens. Almost like a bleached out line. The fact that they come back when cold means the actual chemical that makes up the pens is on your fabric forever, and who knows what the long term effect might be.