My quilt top is not square!!!!
 

I made a quilt top out of Elvis fabric and panels for my oldest son and I was just getting it ready to go to the quilter. It is out by about 3 inches. It is made out of panels and then some other fabrics added in and it appears the panels are making it out of square.

Will this be big problems for the long arm quilter? If it is just not going to be square I can live with that. I don't want to take it all apart. It is a quilt for him to use.

I am putting Minkee on the back. Which is a pain getting it squared up as well.

Yes, it will be a problem. I recently quilted one that was off by that much. If your lucky, and she is good, she can work around it, but don't expect perfection.

It isn't any harder for the longarmer to quilt a quilt that isn't square, as long as she isn't expected to fix it. If you're fine with it being wonky, then just let her know and she won't feel pressured to make it perfectly square. She may be able to fix it, but 3" is a lot. I agree with you that not every quilt has to be perfectly square. :)

Well doesn't that just make you want to spit! If it's the original panel that wasn't square to start with I don't see how you can fix it now. You could tell the longarmer to quilt it as is and not to try to square it? Is it possible to sew on a larger border and cut that border wonky? I've done that with out of square blocks but not a whole quilt top.

dunster is right. Make it clear to your longarmer what you expect and be sure she is willing to do it.

Yes, as long as you make it clear to your longarmer ahead of time that you are not worried about it being square, they shouldn't have a problem with it.

I have quilted some out of square quilts on my LA...it's not a problem unless the client expects a textbook finish. So it's part of your job to tell them what it will probably look like without squaring it up...and surprisingly enough, sometimes they don't look too bad!

When I saw the Gees Bend Quilts at a couple of different museums, they were not square either. They were sill "good enough" for a museum. So, if it makes you crazy for the quilt to be wonky, fix it, if not, then maybe you will have created a museum quilt in another 80 years or so.

I agree talk to your LAer. If she is willing, make sure that you provide a large enough backing fabric. Might need as much as 8 inches on EACH side. Be sure to discuss the backing size when you call her.

That's why panels are such a pain in the you know what.....neck!