No matter how hard I try I keep getting puckers on the backside of my quilts when I quilt them. It there a magic solution I have yet to find?? Please help!!!!

I would love to see the answeres you get!!! Im with you,, I pin the crap out of it,, making sure,(in my mind,,lol) that it will not pucker,, yet I still end up with some,,, :(

Are you hand quilting, quilting using your everyday sewing machine or using a shortarm/longarm frame setup?

I over stretch the back a bit if I am pin basting. So far that has seemed to work. Now that I have the mid-arm and frame it has gotten easier to prevent them.

Assumption: This is not for LAQ quilting?

1) Did you press your backing before laying it out?

2) Did you anchor the backing to the table or floor so it didn't bunch up? (My table isn't wide enough to accommodate all the fabric at one time - so I "weight" the edges of the backing with long rulers or curtain rods - I make a temporary "pocket" for the items by just folding up a side to hold the ruler and pinning it - it provides just enough tension to help keep the backing smooth.

3) Did you smooth the batting so it didn't have any lumps or bumps

4) Did you smooth the top and make sure it was nice and squared up before basting/pinning?

5) Did you use enough pins/basting to keep the layers from sliding/moving around? (I pin at least every four inches) I think it helps to start pinning from the center and work out to the edges.

6) Did you check the back to make sure the backing is wrinkle free before starting to quilt? (I've had to redo the whole thing because somehow or other I got a big wrinkle in - Growl) I think that's why I like pins better than basting

A lot of prevention starts with the preparation.

I don't have many suggestions for the actual quilting. My machine quilting is stitch-in-the-ditch and straight lines (as straight as I can sew them, anyway)

I am machine quilting and I do pin, maybe I should pin more?? I just don't know????

I use cotton blend batting - the backing and quilt top virtually adhere to each other

I FMQ and use spray baste.

I hang my backing, pin it to the design wall, smooth real good

then pin down the sides, spray with baste, then

pin batting to top of design wall, spray about 1/3 of back side, smooth over backing, moving hands from middle of fabric out to the sides (like hanging wallpaper), the pin down side of design board, repeat to bottom of quilt,

pin top to design wall start out by spraying back side about 1/3 of the way down, smooth over batting, spray another 1/3, smooth over batting, etc. pin sides

take out side straight pins and put in a few safety pins down each side, about every 18" or so, take down from design wall and put a few safety pins in top and bottom.

The weight of the fabric and batting helps pull out wrinkles etc., and I don't have to bend over a table or get on the floor.

If you use this method be sure you put up some newspaper or something for the spray bast over spray.

Finally, when FMQ I always start in the middle and work out kind of in a circle, and check the back pretty often to make sure everything is staying in place.

When I sandwich and I know that it'll sound funny to some I layout by batting, then spray baste it then put the backing on and smooth and flatten it out and pin the edges. Then I'll turn it over spray the batting again and put on my top, smooth everything out really well and pin at the borders. Seems to work well.

What kind of pins are you using and how do you pin them.
Are you using the 1" safety pins.
Do you pin but not close them until you have an area pinned?
If you close when you insert the pins there is a tendency to pinch the fabric and the back won't lay flat.
Wait until you have an area done then close. Use one of the "Kwick Klips" or spoons to help close them.
Also, as I an free motion quilting I will often put a few long straight pins just in front of the walking foot to help keep the layers flat.

Here is a confession of what caused my puckers. A group of us ladies were starting a quilting group. We had no clue what we were doing and they put me in charge.UGHHHHHH so I researched and read and found thins to start with. Most of us worked and we met at night and truthfully, I'm not worth spit after 4PM. So, we decided to do reat bit quilt. To save time, we folded the material and cut strips. Let me tell you, those strips were as crooked as a dog's hind leg. For sure. We almost had chevrons and zig zags. So, make sure you fabric is steamed flat befoe cutting. This is my contribution......sorry if it sounds lame, but I'm not the sharpest pencil in the box.

Blessings,
Ruth

I hear that spray basting is a good technique to use. I think that if you find a solid surface, tape your backing down taunt to your solid surface, lightly spray your batting down, and then lightly spray your top in place... pin and sew.

I am a "long-arm-er" but I have learned this technique and have been successful with it in the past. Good luck!

3 words: starch, starch, starch! Starching the backing fabric stabilizes it. Heavy starching makes it almost impossible for the backing fabric to form a pucker.

Here's my method for heavily starching backing fabric (for machine quilting). Mix a 1:1 solution of Sta-Flo liquid laundry starch and water. "Paint" the solution on the fabric with a large wall-painting brush until fabric is saturated. Throw fabric in dryer. Iron with steam. The fabric comes out with about the stiffness of a piece of thin cardstock.

I use the same method when cutting bias strips.

Works great for me!

I was going to say starch but Prism already said it once or twice! LOL :lol:

I use warm and natural batting and then when I wash it, the puckers don't show cuz the whole thing has that nice wrinkley look to it! :mrgreen: :twisted:

I will follow this thread and read all of the comments

I stretch the backing nice and taut and then I tape it down with blue painter's tape. I smooth the batting (warm and natural) down over the backing. Then I lay the top down and I pat it from tbe center outward to get a nice, smooth sandwich. Generally, I pin about hand=width apart. My last quilt did not have a single pucker and I did SID in both directions.

You aren't the only one that has ended up with zig-zag strips. Hope the next ones go better.

Thanks for the starch suggestion. I was just thinking about asking the same question. I will certainly try the Sta-Flo painting technique. That sounds like the skirts we used to wear in the 50's.

I spent the past 3 days doing reversible sewing ie. ripping. I had my tension too tight on the machine. I knew it but did nothing. My first attempt at machine quilting. I am now hand quilting. When this quilt is quilted my next project is 4 place mats and they will be machine quilted. I will do it.

My best find to prevent puckers was basting spray. It made everything much easier.

Wow! I love that #2. I will surely try it. All I can add is that since I began basting (needle and thread) instead of just the pins or " baster-gun" basting, my puckers are less frequent. Also, as I sew, I use my hands to form a little tension on the fabric (stretching a little).

Although I am new to quilting I found that using cotton batting works WONDERFUL. Everytime I used a med fluff poly batting, it always puckered (believe me hundreds of pins). Now I only use cotton batting, it works for me.
Good thoughs

Often puckers on the back of a quilt are the result of over tensioning the back. I was advised by the longarm teachers I have had to allow the back to be rather "soft" so that you can poke your finger up from the back and grab it from the top. I also stitch my sides with every roll of the quilt before using my side tensioners. I think I have had only two back puckers in over 100 quilts.
julia

Use a walking foot.

I used to have puckers - however, from this board I received the link to Sharon's website and watched her video on hand basting using pieces of wood trim. Its a bit more time consuming but the finished quilt is just beautiful with no puckers. I also found it easier to machine quilt on my Janome.

no good answer here-my girls call puckers "a hug from mom"!

Are you FMQ-ing or SID / straight line stitching? If you are SID / straight line stitching, be sure to use a walking foot.

Also, don't "pull" your quilt as you are stitching. Let the feed dogs do the work for you. Just guide the quilt with your fingers.

Thank you for the comments about using cotton batting. I am making that change from now on. Just finished using medium poly and try as I may, I am having to use ninas3kids answer about a "hug from Mom" when I give it to my DD.

Great information!!!

Try this. First lay your backing down, wrong side up,on a table and tape it with masking tape-taunt. Pulling all edges and corners. Tape it really good. Then lay the batting down and smooth it out. Then put the quilt top on top and smooth out again. Then pin. It should work better for you.

Concentrate on just what is under the needle and inbetween your hands on either side of the needle. I put one hand under the quilt and smooth the backing before I start each quilting, then stop the machine...smooth underneath and on top and begin again. Just remember to quilt one small section at a time. All those small smooth sections will become a nicely quilted smooth quilt in the end.

That's what I found as well. I always had puckers, it was so frustrating. Now I spray baste. I still tape back to floor, but that's the only thing I do the same when I create the sandwich now...no pins for me! :-D

I had the same problem..found out to solve this problem was to buy a machine with an adjustable pressure foot setting.I bought a CHEAP little White Brand machine from ebay that had the pressure foot adjuster on it and GUESS WHAT?problem solved.Best $97.00 investment.

when I quilted i found that if I pin at the corners of the blocks and then roll the quilt into one little square block to quilt at a time that it keeps the wrinkles out. but this is on a regular sewing machine. I am probably doing it beyond wrong and getting puckers that I don't know about but I haven't seen any to my untrained eye.

It doesn't take a trained eye to see puckers. If you don't see them, they probably aren't there. :D Sounds good to me.

Spray baste!!!

Cajun,
There was a post on this site about spray baste quilting and it looks like a better way to sandwich your layers. I just cannot find it here. You might also try Your Tube on the subject. I haven't done this yet as I am recovering from a mastectomy but soon, I plan to do this method.

I do too!!! If the backing isn't stretched taut, I will get puckers every time... no matter how well I pin or spray baste.

My Grandmother always said that if you ride past on a galloping horse and can't see the flaws... YOUR FINE!!!