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Preventing bias distortion
I just finished a quilt top with triangles along the edge. I thought I was careful with how I cut them, stitched them, pressed them. But, what I ended up with here is ripple city. Any ideas how to prevent bias stretch?
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Yikes, hate that!
I starch the bejabbers out of anything that's going to have bias edges on the outside. Then ease in the bias by putting it next to the feed dogs and stretching the sashing or border very slightly as I stitch it on, to help take up the ripples. If I'm stitching one bias edge to another, I match the points that need matching and stretch both of them very slightly as I sew. When it's all done, I steam the darn things into submission. :D |
Definitely starch and more starch, until the fabric is stiff as a board, then cut.
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yep starch starch starch
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Starch, starch and more starch. I am a horrible presser. I tend to iron instead of press but even when i am super careful to press instead of iron, and starch the beejesus out of the fabric, i can have issues. In those cases i do what PollyParrot does by matching the seams and slightly stretching as needed.
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If you are adding a border, you can pin the top edge evening distributing the extra fabric and ease the bias in as you sew it to the border. If you are not adding a border, run a row of large machine stitching along the edge one side at a time. Gently pull the bottom thread not enough to gather but just enough to pull in the bias edge.
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I use Wonder Tape, it washes out, on all bias edges when I have a lot in a quilt. No stretching or distortion at all.
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I once used Tartan’s gathering suggestion along with inch wide strips of a lightweight fusible interfacing cut to the length the outside edge of the triangle was supposed to be. I worked well however this was a strip quilt and not setting triangles and I didn’t have much excess to deal with. It might be worth a try.
If these are setting triangles I suggest for next time you google instructions for cutting so that the edges are on the straight grain. There are handy sizing charts that do the math for you. I am not a regular starcher but agree if for some reason an outside edge must be on the bias, starch your fabric to death before cutting. |
Starch them as mentioned by others and I'd probably do a stitch along the edge to keep them from stretching out any further.
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