Please help with evil quilt!
 

I am TRYING to make a dwr quilt and am having so much trouble!! I just can not get my football shapes to lay flat. My points sometimes line up, but often do not. I have ripped, ripped, and ripped. I used the accuquilt Go and double checked my 1/4 inch seams and they are accurate, so I have no idea what I'm doing wrong. I think i am just not experienced enough to make this pattern. I was going to make a large throw, but now just want to finish this EVIL quilt so I thought maybe i could do less rings and add a border! Does anyone know of any tutorials or suggestions that can teach/show me how to add the borders to the scalloped rings? Thanks

I feel for you Aunt...I had an evil bunny quilt that gave me nothing but trouble. I have resigned to stuff not lining up :)

Have you pressed your fabric and rechecked the size and shape of your pieces after you do all the ripping out? It sounds like you might be stretching something in the process.

Most likely you are stretching the edges of your football shapes as you work with them. These will be mostly on the bias, which is much more prone to stretching than straight-of-grain cuts.

Did you prewash your fabric? If so, did you starch the fabric before cutting? Starching adds stability to the fabric so bias edges are less likely to stretch. Typically you want to starch before cutting the shapes.

If your shapes are already cut, try spray starching the shapes and iron them dry. (Iron by pressing down. Do not iron back and forth, as you can distort the fabric by doing that.) I would give each side of each shape at least one coat of spray starch and allow that to dry before sewing.

DWR was on my bucket. A very small table runner was enough. Check that one off!

DWR is definitely advanced!

Lol! I am SURE I am stretching the fabric after all the ripping and resewing! But, I am going soooo slow and trying to be careful not to stretch but no matter what I do, they are still wonky. I am using batiks, and did not prewash but did check to see if any bleed. I have already pieced all the arcs and melons and they lay nice and flat but when i add the longer arc to make the football, everything goes wrong. I will try to starch the longer arc to see if that helps. THANKS!

Did you clip? Sometimes it helps to clip curves.

Thank you for all your suggestions! But, nothing works. I give up! I honestly just think I'm not experienced or skilled enough to make this pattern. So.... I hate this quilt and need to move on but i cant leave it unfinished. Sadly I don't know how to add a straight border to make it larger so does anyone have any links that will show me how to do this? Thank again for all your help!! Mary

Check out Ebony Love on Lovebugstudio...She has a you tube video showing how to make a DWR.
Hope this helps.

Look up DWR bed runners. They are the width of the bed but sit across the foot instead of covering the entire bed.

Here is an example from Keepsake that will give you an idea. Only two rows of rings...

http://www.keepsakequilting.com/productdetail/6382.htm

Good luck! I am hoping to make one of these some day - but now perhaps I will move it down the list a bit until I am better at all skills!!!

Check Eleanor Burns site----she has a "different" method she uses

I paper piece this one to avoid stretching. When in a hurry I tend to revert to applique and I've been known to applique the pieces to a chosen background so everything is nice and flat.

DWR can be a major challenge. NEXT TIME you try something with curvy edges, be sure everything is well starched or sized before you cut. I have done several quilt of this ilk. IMHO, the idea is to have a very light hand as you sew. I pin only the ends of the melons and the center. I lift the DWR and sew to the melon. The same process works for Drunkards Path and sewing Mariner's Compass units to their background. I suspect that you are trying too hard.

pin, pin pin.......and check the mellon for accuracy. Is there a paper pattern you can check it with.

I have made two of these, and the rings I pieced by machine, but after having all kinds of problems trying to sew the melons on and get everything to line up, I went to hand piecing and they turned out beautiful that way, with no problems. I even won a local quilt show with the scrapy one. I just decided to put it in the show for variety, never expected it to win, as everyone has seen a double wedding ring. But it did!!!

Did you try switching your pieces? Whatever you sewed as the top piece for example the football piece place it on the bottom less likely to stretch it. Plus starch is your best friend

The dwr is just a bit more than I want to get into anytime soon. An acquaintance asked me to start working on her daughter's dwr. I told her how much I would charge. She actually thought I would do it for nothing since we were (friends). No we are acquainted not friended. So that's one off my list! (For awhile)!

What "SKILLS" are required to make a DWR? Anything other than sewing curves ? I have one paper pieced (wall hanging size- just so I can experience the DWR frustration.) lol ! But have no clue how to proceed ....

Don't forget that some degree of fullness can be quilted out. Years ago I made a lonestar quilt and resewed the center at least 4 times due to it volcanoing up. Finally got it to be about an "A"cup and said good enough. It quilted out but I hand quilted it. Even so, I have had several instances on the LA when I was able to quilt out the fullness if it wasn't too bad.

Sometimes good enough is really good enough.

LOL that is what I am working on .. the quilt from Hades.. UGH !!

I have not watched this video through, but I think it will show you how to measure, cut, pin and sew borders on:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F1CuzT9nMCw

You say that this pattern is beyond your capability at this point. If you are happy with the parts you have sewn so far, then why don't you bag everything up (carefully) and put it away for later? One day you will be able to sew this more complicated shape and then you can finish it. I have a Lone Star waiting for me to finish it when I can figure out how to adjust wonky angles...... so I know what you are saying.

Kaye Woods has an easier way to make DWR. Makes it simple & easy to make.

What I would do is cut out a finished size football shape out of no-melt mylar, turn under the edges with starch, and glue those puppies on top of the arcs then sew them!!

Like this... http://www.quiltingboard.com/tutoria...n-t213172.html

Ok... I just couldn't give up! Lol! So I saturated the arcs and melons with starch and it helped ALOT! Woo!!!!!! My football isn't perfect but it lays flat! Thank you all for all the great tips!!

Are you pressing the seam at the top of the arc in, in toward the arc and the seam at the bottom of the arc down toward the melon shape? That is how I do it.

I was pressing it all the same direction. But i will def try that too. I already tried pressing the whole seam toward the melon and then tried pressing the whole seam toward the arc. This quilt is going to have seams pressed in all directions! I plan on bringing it to a long arm quilter. It's going to be embarrassing! Ha! Will all the heavy starch be annoying to her ?

The starch should not bother the longarmer at all. I'm glad it's going better for you!

i am guessing that dwr has a steep learning curve. I have it on my bucket list too, just can't make myself do it yet. You have pushed my need to make one even farther away! I'd suggest pooling a number of instructions together and see if you get any that have information you need. AQS has one on their website for free. I bought templates for the evil cursed thing! Good luck--I feel your pain.

Try pinning your arcs to the melon in the center and both ends, then divide that space in half and pin again, repeat. See if that helps ease in any little bit of stretch

Hi, Having had the same problem I turned to the good old freezer paper. Cut the paper without seam allowances and press shiny side to fabric and sew along the edge of the paper. When you are finished peel the paper away. The fabric is not damaged at all. The exception is silk. Keep trying.