Need help getting this runner to lay flat
 

I have searched online for how to make this happen, but I am either too impatient, or. . . I finished a simple tube quilting pattern of table runner, but it seems to have a few "waves" when it lays on the table. I thought it just needed ironing, or hanging from one end with no folds, but nothing has worked so far.

Any ideas? Is it maybe getting it really damp and then drying?

Block it. There are many tutes on how to do it on line. Don't worry that you have already bound it you can block a quilt that has already been bound.

Edited to add, yes it involves getting it wet and letting it dry flat but you need to pin it place.

Not sure on how to fix the problem but the runner is pretty.

Hey Lee,
Looking at the picture I'm wondering if that first black border may be where it starts to get wavy. It could be that your border is just a little too long. One way to fix it would be to take the border off, remeasure the length through the middle and use that measurement to redo the border.

Or, you could try blocking it. To do that you need to get it damp and then pin it flat to a flat surface and let dry. Sometimes that will solve a problem if it's not too pronounced. This is the first thing I would try.

I've also had a piece that flattened itself out due to shrinkage of the batting after I washed it.

and, I had one that became wavy after quilting-- that one just needed some additional quilting to get it to behave. I don't think that is the problem with your piece though since it is not densely quilted. But if you did some piano key quilting in the border that might draw it up enough to get it to lay flat without having to take the border off and recut it. you'd still need to redo your binding, though.

Rob

I was going to suggest steam pressing it really, really well but blocking sound like the solution. Have you washed & dried it yet? That might solve the problem. It's a beautiful table runner.

pretty runner, pretty table. I agree with FF. Blocking it should work.

It looks like the border is too long for the runner making it wavy. Did you measure the runner the same way you measure a quilt for a border? Blocking will may work but then you will have to go through the process every time you wash it. If it was me and the waves bothered me, I would cut off the black border and add narrow binding and call it done.

I recommend blocking it, as the others have said. Make sure your pins are rust-proof before you do this!! I know of several quilters who have learned the hard way that their pins are not rust-proof. :(

If this is made tube fashion, then the edges of the blocks are bias. Easy to stretch them while pressing or sewing. I think there is too much border fabric period. Measure and compare the block edges. If there is a slight difference--even 1/4 inch--that can translate to longer than necessary border and the resulting wavy-ness and all the blocking in the world will not help.

Go back to your pattern and determine what the correct measurement for each block should be. From that, calculate what the correct border length should be. Remove your border and cut to the correct length. Reapply, gently easing in the excess block fabric. I usually do this by marking the border at every intersection so that the fullness is evenly dispersed. If a block has really stretched, I have run a basting stitch along the edge and gently gathered in the extra fullness. It disappeared with the first wash.

Love the runner. Beautiful colors, very nice piecing work. Is it finished with binding already on it? looks like it to me. But I am of the school....".better finished than perfect". You are the probably the only person who will even notice those slight waves. I would try blocking or washing it and then move on rather than take it apart and re-do.