This one of 4 double side placemats I am making. How do I stop the gathering and puffing when sewing?

not pinned good enough? i would use spray basting on something that small maybe?
is the foot tension to tight? do you have a walking foot on?

All good ideas from watterstide. Also try using a little longer stitch

Walking foot? It has a normal foot that came on machine. pm me, please.

have you try lenghting you stitch on the sewing machine.

i did pm you..what machine do you have? when you have 3 layers of fabric..a walking foot, sort of "walks" on it..not pushing the fabric through..

My suggestion would be a walking foot. The thing that helped me avoid puckers was basting spray and a walking foot.

My advice exactly

here is a walking foot..why you need one, and how it works..

http://www.squidoo.com/walking-foot-quilting-with-jant

My suggestion is to quilt it before doing the binding.

Before you sew it around the sides, make sure you have it pinned in the center and around the edges.Also make sure that it is all smoothed out, no wrinkles.Turn it over and keep checking both sides before sewing around the perimeter.

After sewing and turning it right side out, carefully press it and pin around the edges before top stitching :D:D:D

Thanks everyone for the help. I will have to order a walking foot. the machine has everything else but.

I was taught to baste stitch, use a thin thread like tatting thread, and stitch a harringbone stitch about every 2-3 fingers apart in all directions, work your way up, then down going across. On a full quilt, start center & work in both directions alternating. This really works great.
I've tried the staple in plastic basting, the bent quilt safety pin basting, the spray basting, and I really like the stitch basting best. sounds like it would take too long, but really, is faster than those pins, and you can stitch over it and not break needles or have to stop to remove pins.

vic has found the walking foot..he needs to order. he said it did not come with the quilting bar..did he need one.
i thought i would post my reply here, some others may not know what it is used for, or ever saw one.

i use one occasionally..forget i have it. have used blue painters tape for lines...totally forgettting i had one!

http://pinkchalkstudio.com/blog/2006...ar-attachment/

Vic, if you get the "quilters package" walking foot, from sears, i think it has the quilters bar in with it. i want to say it comes in a small box. maybe runs about $25.00 i think

I actually have never used the bar. For some reason I do better without it. Maybe it is a matter of practice.

As for the pucker: When you wash the mats, everything will adjust a little bit and the pucker may not be as noticeable. I used to have small puckers when I did SID on my quilts and they all but blended in.